Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf - Ester

"Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739-1799), the Viennese contemporary of Haydn and Mozart, was one of the most popular musicians of his age. Owing to his success as a performer - he was a fêted virtuoso violinist of aristocratic and court orchestras in Vienna - he began composing on a regular basis at a relatively late age, in the late 1760s. However thanks to his fantastically fast rate of work, his technical accomplishment and diligence he still left behind an exceptionally rich life-work - we know of some 100 symphonies, 34 operas, 30 concertos and divertimentos as well as a large number of chamber and vocal works. His natural, carefree, almost routine method of composition was accompanied by a stylistic ideal that set as its aim the basic rules of social music fashionable both with the aristocracy and the general public - good taste, clarity, elegance of form and adherence to tradition. As a result of a visit to Vienna in 1772, after his work 'Isacco' written in 1766, he once again embarked on composing oratorios which are not intended for the stage.

"The oratorio, which bears the title 'La liberatrice del popolo giudaico ossia L'Ester' (The Rescuer of the Jewish People, or Esther) is based on parts three and four of The Book of Esther, or more exactly, it uses the motifs of these sections. The writer of the Metastasianic libretto Salvator Ignaz Pintus, renounces the requirement of presenting the whole story, and indeed, he even renounces following the dramatic thread which was usual in the earlier baroque oratorios, as for example, in Handel's Esther Oratorio. Instead of adhering to the logic inherent in the plot, the poet places tableaux and scenes depicting emotions which were arrived at by magnifying certain episodes, side by side, often in an arbitrary manner without any interrelationship. The original story relates how, at the time of their Babylonian captivity, the Jewish people, with the help of Esther, escape being massacred. Esther, the lovely wife of King Ahasverus (Xerxes) undertook, at the risk of her life, to plead with the king for mercy for her people, to save them from the wrath of the Persians. At Dittersdorf's request, it was really the mass scenes that received the emphasis in the libretto. With the exception of the duet of Ahasverus and Esther, only the choral sections refer directly to the biblical story. In the introduction of the various characters the librettist distorts the essence and reduces characterization to the love relationship. The texts of the solos, recitative and arias refer in such symbolical and abstract manner to the imaginary background of the plot that often we can only surmise which biblical character corresponds to the relevant role.

"Yet from a musical standpoint the aria texts are of immeasurable value: by means of a detailed, pliant introduction of the various emotional states and situations they created conditions for the realisation of more complex musical forms, arias of sonata form or of several sections. In other words they helped the development of baroque da capo arias into multi subject classical forms. Under the influence of the heritage of Carissimi's and Handel's choral oratorios, Dittersdorf's choral movements evoke the memory of the old, more severe, restricted style.

"The recitativo accompagnatos and arias are already unambiguous classical vocal forms, characters and intonations." (Márta Grabócz. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Liszt Ferenc Kamarazenekar, Budapesti Madrigálkórus, Ferenc Szekeres

1. Ouverture

2. 'A Crude Morte Traggansi'

3. 'D'Abramo, Isacco I Figli'

4. 'In Qual Profondo'

5. 'Ferma, T'arresta'

6. 'Per Noi Quel Core S'agita'

7. 'Fra Le Sventure Estreme'

8. 'Dunque Susa Lodò'

9. 'Ester, Cara Mia Vita'

10. 'Numi Pietosi, Dite'

11. 'Ah, Se In Vita'

12. 'Fra Le Caligini'

13. 'Di Persia Nella Reggia'

14. 'La Persia Ed Isdraello'

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Giovanni Legrenzi; Giacomo Carissimi - Oratorios of the Italian Baroque: Il Cuor Umano All'incanto; Oratorio della SS Virgine; Jonas

"In the environment of cultural renewal which took place in the wake of the Catholic counter-reformation at the turn of the 17th century, two diverse forms of sacred poetry written for music arose: the oratorio, championed by the followers of St. Philip Neri, and the sacred drama, favoured by the Jesuits. Both of these forms were aimed at responding to the same need: that of proposing stories of a sacred, spiritual or moral character in a manner pleasing to a vast public. The artistic results which followed were, however, quite different, and perhaps even in direct opposition to one another. The oratorio, in accordance with the canons of Philip's teachings according to which the faithful should be educated through simple and immediate means, was conceived as a composition in two parts, featuring a few fundamental personages and executed by musicians and singers who were hidden from view of the listeners. The sacred drama, on the other hand, conformed to that dramaturgy, which Jesuit theoreticians had long sought to codify, inspired by antique theatrical models. The text of the drama, much longer than that of an oratorio, was divided into three or even five separate acts, at times divided by comic intermezzos, and featured a remarkable number of principal and secondary characters who complicated the plot, while the staging was conceived in such a way as to awe the spectator, even to the point of upstaging the music or the poetic text.

"Music comprised the element of contact between the two genres. While the librettists generally belonged to different cultural milieus, the same composers often wrote both oratorios and sacred dramas. The compositional technique foresaw the use of all musical form employing basso continuo. The sacred drama and the oratorio would thus undergo the same musical evolution as other contemporary genres such as cantatas or operas.

"The music for 'Il Cuor umano all'incanto' was composed by Giovanni Legrenzi in all probability during the very early years of the 1670s. At that time, Legrenzi, who had already served as 'maestro di cappella' at the Accademia dello Spirito Santo in Ferrara beginning in 1656, moved to Venice to take over the post of director of the Conservatorio dei Mendicanti. In 1685 he also became the director of the prestigious chapel of St. Mark's. In these years, he established himself as one of the leading authors of musical oratorios in the Venetian area, collaborating frequently with the local 'Congregazione dell'Oratorio' which met at the church of S. Maria della Consolazione. Documentation preserved in the archives of the church of S. Maria della Consolazione provides details concerning the titles of the oratorios performed in those years: among those cited, we find for the first time, in 1673, 'Il cuor umano all'incanto'.

"The text of the oratorio was written by Pier Matteo Petrucci, a priest of the Order of St. Philip Neri, who took his training at the Universita of Macerata and was a member of the 'Congregazione dell'Oratorio' of Jesi. The years immediately following 1670 were fundamental for the literary production of Petrucci, a prominent figure in Italian mysticism. In 1680, he was named bishop of Jesi, and in 1686 cardinal. Merely a year later, however, in the wake of the trial of Miguel de Molinos, his publications were condemned for quietism by the court of the Inquisition and were placed on the Index of prohibited books.

"The first printed edition in which the text of 'Il Cuor umano all'incanto' appears dates to 1675. It was included in a collection entitled 'Poesie sacre e spirituali de Pier Matteo Petrucci della Congregazione dell'Oratorio di Jesi' and was published in Jesi and Macerata. It is particularly interesting to note the delay of nearly two years which separated the first performances of the oratorio in Venice from its publication, edited personally by Petrucci himself for the very purpose of obviating an unauthorized circulation of his works. This fact demonstrates that the circulation of oratorios took place even before the compositions were published, thanks to the ties which connected the followers of St. Philip who were active in various Italian cities. Evidence of the use of the text by Petrucci - musical scores, librettos, documents concerning performances - may be found today in some of the cities where the oratorians were most active: Venice, Ferrara, Bologna and Naples. The success of the 'Poesie' is witnessed, moreover, by the reprints published in Jesi or Venice in 1680, 1685, 1686 and 1717. 'Il Cuor umano all'incanto', in particular, was set to music not only by Legrenzi, but also by Giovanni Antonio Manara and Pietro Andrea Ziani.

"The version by Giovanni Legrenzi was performed in Venice in 1673, 1674 and 1696, in Ferrara in 1676 and in Vienna at the chapel of Emperor Leopold in 1692. Legrenzi's writing is clear and fluid, and invariably respectful of the moral content of the oratorio. Thus, in the arias the composer avoids superfluous repetitions of the text and in the recitatives the musical phrases conform to the rhythm of the poetical verses. Only in the ensemble sections and in the two choruses placed at the end of each part does Legrenzi elaborate more complex musical situations, though he remains equally moderate in length and faithful always to the general tone of the composition.

"The structure of Petrucci's oratorio follows the stylistic canons recognized and accepted by the majority of authors writing musical oratorios in the second half of the 17th century whose names were scrupulously listed by Arcangelo Spagna in the his 'Discorso intorno a gl'Oratori', published in Rome in 1706 but probably conceived a few decades earlier.

"'Il Cuor umano all'incanto' is divided into two parts, allowing for the insertion of a sermon between the two. It calls for six characters: 'Il Cuore umano' (the Human Heart), 'L'Angelo custode' (Guardian Angel), 'Il piacer vano' (Vain Pleasure), and 'Il mondo' (the World) in the first part; 'Il Cuore umano', 'L'Angelo custode', 'Cristo' (Christ) and 'Il Demonio' (the Devil) in the second. The distribution of the parts is conceived in such a way that it may be performed by four singers, as Petrucci himself scrupulously indicates in the various printed editions: a soprano, an alto, a tenor (for both 'Il piacer' and 'Cristo'), and a bass (for 'Il Mondo' and 'Il Demonio'). The four singers form a chorus at the end of each part of the oratorio, where the moral messages of the text are restated in a more explicit manner.

"The poetic strength of Petrucci lies in his giving the listener a simple and fully enjoyable text, almost scanty in its linearity but faithful to what we have mentioned was the spirit of the message championed by the followers of St. Philip Neri. Petrucci was aware that music and poetry should be a means of transmission rather than ends unto themselves, and he underlined his concept in the preface to the edition of 1686 of his 'Poesie': 'I have often noticed that a great exquisiteness of speech and exceedingly florid phrases offend rather than assist the vigour of the sacred verses and of the poetry which should benefit the spirit [...] Just as the extraordinary sweetness and musical art of a sung voice make man pay greater attention to [the voice] itself than to the sacred meaning of the poetry, instead of raising the Soul to God, holds it to itself and feeds more on beautiful flowers than on nourishing fruit.' Here, then, is the road indicated by Petrucci: 'read, therefore, O devoted Soul, these Rhymes, not so much to delight in them as to profit by them.' (Francesco Gatti, tr. Candace Smith. From the liner notes.)

"Giacomo Carissimi, son of Amico and Livia Prosperi, was baptised on 18th April 1605 in Marion Parish Church, near Rome. He started in Marino church as a clergyman, and studied music and singing with the local organist, supported by the ecclesiastical benefices of Grottaferrata Abbey. In 1623, when he was only eighteen, he was engaged as a member of the choir of Trivoli Cathedral, and his salary was one 'scudo' and fifty 'baiocchi' a month. There he came into contact with the latest musical movements through the maestri di cappella Briganti Colonna, Alessandro Capece and Francesco Mannelli. In 1627, Getulio Nardini and Vicario Apostolico of the Diocese of Assisi, appointed the twenty-year-old Giacomo Carissimi to the post of maestro di cappella in S. Rufino Cathedral, with the handsome annual salary of twenty 'scudos'. He stayed in the Umbrian town until December 1629, when he was summoned to Rome and given the dual role of maestro di cappella in S. Apollinaire church and teacher in the German College. Greatly admired and sought after by many a Prince, Carissimi never left Rome, and kept the appointmenets he was assigned to until his death on 12th January 1674, declining to succeed Monteverdi at St. Mark's in Venice or accept the post of Imperial Kapellmeister.

"Carissimi was an unassuming person of simple tastes, entirely dedicated to music, who reasily accepted the austere lifestyle that his post as a teacher at the German College imposed upon him. A teacher of 'Christian and exemplary morals, who would adapt to the way of life, and [to the] discipline of the College, and who would confess and take communion at least once a month in the College, if however he was [not] a priest, [who] would have to do so more often'. One of his commitments was to show the Rector all the compositions he wanted to publish, bearing the words 'Maestro di Cappella in S. Apollinare', so that he could make sure that they would not offend the dignity and reputation of the College. His manuscripts were also bound by Papal decree, which stopped his oratorios being performed during Mass, as it was the common practice to replace the antiphon, the gradual and the offertory with oratorios or motets similar to oratorios. This can be deduced from a letter sent from Paris by René Ouvrard to Claude Nicaise who was visiting Rome: '[...] two years ago, this Pope, prohibited stories set to music, not wanting anything to be sung in the church that was not word for word in the Holy Scriptures [...]' he goes on by saying that: '[...] two months ago [...] Signor Giacomo Carissimi could get permission to print the compositions he himself wrote'. Many of his works were unpublished and later countless other were lost when the Apollinaire archives were destroyed following the devastation caused by Napoleonic troops, who burnt all the existing autographs, so causing most of Carissimi's music to sink into oblivion. Numerous masterpieces by the composer are only known today because of the copies made by his students, which can be found in libraries all over Europe: this enabled one of the most authoratitive figures of the European music scene to come into his own.

"Whilst he was in Rome, Carissimi soon came into contact with the 'esercitii oratoriali' (oratorial exercises) in the form practised by the Compagnia de Crocifisso, in which the musical element was the Latin dialogical and concerted motets, with solo choral and solo parts, and pieces in recitative style, as observed by Maugras: 'The voices start with a psalm in the form of a motet, and then all the instrumentalists play and excellent symphony. After that the voices sing an episode from the Old Testament as a sacred drama. Then one of the most important preachers gives an exhortation, and this done, the day's gospel is sung, in which each singer represents a character in the story and expresses the force of the words perfectly.' Following the work already carried out by Emilio de'Cavalieri and Paolo Quagliata, Carissimi continued to develop the oratorio as a separate musical genre. As no autographs of the composer are extant, for the reasons already mentioned, we do not know what terminology Carissimi used for this new kind of music.

"Only seven of the Latin oratorios in a French manuscript are actually called Oratorios ('Judicium extremum', 'Diluvium universale', 'Judicium salomonis', 'Lamentatio damnatorum', 'Felicitas beatorum', 'Martyres' and 'Dives malus'), the others have been given the name 'oratorio' by present-day researches, but the original titles were 'historie' and 'historia o motet'. There is a considerable difference in opinion amongst musicologists as to the total number of Latin oratorios composed by Carissimi, as different criteria were applied to the term 'oratorio'. To evaluate Carissimi's part in the development of the oratorio, his great variet of sacred works should be considered, such as the short motets in dialogue form, the biblical 'stories', the lamentations, Latin cantatas and dialogues and the two-part oratorios. Not only does the length of the composition vary, but also the number of voices, how the dialogue and the narrative roles are assigned to the choir and soloists and the way choral episodes, recitatives, duets, terzettos, ariosos and instrumental pieces are distributed. Carissimi's contribution to this is less apparent in formal innovations than in the way he created an oratorial atmosphere, particularly by means of expressive processes in which biblical episodes are transformed into sacred epics, evidence above all of his otherworldly, impetuous and overwhelming faith.

"'The Oratorio Della Santissima Vergine': Only two of Carissimi's oratorios in the vernacular are extant: 'Daniele' and the 'Oratorio della Santissima Vergine'. Both of these works are essential to understanding early oratorios written in the vernacular. Neither of the dates of these compositions is known. The 'Oratorio della Santissima Vergine' is a contemplative work, in two parts. The only character indicated in the score is the Virgin (S), the other characters sing solo passages (A, T, B), duets (SS), trios (ATB), and choral pieces (SSATB). The instruments, two violins and basso continuo, play an opening symphony, some ritornellos and accompany the choral parts. The first part of the libretto brings to mind Francesco Balducci's 1642 version, whilst the second part is practically all original. Here the meditative-allegorical vision is transformed even to include the fight between the Virgin and Evil, called the 'serpent' or the 'monster'. When the Oratorio opens Maria's identity is revealed, dawn is rising and the new light turns the shores to gold. A voice (T) is heard singing 'Gran Donna appare', and asks 'Chi è costei' (who is she) and another voice replies 'Ella è Maria' (she is Maria) (A). When the figure of the Madonna has been revealed, a third voice (B) narrates the conflict between the Virgin and Evil: the Virgin defeats the 'monster' and goes on to plunder hell. In the second part jubilation is shown for the victory of good over evil and hymns are sung to the Virgin. The Oratorio ends, like all good sermons, with the choir offering a final metaphoric meditation, in the spirit of the Counter-Reformation: the night is not so dark that there will be no dawn; after the winter the fragrant spring adorns the fields with flowers. The dramatic circumstances are always expressed in a powerful and intriguing way, and there are vocal hints of madrigalism and the style of Monteverdi. The way the work is written, for the sinuous purity of its nature, the serene beatitude of the moods and the celestial transparency that imbues the whole - almost Botticellian - composition, suggest that this must have been an early work, particularly as this would coincide with the date Balducci wrote the text.

"'Jonas': The main character, Jonas, a prophet despite himself, is called by God to convert the people of Niniveh - a task which is too difficult for him. Jonas is frightened and hides in a ship leaving for Tharsis. God causes a terrible storm to hit the ship, as if to show how small human beings are in comparison to the Universe of God. The composer's innovative expressive flair now highlights the raging storm almost onomatopoeically, with the crashing of waves and the force of the wind. The frightened sailors pray to their gods to cause the storm to abate, and when questioned, the gods say that Jonas brought it about. The sailors then ask the Prophet to reveal himself, and when he wakes from a 'sapore grave' (deep sleep), he confesses that is was he that was the cause of the storm, so they hurl him into the sea, where a 'cetus grandis' (whale) swallows him up. The fury of the elements is thereby appeased. Jonas cries three times to God ('ignosce Domine') from the belly of the fish, and God forgives him, and orders the whale to release him so that the Prophet can go and carry out his mission amongst the people of Nineveh who, in the end are converted, and sing the marvellous 'Peccavimus Domine'. This final choral piece again shows Carissimi's versatile use of the choir to obtain expression, by means of a group character (the citizens of Nineveh), through a plurality of dialoguing voices. These oratorios, as in all the Roman composer's compositions, show Carissimi's immense ability to render text expressively, so much so that Kircher considered him superior to all other musicians 'at moving the souls of audiences to feel whatever emotion he intended', whilst other simply called him 'the musical orator'. (Paolo Pacini, tr. Priscilla Worsley. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Ensemble Legrenzi, Complesso Pro Musica Firenze

1.1. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: Sinfonia

1.2. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Io, Che Sono Un Core Umano'

1.3. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'O Mondo, O Piacere'

1.4. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'E Dunque Il Core Umano'

1.5. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Di Nuovo Rimbomba'

1.6. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Core Umano Non Temere'

1.7. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Cor Uman, Se Ti Miro'

1.8. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Dolce Prezzo! O Quanto, O Quanto'

1.9. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Cerca Monete, O Cor, Cha Sian Più Sode'

1.10. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Senti O Cor Non T'ingannare'

1.11. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Taci Piacer, Non Più, Tu M'incateni'

1.12. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Che Cosa È L'piacere?'

1.13. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Dico Anch'io Ch'è Verità'

1.14. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Saggia Senteza'

1.15. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Eh, Non Temer, Il Mondo Ascolta'

1.16. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Innalza Il Guardo A La Celeste Mole'

1.17. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'A Dirtela Schietta'

1.18. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Cauto Consiglio! Io Mi Vo'dare A Voi'

1.19. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Madrigale 'Ecco Viene Già Servo Il Core''

1.20. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: Sinfonia

1.21. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Soccorrete O Cieli Amici'

1.22. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Sento Che 'L Cor Umano'

1.23. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Un Sentiero Fiorito'

1.24. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'E Quai Cieli Invocar Puoi'

1.25. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Ahi Qual Gelido Orrore'

1.26. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Abissi Orribili'

1.27. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Maledico I Tuoi Iaceri'

1.28. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Questi Queruli Accenti, E 'L Grido Roco'

1.29. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'O Giesù Mio, Mio Redentor, Mia Vita'

1.30. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Discacciato Dal Mondo, A Dio Pretendi'

1.31. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'No Mio Dio, Ma Gira Il Ciglio'

1.32. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Chuidi L'indegne Invidiose Labbra'

1.33. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Dunque Al Cielo Alzerassi Un Cor Di Fango'

1.34. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Ma Tu, Ma Tu Rimira, O Core Ingrato'

1.35. Giovanni Legrenzi - Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Dunque Omai Rimirate, Umani Cori'

1.36. Giovanni Legrenzi -  Il Cuor Umano All'incanto: 'Madrigale 'Se V'offre Il Mondo''

2.1. Giacomo Carissimi - Oratorio Della SS Vergine: Sinfonia

2.2. Giacomo Carissimi - Oratorio Della SS Vergine: 'Io Dell'eterna Mente'

2.3. Giacomo Carissimi - Oratorio Della SS Vergine: 'Ecco Al Vento Le Bandiere'

2.4. Giacomo Carissimi - Oratorio Della SS Vergine: 'Taccia Betulla'

2.5. Giacomo Carissimi - Oratorio Della SS Vergine: 'Su Su Si Spogli Di Fiori Il Prato'

2.6. Giacomo Carissimi - Oratorio Della SS Vergine: 'Notte Mai Non E Si Nera'

2.7. Giacomo Carissimi - Jonas: Simphonia

2.8. Giacomo Carissimi - Jonas: 'Et Praeliabantur Venti'

2.9. Giacomo Carissimi - Jonas: 'Tulerunt Nautae Jonam'

2.10. Giacomo Carissimi - Jonas: 'Peccavimus, Domine'

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Giacomo Carissimi - Jephte; Jonas

"Giacomo Carissimi began his professional career as cantor, organist and then 'maestro di cappella' in institutions near Rome such as the Cathedral of Tivoli or the Church of S. Rufino in Assisi. Towards the end of 1629 his career took an important leap as he took on the task in the heart of Rome as 'maestro di cappella' at the Jesuit 'Collegio Germanico Ungarico' with responsibility for the music of the church of Sant'Apollinare, which belonged to the German Seminary. He held this position until his death in 1674. From this highly prestigious position Carissimi won early fame throughout Europe, becoming one of the leading figures in the music of the seventeenth century.

"The obligations of 'maestro di cappella' at the College were divided between composition and the direction of all musical activities of the Seminary, and teaching. Many musicians of the time came to study with him directly, including the Frenchman Marc'Antoine Charpentier and the Germans Christoph Bernhard and Johann Kaspar Kerll, or indirectly, through the music itself, and learnt this new style of composition. It is owing to Carissimi that much of this traditional Italian style of composition was maintained throughout continental Europe for the entire seventeenth century.

"Carissimi's activity was not limited to the College only, but also included important appointments outside the Church, such as service as 'maestro della musica da camera' for Queen Christina of Sweden. He also collaborated with the Roman Oratories, particularly with San Marcello, the Oratorio del Santissiimo Crocifisso, for which it is quite probably that many of his oratorios were composed.

"There is little direct information concerning performances at the College or at the Santissimo Crocifisso, but written testimony survives that gives some idea and makes it clear that both institutions had ample means for musical performance. Francis Mortopf, a traveller passing through Rome some time in the 1650s, is recorded as describing the music performed at Santissimo Crocifisso [...] '...a music so sweet and harmonious which, once having left Rome, can never be hoped to be heard again on the face of the Earth. It was composed with at least twenty voices, organs, lute, viola and two volins, all of which were playing music so melodious and delicious that Cicero with all his eloquence would never have been able to describe it'.

"'Jephte' is perhaps the best known composition of Carissimi today. Together with 'Jonas', it is also one of the few for which chronological reference can be established, some time before 1649. The text is a free treatment of the Old Testament narrative ('Judges 11:28-38'), and is much fuller than original biblical text. The narration is entrusted to the 'Historicus', sung in various places by different voices. In addition to the paraphrasing of passages from the Vulgate, completely new texts provide dramatic moments.

"The oratorio can be divided into two major sections. The first of these describes Jephthah's victory over the Ammonites, and the other deals with the drama of the sacrifice of his child, to which Jephthah has sworn. In the first part the chorus interventions are among the numerous dramatic amplifications of the biblical narrative. Other details such as the introduction of the word 'ululantes' in the description of the conquered Ammonites, which is absent in the biblical passage, allow the composer to make used of the dramatic 'topos' of the lament. Of still greater effect is the separation between the celebration of Jephthah's victory and the introduction by the narrator of the idea of Jephthah's oath. The final part with the lament by Jephthah's daughter and the repeated chorus, is extremely effective.

"'Jonas' is probably more or less contemporary with 'Jephte'. Here there is an analogous situation as far as concerns the biblical source and the oratorio text. The Vulgate is largely followed in the narrative, without paraphrase, but again there are dramatic interpolations. This oratorio too can be divided into sections. The first follows the biblical adventures of Jonah ('Jonah 1:1-4') and the first interpolation is head in the chorus 'Et proeliabantur venti' (and the winds battled), which uses the technique of two separate choirs, effectively reflecting the storm which threatens the ship where Jonah is sleeping. The biblical text, however, only briefly mentions this episode. The second section is dedicated to the dialogue between Jonah and the sailors. Close to the original text, this is also expressed in dialogue. The sailors' interventions are varied, first a duet, then a chorus, and then alternation of solo voices from the choir. The third episode is made up entirely of Jonah's prayer to God from the belly of the whale ('Jonah 2'). The refrain 'Placare, Domine, ignosce, Domine, et miserere' (Forgive, Lord, and have mercy), strengthened with the presence of instrumental 'ritornelli', divides the long 'recitativo' into three different but equal sections. The conclusion condenses in just a few lines the whole of the third biblical chapter. The final chorus is in fact a 'mea culpa' of the Ninevites, which again is a free invention of the librettist.

"The catalogue of Carissimi's vast output is not made up only of sacred music and oratorios, but includes secular cantatas for various groups of performers. Consortium Carissimi presents a transcription of the serenade 'Dai (trai) più riposti abissi' (From the most hidden abysses), originally set for two sopranos, bass and basso continuo. Here it is offered with two tenor voices instead, making use of a common practice of the time, replacing higher register voices with tenors. The text is by Francesco Balducci (1579-1642) 'a greatly ingenious man, but haughty and too vague for adventure... easily lost for love and poetry, little lover fatigue [who] attempted to live off Princes and Cardinals' (Guido Pasquetti). Balducci is normally allowed an important position in the codification of the music genre of oratorio. He was also a poet, and frequented high Roman ecclesiastical and aristocratic circles. Balducci was particularly associated with the Barberinis. The serenade, therefore, in its choice of text and its connotations of Roman high society represents a fine example of Carissimi's extramural activity. From a musical point of view this piece demonstrates a structure quite typical of its genre in the early baroque period. Distinct musical sections correspond to the verses of the text, which make use of different techniques and styles, alternating between recitative, aria, ternary episodes and solo sections, dialogue, 'tutti' sections and instrumental 'ritornelli'. All of these aspect delightfully underscore the details of the text itself, admirably communicated in a dense language which at the same time reveals absolute technical and expressive transparency." (Angela Romagnoli, tr. Garrick Comeaux. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Consortium Carissimi

1. Historia Di Jephte: Historicus

2. Historia Di Jephte: Jephte

3. Historia Di Jephte: Coro A 6

4. Historia Di Jephte: Historicus A 2

5. Historia Di Jephte: Basso Solo

6. Historia Di Jephte: Coro A 6

7. Historia Di Jephte: Historicus

8. Historia Di Jephte: Historicus A 3

9. Historia Di Jephte: Historicus

10. Historia Di Jephte: Filia

11. Historia Di Jephte: Coro A 2

12. Historia Di Jephte: Filia

13. Historia Di Jephte: Coro A 6

14. Historia Di Jephte: Historicus

15. Historia Di Jephte: Jephte

16. Historia Di Jephte: Historicus A 4

17. Historia Di Jephte: Filia - Eco

18. Historia Di Jephte: Coro A 6

19. Dai Più Riposti Abissi

20. Historia Ionae: Symphonia

21. Historia Ionae: Historicus

22. Historia Ionae: Deus

23. Historia Ionae: Historicus

24. Historia Ionae: Historicus

25. Historia Ionae: Historicus A 8

26. Historia Ionae: Nautae A 3

27. Historia Ionae: Historicus

28. Historia Ionae: Gubernator Navis

29. Historia Ionae: Nautae A 2

30. Historia Ionae: Historicus

31. Historia Ionae: Nautae A 3

32. Historia Ionae: Ionas

33. Historia Ionae: Nautae A 3

34. Historia Ionae: Ionas

35. Historia Ionae: Historicus A 8

36. Historia Ionae: Historicus

37. Historia Ionae: Ionas

38. Historia Ionae: Historicus A 3

39. Historia Ionae: Historicus

40. Historia Ionae: Ninevitae A 8

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Antonio Caldara - La Conversione di Clodoveo, Rè di Francia

"Antonio Caldara is still not very well known by music lovers. Yet he is one of the most interesting and appealing composers of the Italian Baroque, and one of the most prolific in the history of music. He enjoyed great celebrity during his lifetime, and indeed throughout the entire 18th century, before sinking into oblivion. Based in Vienna, he had considerable influence on German composers: on Telemann, on Bach (who copied one of his settings of the 'Magnificat'), on the Mannheim school and, finally, through later generations, on the Viennese composers of the Classical era such as Dittersdorf, Haydn and Mozart.

"The son of a violinist, Caldara was born, probably in 1670, in Venice or possibly in Padua; we do not have more precise information, and this birth date is deduced from the statement in his death certificate that died 'in his 66th year'. Caldara began his studied with Giovanni Legrenzi, 'maestro di cappella' at San Marco in Venice, and as a boy he sang in the basilica's choir. Then, for six years beginning in 1694, he was a gambist and cellist for San Marco; he also played the organ and the harpsichord. In 1689, his first opera, 'L'Argene', was staged in Venice, and shortly after the publisher Sala printed two sets of sonatas in the style of Corelli: opus 1 in 1693, and opus 2 in 1699. Meanwhile, in 1697, his first oratorio, 'Il trionfo della continenza', was performed.

"In May 1699, Caldara was appointed 'maestro di cappella, da chiesa e dal teatro' to Ferdinando Carlo, the Gonzaga Duke of Mantua, who lavished enormous sums on opera productions. Caldara held this post until 1707 and he probably went with his employer to Paris in 1704. During these years, Caldara made brief sojourns in Bologna and in Rome, where he met Corelli and the Scarlattis, both father and son. During a trip to Spain in the summer of 1708, his opera 'Il più bel nome' was staged in Barcelona as part of the festivities to celebrate the wedding of Charles III, the Hapsburg claimant to the Spanish throne. When the French won the War of Succession in Spain three years later, Philippe, Duke of Anjou, supplanted Charles. Caldara had given lessons in counterpoint to Charles and won his admiration and the position as his resident composer. Later, as we will see, the musician was able to take advantage of the patronage of the Hapsburg dynasty.

"Caldara returned to Rome in 1709, where he succeeded Handel as 'maestro di cappella' to Prince Francesco Maria Ruspoli in the Palazzo Bonelli. Over the course of the subsequent years, Caldara composed, for Prince Ruspoli, four operas, three 'intermezzi', 10 oratorios, several 'serenate', and a large number of madrigals, cantatas, and vocal duos. He also worked for Cardinal Ottoboni and for Prince Colonna, rich Roman patrons for the arts. Then, in 1711, he married the singer Caterina Petrolli. In that same year, Charles III of Hapsburg became Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor of the German States, and moved to Vienna. Soon, in 1712, Caldara visited the Austrian capital, seeking a post with the new monarch, his former patron.

"He did not obtain the desired post until 1716, one year after the death of Marc'Antonio Ziani, 'kapellmeister' of the imperial court. Johann Joseph Fux succeeded Ziani and Caldara, who had been given leave by Prince Ruspoli, travelled to Vienna (stopping 'en route' in Salzburg), to help Fux as 'vice-kapellmeister'. He held this position until his death, 20 years later; Fux, though older than Caldara, outlived him by several years. Caldara died in Vienna on December 28, 1736 in the quarters reserved for Italians in the service of the court. Vivaldi died here, in humbler fashion, five years later. We don't know how Caldara managed his affairs, but despite his considerable income, he was so heavily in debt that the emperor deign to make a grant of 12,000 florins to his widow to help her make ends meet.

"Caldara left several hundred works of all sizes. Almost all of these works are vocal: they include more than 80 operas with libretti by Apostolo Zeno and Pietro Metastasio, 38 oratorios, 50 'serenate', 100 or so cantatas, hundreds of motets, more than 20 masses (some of which are written in strict counterpoint and for performance 'a cappella', while other are in the more luxurious concertante style), several sonatas, madrigals, and about 300 vocal canons. Caldara's work did not immediately disappear when he died, as was the case with Vivaldi, and the work of many other musicians of the period who had enjoyed celebrity during their lifetimes. Writing in the 1780s, the English musicologist Charles Burney expressed his high esteem for Caldara. It was only gradually that Caldara slipped into obscurity. In the middle of the 19th century some connoisseurs, such as Brahms and von Köchel, still appreciated Caldara's great skill in polyphony and suppleness of his melodic expression. Closer to our own time, Roland de Candé said that 'his music achieves a magnificent synthesis of the Venitian choral style, the Neapolitan melodic and harmonic style, and the Viennese Baroque, which was at its peak.'

"The oratorio written in Italian, known as 'oratorio volgare', is a close relative of the opera. Towards the end of the 17th century it supplanted the old 'historica sacra' in Latin, the gren in which Giacomo Carissimi had excelled. The Italian-language oratorio featured several historical or symbolic persons who, without the help of a narrator or a chorus, presented themselves through a series of characteristic recitatives and 'da capo' arias. In his 'Dictionnaire de musique', published in 1703, Sébastien de Brossard described this kind of oratorio as 'a kind of sacred opera [...] whose subject is drawn from scripture or from the history of a saint, or which is an allegory on one of the mysteries of religion, or on some point of morality.' He added that 'nothing is more common in Rome, especially during lent, than these kinds of oratorios.' Similar works, but without any stage scenery, were sung in private salons during those periods of the liturgical year when operas were prohibited. In the intermission between the two parts of the work, instead of listening to the sermon that would be delivered if it was being performed in a church, the audience at such private performances was served liquor.

"In composing his oratorios in Rome for Prince Ruspoli, Caldara's style evolved rapidly. The works can be divided into two groups. As Adélaïde de Place noted, 'the first group, those written around the years 1708 and 1710, are still impregnated by Venetian influence, while the later works, composed between 1712 and 1715, are marked by the elegant traits of the early 'galant' style: they are simple in shape, luminous, and supple.' Instrumental accompaniment became lighter. (It is unlikely that this development was driven by a desire on the part of the hyper-rich Roman aristocracy to cut costs.) 'The orchestra tended to be reduced to two string sections supported by the basso continuo, which was more present in the accompaniment than were the violins, while the ranges of the vocal soloists seemed to be moving upwards, sometimes even to the extent that there no low voices at all.' (On March 31, 1715, a German traveler heard an oratorio by Caldara performed by 'a great number of musicians, three female singers, [one of whom was surely the composer's wife], and a little castrato.')

"The oratorio 'La Conversione di Clodoveo, Rè di Francia' belongs to this second, later group. Its libretto is by Sigismundo Capece, who also wrote the libretto for Handel's 'La resurrezione' in 1708. The first performance of 'La Conversione' was given in Rome on April 14, 1715 at the Palazzo Bonelli. The work is scored for four solo voices and an ensemble of strings without viola, to which winds may be added. Its arias are 'accompanied by the orchestra, or by a very lively basso continuo, and they generally take the 'da capo' form and are in a dramatic vocal style, full of melissimas, coloraturas, and 'arioso' passages.' The work is a remarkable example of the concern, typical of the period, that nuances of text and character should be rendered musically and clearly. Its recitatives are free, clever, and expressive. Its arias are sensitive, moving, often set to dance rhythms, and varied: one after another they are either warlike, gracious, tormented, or confiding, depending on a character's emotions.

"The work tells the story of how his love for his wife, the beautiful and pious Clotilde, led the bellicose Clovis to convert to the Christian faith. In the beginning of the first part Clovis, King of the Francs - also known as the Sicambres - wants to go off to war. Clotilde accuses him of only seeking glory and, not hiding her concern, gives him the following advice: 'When you are in greatest danger, do not forget that the God that I worship is the God of battle.' Once Clovis and the captain Uberto have left, Clotilde confides her fears to Remigius, the bishop of Rheims and a future saint. He reassures her with these words: 'It often happens that, by the power of heaven itself, from seeds of sorrow springs a harvest of happiness.' Captain Uberto returns, bearing bad news: faced by certain defeat, Clovis has charges him with the mission of protecting the queen.

"The second part open with the worries of Remigius, who is preparing to flee with Clotilde and Uberto. But Clovis returns and announces his victory, which he attributes to the advice of his queen. Just when he was about to lose the battle, he tells them, and after having vainly called upon Mars, he successfully called on the Christian God for help. Now a member of the true faith, he declares: 'Because of this victory, I worship only your God.' Clotilde then asks Remigius to prepare 'the sacred rite, baptism, by means of which divine grace will pour down on the royal head.' After the ceremony, a love duet, in which the voices follow each other and intertwine in thirds and sixths, joins the two spouses in the same faith and ends the oratorio.

"Since Caldara's work relates one of the founding myths of the history of France, let us leave the final word to the author of the 'Legenda Aurea', Jacques de Voragine, who tells us that 'there was no sacred oil at the baptismal fonts when they reached them, but then a dove appears, carrying a vial of the oil in its beak, and the pope anointed the king with it.' Since then, 'this vial is conserved in the church of Rheims, and used to this day to anoint the kings of France.' Finally, the history books tell us that on the occasion of Clovis' batpism on December 25, 496, soon after his victory at Tolbiac over the Germans, Saint Remigius pronounced his celebrated words: 'Bow down your head, proud Sicambre. Worship what you have burned, and burn what you have worshipped.'" (François Filiatrault, 2010, tr. Sean McCutcheon. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Le Nouvel Opéra, Alexander Weimann, Suzie LeBlanc, Allyson McHardy, Nathalie Paulin, Matthew White

1.1. Parte I: Sinfonia

1.2. Parte I, Scena I: 'Invitto Clodoveo'

1.3. Parte I, Scena I: 'Di Tua Gloria'

1.4. Parte I, Scena I: 'Vanne Uberto'

1.5. Parte I, Scena I: 'Voglio Quel Seno Stringere'

1.6. Parte I, Scena II: 'Clodoveo, Mio Signor'

1.7. Parte I, Scena II: 'Rasserenatevi'

1.8. Parte I, Scena II: 'Con Prove Di Fierezza'

1.9. Parte I, Scena II: 'Volgi Il Cuore'

1.10. Parte I, Scena II: 'Clotilde, Ben Sovente'

1.11. Parte I, Scena II: 'Con Tuoi Begl'occhi'

1.12. Parte I, Scena III: 'Mio Signor, Mio Giesu'

1.13. Parte I, Scena III: 'Se Mesta L'alma'

1.14. Parte I, Scena IV: 'Remigio, Amato Padre'

1.15. Parte I, Scena IV: 'Io Non So'

1.16. Parte I, Scena IV: 'Scaccio Il Vano'

1.17. Parte I, Scena IV: 'Non Sempre Tuona'

1.18. Parte I, Scena V: 'Signora, Infausto Messo'

1.19. Parte I, Scena V: 'Vorrebbe L'Affetto'

1.20. Parte I, Scena V: 'Regina, Sono Del Ciel'

1.21. Parte I, Scena V: 'Picciol Legno'

1.22. Parte I, Scena V: 'A Tuoi Detti Mi Rendo'

1.23. Parte I, Scena V: 'Mio Dio Per Me Svenato'

1.24. Parte I, Scena V: 'Se Tanto Il Cuore Ottiene'

2.1. Parte II, Scena I: 'Agitato Da Speme'

2.2. Parte II, Scena II: 'Clodoveo Superato'

2.3. Parte II, Scena II: 'Quando Il Turbino E Vicino'

2.4. Parte II, Scena II: 'Andiamo'

2.5. Parte II, Scena III: 'Clotilde, Vincesti'

2.6. Parte II, Scena III: 'Mio Sposo'

2.7. Parte II, Scena III: 'Gioisco Che Il Tuo Cuore'

2.8. Parte II, Scena III: 'Clotilde, E Ver'

2.9. Parte II, Scena III: 'Come Cerva Che Ferita'

2.10. Parte II, Scena III: 'Remigio A Questi Accenti'

2.11. Parte II, Scena III: 'Sommo Dio'

2.12. Parte II, Scena IV: 'Con Esempio Si Bello'

2.13. Parte II, Scena IV: 'Che Santo E Bel Piacer'

2.14. Parte II, Scena V: 'Consorte Amato'

2.15. Parte II, Scena V: 'L'amor Mio'

2.16. Parte II, Scena V: 'Quest'e L'altare'

2.17. Parte II, Scena V: 'Santo Amor'

2.18. Parte II, Scena V: 'Signor, Troppa Ostinata'

2.19. Parte II, Scena V: 'V'adoro, O Padre'

2.20. Parte II, Scena VI: 'Mio Redentor'

2.21. Parte II, Scena VI: 'E' Un Piacer'

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Nicola Porpora - Il Gedeone

"At the mention of the oratorio genre, music lovers automatically think of George Frideric Handel's 'Messiah' set to English texts from the Bible or Johannes Brahms's 'Ein deutsches Requiem.' But neither of these works is an oratorio in the stricter sense of the term. The oratorio, as a genre and the name of a genre, emerged from a number of different forerunner forms in Italy during the second third of the seventeenth century and initially remained by and large an Italian genre. It was not until 1730 that it established itself internationally, and here the oratorio texts of the Vienna court poet Pietro Metastasio played an important role. 

 

"From 1660 to 1730 there had been only one center of oratorio performance outside Italy, albeit a center of great importance: the Habsburg imperial court in Vienna. Up until the time that Maria Theresa became empress in 1740, oratorios — Italian oratorios — had been performed at the Vienna court on a regular basis. (This makes Nicola Porpora's 'Il Gedeone' of 1737 an extremely late work within the context of the Italian oratorios composed and performed in Vienna.) Vienna was also the model for other Catholic courts north of the Alps such as those in Dresden, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Prague, and Warsaw.

A Habsburg emperor, Leopold I, who him-self composed respectable oratorios, stood at the beginning of this Vienna tradition of the Counter Reformation and with a strong Jesuit stamp. His 'Il transito di S. Giuseppe' was per-formed almost every year for two decades beginning in 1680. For the period between 1660 and 1740 we have about 350 oratorios in text form with some two hundred oratorios by composers known by name and a good dozen by anonymous composers in score form. 

 

"Of the composers, sixteen (including Nicola Porpora) are represented by one oratorio, eleven by two oratorios, and five by three such works. Only those composers who were employed at the Vienna court or maintained close ties to it composed four or more oratorios for performance in Vienna. Oratorios composed elsewhere were 'importedo' mainly from Rome, Bologna, and Venice. It is note-worthy that three of the oratorio composers are known to have been women: Caterina Grazianini and Maria Margherita Grimani are represented with two oratorio premieres and Camilla de Rossi with four. 

 

"The oratorios composed during the great days of the Italian oratorio between 1660 and 1740 by and large exhibited a stable form. The libretti were in two parts and had four hundred to five hundred verses. Usually one character, a figure from the Old Testament, New Testament, or the lives of the saints, stood at the center of the action (and was named in the title), and there were four or five more solo vocal parts. The chorus was employed only sporadically, usually at the end of the two parts and in a very conventional way. The oratorio genre as a whole, especially in comparison to the contemporary opera and (secular) cantata, bore conservative traits. This had to do, especially in Vienna, with the special performance circumstances of the oratorio. At the Habsburg court oratorios were performed first and foremost during Holy Week, during a period in which sorrow and a minimum of musical means constituted the proper tone. In Vienna and else-where oratorios were intended as extraliturgical court devotion, even when they were performed in the court chapel or integrated into the Holy Week liturgy. Unlike what was frequently the case with the opera, they were not subject to public competition or to the pressure to make a profit. These factors played a major role in the shaping of the oratorio style. 

 

"The history of the oratorio was like that of the opera, however, in that the librettists played a role at least as important as that of the composers and often had a decisive influence. In Vienna two court poets brought about enduring changes to the oratorio text: the Venetian Apostolo Zeno (1668-1750, at the Vienna court during 1718-29) and the already mentioned Pietro Metastasio (1698-1782). We know of sixteen libretti by Zeno for what he called 'drammi sacri,' from the years after 1719. The designation 'sacred dramem' meant that Zeno aimed at approximating the form of the oratorio to the drama, to the tragedy, especially to Jean Racine's religious dramas ('Esther' and 'Athalia'). He derived his subject matter exclusively from the Bible and made an effort not to expand this biblical material with invented stories, figures, and episodes. This led to the drastic reduction in the number of oratorios about the lives of the saints in Vienna. 

 

"Pietro Metastasio, the most important Italian dramatic poet of the eighteenth century, had an even more lasting influence. He was the idol of his times and held the post of Vienna court poet beginning in 1730. Between 1730 and 1740, at the time when Porpora wrote his 'll Gedeone,' Metastasio wrote seven oratorio libretti, which, like his opera texts, were submitted to multiple musical settings by numerous composers. It was through Metastasio, not only through the composers, that the oratorio genre gained the status of an international form. 

 

"The life of Nicola Porpora, who was born in Naples in 1686 and died in the same city in 1768, was linked in many ways to Vienna and to the Vienna court poet Metastasio. Porpora set 'Angelica' and 'Gli orti esperidi,' two of Metastasio's early poems intended for musical settings, as serenate for the birthdays of the emperor and empress in the then Austrian Naples in 1720 and 1721. During this time Porpora must have enjoyed the patronage of the Vienna court, perhaps through his employer, the Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt, who himself rendered services to the Austrian monarchy. Between 1725 and 1743 Porpora wrote eight operas to texts by Metastasio and during his early period three or four operas to texts by Zeno. Porpora received his first commission for an opera for Vienna in 1714; it was entitled 'Arianna e Teseo,' set to a text by Pariati, and intended for the emperor's birthday. In 1718 his 'Temistocle' to a libretto by Zeno was premiered at the Vienna court theater on the occasion of the emperor's birthday. Nevertheless, Porpora's rise to fame as an opera composer followed not in Vienna but in Rome and Northern Italy. He settled in Venice in 1726 and then went to London in 1733 at the invitation of the Opera of the Nobility, Handel's rival in the opera business in the English capital. He left England in 1736 —before the Opera of the Nobility, like Handel's opera company, went bankrupt — and returned to Naples. He did not assume a permanent post there again at the Conservatorio di S. Maria di Loreto until July 1, 1739.

"When Porpora wrote the oratorio 'Il Gedeone' for Vienna in 1737, he was a 'free man' who was looking for a job. And, as chance would have it, the Vienna court music director Antonio Caldara had died on December 28, 1736! As one might assume owing to his personal acquaintance with Metastasio, Porpora did not seek in vain for support from him. 'Il Gedeone' was a sort of 'oriol piece' in which Porpora was supposed to show what he could do as a composer. He overlooked the fact, however, that he was supposed to compose a conservative oratorio for Holy Week corresponding to the models of the court composers Caldara and Fux. It is surprising (or perhaps was part of his strategy?) that Porpora did not set a text by Metastasio. 

 

"Porpora was certainly in Vienna for the premiere of 'Il Gedeone' on March 28. When he was unsuccessful in his bid, he returned to his native Naples and resided there from 1739 to 1741. We then find him in Venice and beginning in 1747 at the Dresden court, a center of the Italian opera. It was there that Porpora re-encountered Johann Adolf Hasse, who had been his pupil in 1722. (His other pupils included Farinelli and Caffarelli, the two most famous castrati of the time.) It was not until 1752 or 1753 that Porpora, with a handsome Dresden pension, settled in Vienna. Here he taught song to Wilhelmine, the mistress of the Venetian ambassador Pietro Correr, and to Metastasio's protegée Marianna Martinez. It was probably also Metastasio who introduced Porpora, then a European celebrity, to the young Joseph Haydn. Haydn became Porpora's servant, pupil, and piano accompanist in voice instruction. The outbreak of the Seven Years' War between Prussia and Saxony meant that Porpora lost his Dresden pension in 1757. His financial situation became increasingly precarious until he found new employment in Naples in 1757-60. He had grown old during a time of fundamental new musical developments and was a witness to another epoch, namely to the first, still 'baroque' third of the eighteenth century. Unlike Leonardo Vinci, Leonardo Leo, or Pergolesi, Porpora did not become a composer of the second third of the century, when the foundation was laid for the 'classical' styles in the opera and instrumental music in Italy as well as in Vienna. He spent the last years of his life in abject poverty in the city of his birth, where he died in 1768. 

 

"The libretto of 'Il Gedeone' is by an 'A. Perrucci.' Owing to the relatively early year of his death, it is uncertain whether the author was Andrea Perrucci (1651-1704), a well-known librettist and theater theorist who was active in Naples. On the other hand, Porpora's composition teacher Francesco Mancini set another oratorio libretto by a Perrucci in Naples in 1733 ('II zelo animato dal gran profeta Elia'), and it was based on a text published by Andrea Perrucci in 1691. The text of 'La Debbora profetessa guerriera,' an oratorio of 1691 by the Neapolitan Giuseppe Vignola certainly stems from Andrea Perrucci, and in 1701 the same composer, in his 'Il Gedeone geroglifico,' turned to the material that Porpora would use decades later. 

 

"In form and content the libretto set by Porpora is a text corresponding to the fundamental principles of Zeno's oratorio texts but hardly approximating Metastasio's verbal artistry. The story is derived — without major additions — from Judges 6-8 in the Old Testament, and Gideon [alto castrato], an Israelite liberator chosen by God from the period around 1100 B.C.E, stands at its center. Other characters include his father Joas (the biblical Joash) [bass], his wife Sichemi [soprano] (in the oratorio his only wife, in the Bible his concubine in Shechem, who bore him one of his seventy sons), and Gideon's retainer Fara [alto]. The opposition is represented by the commander Oreb [soprano castrato], a prince of the Midianites named in the Bible, and his officer Silve [tenor]. The poetic text is clearly divided into sixteen recitatives, twelve arias, three choruses (two of which form a remarkably full and lavish conclusion to the two parts), and the instrumental pieces introducing the two parts, an lntroduzione and a Sinfonia. Gedeone's father Joas and Sichemi sing three arias each, Gedeone himself (and his rival Oreb) only two arias, but they are particularly extensive. The two minor characters Fara and Silve are assigned one aria each. Celestial or allegorical figures hardly appear at all, and this too corresponds to Zeno's theories. The biblical angel who commissions Gideon to save Israel and to destroy Baal's altar does not sing in the oratorio. Joas's second aria has been eliminated from the present recording, and some secco recitatives and the concluding chorus — which is monumental enough anyway — have been abridged. 

 

"At the beginning of the second third of the eighteenth century, opera composers like Leonardo Vinci, Leonardo Leo, Johann Adolf Hasse, and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi brought about a fundamental change in musical style in Italy. The encounter with Metastasio's libretti led to a turning away from the baroque pathos of the slow aria and coloratura splendor of the allegro aria and from the dominance of counterpoint to emotionally stirring character, cantability, and the clear recital of the text with clear periodization of the musical phrases and a modest orchestral accompaniment supporting the vocal parts. Within a few years (Bach and Handel still had twenty years to live) a fundamentally new musical idiom came about, an idiom long designated as 'preclassical.' Bach and Handel were not the only two who would did not participate in this decisive stylistic development; Nicola Porpora would also have to be included among their company. In Vienna, however, the oratorio composer Porpora met with an oratorio tradition that not only was entirely and fully obliged to a 'baroqueo' idiom but also employed this old idiom conservatively in the field of the oratorio. Caldara and Fux both employed an 'eruditeo' emphatically contrapuntal-linear writing style in sacred music in general and in the oratorio. To be sure, Porpora himself had been instructed in 'stricto' polyphonic composition in Naples, and the concluding choruses of the two parts of 'Il Gedeone' leave not the slightest doubt about his ability to compose stupendous choral fugues in a manner that we would associate with Handel. Here the measured and serious tone of the choral polyphony of Fux and Caldara was at most one means of design among others. Porpora wanted to show what he could do and put his artistry on display, and reserve and economy were the least appropriate means for doing so. And so it is that 'Il Gedeone' makes a grand display of the brio and imaginative wealth of a genuine theater musician who served up lavish coloraturas and effective trills for the warbling of his vir-tuoso singers and let the castrato part in Gedeone's two arias indulge in concert splendor with oboes and even a solo trumpet (during Holy Week, when this instrument was supposed to keep its silence!). The alto castrato Pietro Casati, who was also active as a composer in Vienna), sang the part of Gedeone; La Pisani, the soprano, was the first Sichemi; and the court singer Praun sang the role of Joas. Vivaldi's concerto style, which had long since made its way to Naples, left clear traces on Porpora's string part, with its dense texture and constant motion. 

 

"This music by Porpora was just as foreign to the Vienna oratorio tradition as it was to the new gentle tones in the Italian operas and oratorios of those years by Leonardo Vinci, Leonardo Leo, Hasse, or Pergolesi. Nowhere is the dramatic impetus of Porpora's music so audible as in the no less than nine accompagnato recitatives with orchestral accompaniment. Here one should pay particular attention to how he works with string tremoli in the accompagnato before the second chorus, the siciliano chorus, and how the thematic design of the chorus together with the pastoral oboes in already anticipated in the recitative. At the same time, the thoroughly traditional delineation of the form (though there are already two-part arias along with the da capo arias that then represented the norm) and compositional technique with fundamental basses proper can no less not be overlooked.

"The dramatic style of this music does not follow as a matter of course from the libretto. The story of Gideon consists of divine calling, battle, and victory. Joas's fatherly warmth and Sichemi's fear counterpoint Gedeone's confident faith, which also makes him certain of victory. But tenderness, trembling, and grief could not find a place in this oratorio, which comes across like a splendid opera for a gala court occasion. 

 

"Porpora did not achieve the goal that he hoped to achieve with 'Il Gedeone' in Vienna, but he went down in grand style. Paradoxically, the very elements of this dazzling, captivating music that sealed his doom in Vienna in 1737 made the first new performance of this work in our time by the Wiener Akademie in the Hofburgkapelle a rousing success in more ways than one." (Jürg Stenzl, tr. Susan Marie Praeder. From the liner notes.)

 

Performers: Vokalensemble Nova, Wiener Akademi, Martin Haselböck, Kai Wessel, Ulf Bästlein, Linda Perillo, Henning Voss, Jörg Waschinski, Johannes Chum

1.1. Parte I: Introduzione

1.2. Parte I: 'Principe A Te Ritorno Apportatore'

1.3. Parte I: 'Quasi Locuste Che Intorno'

1.4. Parte I: 'Ma Forse Disperati'

1.5. Parte I: 'Quell'aura Lusinghiera'

1.6. Parte I: 'Padre Non Più Vana'

1.7. Parte I: 'Tu Se'il Minore De Toui Fratelli'

1.8. Parte I: 'Signor Del Popol Tutto'

1.9. Parte I: 'Mi Vegga, Oh Dio'

1.10. Parte I: 'In Qual Dubbio D'affetti'

1.11. Parte I: 'Di Nemico Sangue Il Campo'

1.12. Parte I: 'Odo Le Strida, Già Vaggo Il Volto'

1.13. Parte I: 'Oh Dio, Che Troppo Sono Potenti'

1.14. Parte I: 'D'una Dolce Speranza'

1.15. Parte I: 'Cadranno I Lupi Fieri'

1.16. Parte I: 'A Quella Omnipotente Man'

1.17. Parte I: 'Signor, Le Tue Minacce Noi Provammo'

 

2.1. Parte II: Sinfonia

2.2. Parte II: 'Sichemi Perche Mai Lui'

2.3. Parte II: 'L'alte Strida'

2.4. Parte II: 'Ove' Son Giunto, Ohime Infelice'

2.5. Parte II: 'À Pur Vinto, O Sorte Barbara'

2.6. Parte II: 'Alfin Sè Giunto Al Varco Dallo'

2.7. Parte II: 'O Beato Fortunato'

2.8. Parte II: 'Che Fia Di Gedeone?'

2.9. Parte II: 'Lodi Al Dio Delle Vittorie'

2.10. Parte II: 'Non Le Mie'

2.11. Parte II: 'Cogliete, Amici, Il Frutto Di Vostra Fede'

2.12. Parte II: 'M'abbondano Le Lagrime Per Doppia Gioia'

2.13. Parte II: 'Chi Nel Signor Confida Non Perisce In Eterno'

 

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Igor Stravinsky / Charles Wuorinen - The Flood; Abraham and Isaac; Variations; Requiem Canticles; A Reliquary for Igor Stravinsky

"'The Flood' is a musical play for tenor solo, two bass soloists, chorus, speaking parts, and large orchestra. It is a large-scale piece, though extremely concise, as it was written for television. Subtitled a 'dance drama,' Stravinsky began composing 'The Flood' after a request from CBS Television in 1959. The text of the work is derived from a number of sources, including mediaeval pageants and Genesis. It was Stravinsky's intention to represent the divine power of God, manifested in the flood, rather than dramatizing the life of Noah. For Stravinsky, 'Noah is mere history,' while the flood, replete with contemporary allusions, is 'the Eternal Catastrophe...[it] is also The Bomb.' Though the staging is quite complex, and the musical forces quite large, the work is nonetheless extremely concise, taking only a half an hour to perform. The short duration is a reflection of Stravinsky's desire to reach and please a television audience. 

 

"Stravinsky used different music and techniques to represent the different characters in this work. While no one character is represented specifically by one singer, Stravinsky does differentiate between the supernatural and mortal characters. God is represented by two basses, while the mortal characters utilize speaking parts. The work is divided into six parts: 'Prelude,' 'The Building of the Ark,' 'The Catalogue of the Animals,' 'The Comedy,' 'The Flood,' and 'The Covenant of the Rainbow.' 'The Building of the Ark' and 'The Flood' are choreographed sections, with pantomime and dancing. The other sections are divided into subsections, with singing juxtaposed with spoken narration. 

 

"'The Flood' is a serial work, and shows a particularly relaxed approach to serial composition, with the tone-rows effectively interrupted. Eric Walter White has noted that in certain sections notes are repeated, as Stravinsky disrupts the integrity of the row in order to suggest chant. It is also, as White points out, a work that is strongly based on harmony, or vertical organization, rather than melody, or horizontal considerations. This is important to note, as most of Stravinsky¹s oeuvre is remarkable for its contrapuntal texture." (Summary of 'The Flood' by Alexander Carpenter. From AllMusic. See here.)

Performers: London Sinfonietta, New London Chamber Choir, Oliver Knussen

1. The Flood: Prelude. 'Te Deum Laudamus'

2. The Flood: Melodrama. 'In A Worm's Likeness Will He Wend'

3. The Flood: The Building Of The Ark (Choreography)

4. The Flood: The Catalogue Of The Animals. 'The Lord Bade That I Should Bring'

5. The Flood: The Comedy (Noah And His Wife). 'Wife, Come In!'

6. The Flood: The Flood (Choreography)

7. The Flood: The Covenant Of The Rainbow. 'A Covenant, Noah, With Thee I Make'

8. Abraham And Isaac: 'Vay'hi Ahar Hadvarim Ha'eleh V'ha'Elohim'

9. Abraham And Isaac: 'Vayikakh Avraham Et Atze Ha'olah'

10. Abraham And Isaac: 'Vayi Sa Avraham Et Enav Vayat V'hineh'

11. Variations: Aldous Huxley In Memoriam

12. Requiem Canticles: Prelude

13. Requiem Canticles: Exaudi

14. Requiem Canticles: Dies Irae

15. Requiem Canticles: Tuba Mirum

16. Requiem Canticles: Interlude

17. Requiem Canticles: Rex Tremendae

18. Requiem Canticles: Lacrimosa

19. Requiem Canticles: Libera Me

20. Requiem Canticles: Postlude

21. A Reliquary For Igor Stravinsky: Reliquary

22. A Reliquary For Igor Stravinsky: Variation

23. A Reliquary For Igor Stravinsky: Lament

24. A Reliquary For Igor Stravinsky: Variation Continued

25. A Reliquary For Igor Stravinsky: Reliquary

26. A Reliquary For Igor Stravinsky: Coda

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Nicola Porpora - Leçons de Ténèbres

"Porpora's great feeling for the text (also a feature of his operas), becomes more acute, more penetrating in his setting of the deeply moving and desolate words of the Prophet Jeremiah The composer no longer had the constraints of composing recitatives and arias, as in opera. but was free to express himself as he wished. The result is kaleidoscopic, a sort of rich musical rhapsody in which he explores all the expressive possibilities of the solo voice to the full. With consummate skill, he brings out all the pain and distress of the situations described in the biblical verses, dwelling on them for as long as he likes and paying no heed to form. Yet their structure seems simple and plain. It was important not to distract the congregation gathered in penitence in the church by the brilliance of the writing, but to draw its attention to the meaning of the text. The vocal virtuosity that was typical of the Neapolitan school, and notably of Porpora, is not lacking in this music, but it is always subordinate to the sacred nature of the words and their emotional context. 

"It may be useful at this point to take a look at the traditions of the liturgical celebration of Holy Week. The inside of the church, usually decorated with paintings and statues and glittering with light, was suddenly stripped of its riches and plunged into darkness. everything was draped with the purple of mourning, until the moment of the Resurrection. Even the organ was silent in commemoration of the death of Christ, and its front was covered with purple cloth. 

"Thus the Lamentations were performed in a climate of religious and mystical tension, in which the voice, no longer worldly, served to admonish and exhort. The instrumental support had to be in keeping with the general atmosphere. The organ was temporarily excluded, as were bowed instruments, their place being taken by the harpsichord or the chitarrone: sober-sounding instruments but ones that were nevertheless capable of supporting the dramatic singing of the soloist verging on oratory. These two Lamentations were not the only ones Porpora composed, but they are the only ones that are accessible to scholars. Others have been traced to various locations in Italy and other countries, but unfortunately, for various incomprehensible reasons, researchers are denied access to them, so they remain unknown. This deplorable situation shows the difficulties that can hamper and even put an end to research work, which, in this case, could have been of great musical and artistic value.

"The Six Latin duets do not show the same freedom and lively imagination as the Lamentations. These are far-reaching works, rich in chromatic harmonies and with extensive, expansive melodic lines. The seventeenth-century art of counterpoint is combined perfectly with a solidly based harmonic structure, in the form of a dynamic basso continuo supporting the development of the vocal parts." (Jolando Scarpa, tr. Mary Pardof. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Les Paladins, Jérôme Corres

1. Duetto IV: In Hoc Vexillo Crucis
2. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: I. Jod (Adagio)
3. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: II. Mannum Suam (Con Spirito)
4. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: III. Caph (Adagio)
5. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: IV. Omnis Populos (Adagio)
6. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: V. Vide (Adagio)
7. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: VI. Lamed (Adagio)
8. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: VII. O Vos Omnes (Adagio)
9. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: VIII. Quoniam (Allegro)
10. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: IX. Men (Adagio)
11. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: X. De Excesso Misit (Allegro)
12. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: XI. Num (Tempo Giusto)
13. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: XII. Vigilavit
14. Troisième Leçon Pour Le Mercredi Saint: XIII. Jerusalem (Adagio)
15. Duetto I: Crimen Adaequantum Constat
16. Duetto II: Rigate Lagrimis
17. Deuxième Leçon Pour Le Jeudi Saint: I. Lamed (Adagio)
18. Deuxième Leçon Pour Le Jeudi Saint: II. Matribus Suis (Andante)
19. Deuxième Leçon Pour Le Jeudi Saint: III. Men (Largo)
20. Deuxième Leçon Pour Le Jeudi Saint: IV. Cui Comparabote (Allegro)
21. Deuxième Leçon Pour Le Jeudi Saint: V. Magna Est (Adagio)
22. Deuxième Leçon Pour Le Jeudi Saint: VI. Nun (Andante)
23. Deuxième Leçon Pour Le Jeudi Saint: VII. Prophetae (Con Spirito)
24. Deuxième Leçon Pour Le Jeudi Saint: VIII. Samech (Adagio)
25. Deuxième Leçon Pour Le Jeudi Saint: IX. Plauserunt Super Te (Allegro)
26. Deuxième Leçon Pour Le Jeudi Saint: X. Heccine En Urbs (Moderato)
27. Deuxième Leçon Pour Le Jeudi Saint: XI. Jerusalem (Adagio)
28. Duetto III: Mortis Causa Tu Fuisti, O Mortalis
29. Duetto VI: Ab Imo Pectore

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Johann Sebastian Bach - St. John Passion

"The arias of the St John Passion draw on operatic convention in order to convey the emotions being felt by individuals  at various points in the story. Often the instrumental accompaniment and thematic material have symbolic or pictorial significance. Sometimes the motifs are overtly pictorial, as in "Eilt, ihr angefochtnen Seelen" (CD 2, track 28), where the rushing upward scales illustrate the text's exhortation that we "hasten ... to Golgotha" ("elk nach Golgatha"). In other arias, by contrast, it is hard to describe the effect of Bach's music in words. In "Erwage, wie sein blutgefarbter Rucken" (CD 2, track 12), some listeners might interpret the dactylic (long—short—short) motifs as suggesting the rhythms of scourging, or as merely illustrating the text's exhortation that we contemplate Jesus's bloodstained back.

"[...] At the moment of Jesus's crucifixion comes one of the most poignant arias in the Passion. "Es ist vollbracht!" (CD 2, track 38) sets one of Jesus's Seven Last Words on the Cross:It is finished!" Bach's aria isolates the two contrasting meanings inherent in this utterance. The aria starts molt'adagio with a lamenting obbligato played by a viola da gamba in the key of B minor; this suggests the despair and resignation in the words "It is finished!" By contrast, the middle section of the aria interprets these words triumphantly, as indicating that Christ's work on earth is gloriously completed. Here the key turns to D major, and the voice and strings imitate the fanfares of trumpets on the words"Der Held aus Juda siegt mit Macht" ("The hero of Judah is victorious in power"). With this aria, Bach reflects a central feature of John's Gospel, which portrays Christ as glorious and victorious, even in death." (Stephen Rose. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Academy Of Ancient Music, Choir Of The AAM, Richard Egarr

1.1. Teil I: 'Herr, Unser Herrscher'
1.2. Teil I: 'Jesus Ging Mit Seinen Jüngern'
1.3. Teil I: 'Jesum Von Nazareth!'
1.4. Teil I: 'Jesus Spricht Zu Ihnen'
1.5. Teil I: 'Jesum Von Nazareth!'
1.6. Teil I: 'Jesus Antwortete'
1.7. Teil I: 'O Große Lieb'
1.8. Teil I: 'Auf Daß, Das Wort Erfüllet Würde'
1.9. Teil I: 'Dein Will Gescheh, Herr Gott, Zugleich'
1.10. Teil I: 'Die Schar Aber Und Der Oberhauptmann'
1.11. Teil I: 'Von Den Stricken Meiner Sünden'
1.12. Teil I: 'Simon Petrus Aber Folgete Jesu Nach'
1.13. Teil I: 'Ich Folge Dir Gleichfalls'
1.14. Teil I: 'Derselbige Jünger'
1.15. Teil I: 'Wer Hat Dich So Geschlagen'
1.16. Teil I: 'Und Hannas Sandte Ihn Gebunden'
1.17. Teil I: 'Bist Du Nicht Seiner Jünger Einer?'
1.18. Teil I: 'Er Leugnete Aber Und Sprach'
1.19. Teil I: 'Ach, Mein Sinn'
1.20. Teil I: 'Petrus, Der Nicht Denkt Zurück'

2.1. Teil II: 'Christus, Der Uns Selig Macht'
2.2. Teil II: 'Da Führeten Sie Jesum'
2.3. Teil II: 'Wäre Dieser Nicht Ein Übeltäter'
2.4. Teil II: 'Da Sprach Pilatus Zu Ihnen'
2.5. Teil II: 'Wir Dürfen Niemand Töten'
2.6. Teil II: 'Auf Daß Erfüllet Würde Das Wort'
2.7. Teil II: 'Ach Großer König'
2.8. Teil II: 'Da Sprach Pilatus Zu Ihm'
2.9. Teil II: 'Nicht Diesen, Sondern Barrabam!'
2.10. Teil II: 'Barrabas Aber War Ein Mörder'
2.11. Teil II: 'Betrachte, Meine Seel'
2.12. Teil II: 'Erwäge, Wie Sein Blutgefärbter Rücken'
2.13. Teil II: 'Und Die Kriegsknechte Flochten Eine Krone'
2.14. Teil II: 'Sei Gegrüßet, Lieber Jüdenkönig!'
2.15. Teil II: 'Und Gaben Ihm Backenstreiche'
2.16. Teil II: 'Kreuzige, Kreuzige!'
2.17. Teil II: 'Pilatus Sprach Zu Ihnen'
2.18. Teil II: 'Wir Haben Ein Gesetz'
2.19. Teil II: 'Da Pilatus Das Wort Hörete'
2.20. Teil II: 'Durch Dein Gefängnis, Gottes Sohn'
2.21. Teil II: 'Die Jüden Aber Schrieen Und Sprachen'
2.22. Teil II: 'Lässest Du Diesen Los'
2.23. Teil II: 'Da Pilatus Das Wort Hörete'
2.24. Teil II: 'Weg, Weg Mit Dem, Kreuzige Ihn!'
2.25. Teil II: 'Spricht Pilatus Zu Ihnen'
2.26. Teil II: 'Wir Haben Keinen König'
2.27. Teil II: 'Da Überantwortete Er Ihn'
2.28. Teil II: 'Eilt, Ihr Angefochtnen Seelen'
2.29. Teil II: 'Allda Kreuzigten Sie Ihn'
2.30. Teil II: 'Schreibe Nicht “Der Jüden König”'
2.31.  Teil II: 'Pilatus Antwortet'
2.32. Teil II: 'In Meines Herzens Grunde'
2.33. Teil II: 'Die Kriegsknechte Aber'
2.34. Teil II: 'Lasset Uns Den Nicht Zerteilen'
2.35. Teil II: 'Auf Daß Erfüllet Würde Die Schrift'
2.36. Teil II: 'Er Nahm Alles Wohl In Acht'
2.37. Teil II: 'Und Von Stund An Nahm Sie Der Jünger'
2.38. Teil II: 'Es Ist Vollbracht!'
2.39. Teil II: 'Und Neiget Das Haupt'
2.40. Teil II: 'Mein Teurer Heiland, Laß Dich Fragen'
2.41. Teil II: 'Und Der Vorhang Im Tempel Zerriß'
2.42. Teil II: 'Mein Herz, Indem Die Ganze Welt'
2.43. Teil II: 'Zerfließe, Mein Herze'
2.44. Teil II: 'Die Jüden Aber, Dieweil Es Der Rüsttag War'
2.45. Teil II: 'O Hilf, Christe, Gottes Sohn'
2.46. Teil II: 'Darnach Bat Pilatum'
2.47. Teil II: 'Ruht Wohl, Ihr Heiligen Gebeine'
2.48. Teil II: 'Ach Herr, Laß Dein Lieb Engelein'

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