Tag: Baroque

Francesca Boncompagni, Accademia Ottoboni, Marco Ceccato
54:16
Alpha Classics 406

5455

[dropcap]G[/dropcap]iovanni Lorenzo Lulier flourished in the burgeoning music scene of late 17th-century Rome, moved in the privileged musical circle surrounding Cardinal Ottoboni, and undoubtedly rubbed shoulders with the likes of Corelli and Sir John Clerk of Penicuik. His secular cantatas and sonatas would be pretty unexceptional early Baroque fare, except for the unusual prominence given to the cello, for which he writes with genuine vision and striking originality. In the Sonata in D major for violin, cello and basso continuo, for example, the cello very much duets on equal terms with the violin, while in the cantatas it steps forward from its continuo role to interact dynamically with the voice. In the Accademia Ottoboni, the cellist Marco Ceccato is also significantly the director of the ensemble, and his plangent cello tone is a constant presence in this programme. The playing of the instrumental ensemble is wonderfully idiomatic and delicately ornamented, while the vocal contribution of Francesca Boncompagni is technically impressive and beautifully dramatized. I found the recorded sound a little ‘toppy’ and brittle, but nothing to disturb the enjoyment of this interesting repertoire. This revelatory CD emphasizes the point that in Italy at the turn of the 17th century, there were dozens of musical circles similar to Cardinal Ottoboni’s each boasting several fine composers contributing to a truly vast body of fine instrumental and vocal music.

D. James Ross

Music of French masters
{oh!} Orkiestra Historyczna, Martyna Pastuszka
64:57
DUX 1382
Music by F. Campra, Corrette, Couperin, Lully & Marais

[dropcap]I[/dropcap] think on reflection the Warsaw Castle bit of the title denotes a series of recordings as no attempt is made to show that any of this music was performed in Warsaw Castle. The burgeoning world of HIP early music performance in Poland is fully in evidence in these energetic and engaging performances of music by Lully, Couperin, Marais, Corrette and Campra. The recording is live and there is a degree of background noise although nothing intrusive, mainly in fact sounds generated by the orchestra, but there is also a pleasing resonance to the acoustic of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Chamber Hall which enhances the music, if just occasionally we lose a little detail. There is some delicate and appropriate ornamentation and some dramatic operatic sound effects such as a thunder sheet. There is familiar music here, such as Lully’s Suite from Armide and Marais’ Suite from Ariane et Bacchus but also music which was new to me such as Couperin’s Quartet Sonata, La Sultane, and Corrette’s D major Concerto, Le Phénix. The programme is a cleverly constructed concert programme with tutti Suites alternating with the quartet and the gamba concerto in which the considerable skills of Krzysztof Firlus are on dramatic display. What is delightful about all the performances is the freedom with the scores and a fizzing spontaneity which is infectious.

D. James Ross

Rosita Frisani Mary, Anna Chierichetti St John, Gianluca Belfiori Doro Nicodemus, Mario Cecchetti Onía SSAT, Alessandro Stradella Consort, Estévan Velardi
146:08 (2 CDs in a case)
Brilliant Classics 95534

[dropcap]C[/dropcap]omposed in 1717, in its composer’s maturity, Scarlatti’s Oratorio Sorrow of the Virgin Mary is probably his masterpiece in the genre, and possibly even overall in his work. A substantial work in two parts for four solo voices and strings with a selection of woodwind and brass, it presents the reaction of the Virgin Mary to the unfolding tragedy of her son’s condemnation and crucifixion in a series of dramatic arias, duets, trios and quartets with linking sections of narrative recitative, some of it accompanied. Rosita Frisani’s account of the part of Mary is beautifully expressive and musically accomplished, while she is well supported by an excellent cast of solo singers representing the supporting characters. Curiously Scarlatti sets the part of St John the Evangelist for soprano, perhaps serving as a dramatic distancing effect, while Nicodemus is an alto and Onia, the hostile High Priest, is a tenor. The crafting of the vocal lines is masterly indeed, while the sparing use of the solo wind instrument colours is deft and highly effective. You can tell that by 1717 Scarlatti is a skilled operatic composer, and the date coincides with his move from Naples to Rome, suggesting that the new oratorio was consciously written to appeal to Roman taste and to launch his musical career in the Eternal City. Performed here in a new edition by Estévan Velardi, it is interesting that this oratorio doesn’t even merit a mention in Scarlatti’s extensive Wiki entry – perhaps there is some evangelical work needed on its behalf.

D. James Ross