"Most of his career was spent in Bergamo and in Venice, where he held several positions at the city's 'ospedale', before becoming 'maestro di cappella' of St. Mark's in 1685. Through his works, but also through his pupils, he had a profound influence on late seventeenth-century musical life.
"'How did Legrenzi come to your notice?'
"Olivier Opdebeeck: 'As is always the case in the field of musicology, chance and intuition both took a hand. On a field trip to Venice, I was looking chiefly for works by one of my favourite composer, Antonio Lotti. Legrenzi being alphabetically close to Lotti in the catalogue, I happened to look him up too... I discovered a work entitled 'In Nativitate Domini', which existed only in separate parts. When I got back to Paris, I found several of the composer's works in the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève and the Bibliothèque Nationale. Legrenzi barely exists in the record catalogues. That seemed to me unfair, and I felt it had to be put right.'
"'Can we regard Legrenzi as a Venetian composer?'
"'Although he was not born in Venice, Legrenzi is in the tradition of the great Venetian composers who came before him, Monteverdi, Rovetta, Grandi and Cavalli. He probably studied with Monteverdi or Rovetta, who was then 'vice-maestro di cappella' of St. Mark's. Like every self-respecting Venetian composer, Legrenzi distinguished himself not only in religious works, but also in opera. It would be interesting to revive his great dramatic works. Finally, after a long and fruitful career in various prominent positions in the city, Legrenzi spent the last years of his life in the supreme office for a Venetian musician, that of 'maestro di cappella' of St. Marks.'
"'What is his place in the history of music?'
"'Legrenzi is the 'missing link' between Monteverdi and Vivaldi. From the former he learned to be concise, and also how to blend the voices and the instruments, and create a balance between music and liturgy. To the latter, who may have studied with him when he was very young, he passed on his taste of musical instruments, and particularly for violins. Legrenzi increased the number of instrumentalists at St. Mark's considerable - in 1687 there were thirty-four!'
"'How would you describe his Mass Opus 1?'
"'It was his first publication, so Legrenzi wanted to show just how far his talent went. His Mass is amazingly strong in its structure and diverse in its moods, and many of the elements he used in it were to be taken up later. The violins are given transitional ritornellos between the 'Kyrie' and the 'Christie', which was something very new at the time. The soloists also stand out more clearly from the ensembles. Finally, the composer also knows how to handle major forms such as fugue (second 'Kyrie'). And in the division of the movements, he anticipates the great composers of the eighteenth century.'
"'What sources did you have?'
"'Our main soruce was of course the edition that was published in 1654 in Venice. It is in separate books, as was often the case at the time. So we had to bring them together to create a full score. We then compared that score to two manuscript sources which contain many small difference in rhythm and in the accidentals. Publishers did not necessarily pay much attention to accurace in the seventeenth century, and we had to choose the variants according to the coherence of the voices. This fascinating work was carried out, first of all, at the table, then in practice with all the musicians.'
"'And what about his instrumental music?'
"'Legrenzi appears to have been the inventor of the trio sonata - two violins and a cello with 'basso continuo' - a genre that had a bright future ahead of it in Italy, then in the rest of Europe. Each movement is very clearly characterised: one could amost place a 'subtext' beneath each one! The three instruments are on an equal footing. It really is a trio, even though the 'continuo' occasionally joins the cello.
"'What is so original about this programme?'
"'Legrenzi's 'Opus 1' groups together a certain number of liturgical works. First of all a 'Mass' in three movements, 'Kyrie', 'Gloria' and 'Credo' (the 'Sanctus' and the 'Agnus Dei' were quite often ommitted in Venetian masses). To that we have added two 'Sonatas', played at the 'Gradual' and the 'Offertory'. A 'Motet' is performed at 'Communion'. For the work to be complete, we must record the 'Vespers', which come at the end of the opus: that will be the subject of the second volume.'" (Olivier Opdebeeck. From the liner notes.)
Performers: Ensemble Olivier Opdebeeck, Cori Spezzati, Oliver Opdebeeck
1. Missa Opus I: Kyrie
2. Missa Opus I: Ritornello
3. Missa Opus I: Christe
4. Missa Opus I: Ritornello
5. Missa Opus I: Kyrie
6. Missa Opus I: Gloria
7. Missa Opus I: Domine Deus, Rex Caelestis
8. Missa Opus I: Domine Fili
9. Missa Opus I: Dominus Deus, Agnus Dei
10. Missa Opus I: Qui Tollis
11. Missa Opus I: Qui Sedes
12. Missa Opus I: Quoniam Tu Solus
13. Sonata 'La Tassa'
14. Missa Opus I: Credo
15. Missa Opus I: Crucifuxus
16. Missa Opus I: Et Resurrexit
17. Missa Opus I: Et In Spiritum
18. Sonata 'La Benaglia'
19. Missa Opus I: In Laudem Sanctae Crucis. Adoramus Te
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