Giovanni Legrenzi - Dies Irae; Sonate a Quattro Viole; Motetti

"Born in Clusone in 1626, Giovanni Legrenzi had an eventful career that was marked by several positions in particular. Not only was he organist at Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo and maestro di capella in Ferrara, but he was also a candidate for various other important positions, including those of maestro di capella for San Petronio in Bologna and for the Cathedral in Milan. He had even been offered one of the four 'sous-maître' positions at Louis XIV's Chapelle Royale after the departure of Thomas Gobert in 1668. We also know that he had hoped to win a place at the Viennese Court, as can be seen from a letter dated 1665 in which Legrenzi asked the Duke of Mantua to intercede on his behalf with the Emperor.

"Even though he did not gain the post he desired, it is certain that Legrenzi had many fruitful contacts with the Viennese Courts. Several of his oratorios were written for the 'Capella dell'Imperatrice' or the 'Capella dell'Imperatore' from 1665 onwards, as well as in 1676, 1692 and 1707. Later, undoubtedly with the same end in view of gaining a place in Vienna, he dedicate his volume of instrumental pieces entitled 'La Cetra' to the Emperor. Published in 1673, it is composed of violin sonatas. It seems that Legrenzi had nevertheless taken care to include two compositions in this publication that would certainly appear to its dedicatee as a highly respectful token of the Emperor's acquaintance with musical tastes in Austria at the end of the 17th century, these being two 'Sonate a quatro viole da gamba'. The viola da gamba and more particularly the 'concerto de viole' was still very much appreciated in German-speaking countries and especially in the circle around Leopold I, a musician as well as Emperor. The dedication, however, failed yet again to have its desired effect. We should add that Legrenzi had also failed to win the post of maestro di capella for St. Mark's in Venice several years earlier, losing the post by only one vote. Legrenzi would have to wait for Antonio Sartorio's departure in 1681 before finally gaining this pinnacle of his career.

"Legrenzi was an extremely productive composer: his works include twenty operas that were performed in Ferrara and in Venice in particular between 1668 and 1684, the ten oratorios already mentioned that were performed in Vienna, printed collections of instrumental music both sacred and secular that make up 18 opus numbers, as well as a great quantity of various works that remained in manuscript form.

"Such is the case with the 'Dies Iræ' recorded here, the most important work of the recording. The manuscript was curiously enough preserved in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris (Vm 1298) with the title 'Prosa pro mortuis, 8 voc. cum 3 viol. et organo del Sgre Maestro Legrenzi'. How did this manuscript come to find its way to Paris? Could is be linked to the offer made to him to become a member of the Chapelle Royale? Whatever the truth may be, it seems that his music had indeed been heard in France, in particular at the private concerts organised by Nicolas Mathieu, parish priest of the church of Saint André-des-Arts; many Italian names are to be found in the list of composers whose works were performed at these concerts, including Rossi, Cavalli, Cazzati, Carissimi, Stradella and Legrenzi. What is more, we know that the Abbé Mathieu's library contained many volumes of Italian music.

"This 'Dies Iræ' may well be associated in one way or another with the discover of Italian music that was being made by those who madeup the Abbé's inner circle. It is highly likely that it is only one part of a much larger composition, i.e. a full Requiem Mass. The composition call for two vocal quartets accompanied by a viol quartet. Even though the manuscript's use of the word 'viol.' may give rise to come confusion as to whether viols or violins were intended, the low tessituras used and the polyphonic style employed unequivocally display the characteristic style of the ensemble of viols. As far as the voices are concerned, it is clear that we are dealing with an ensemble of eight solo voices rather than block choral writing; the soloists take over all the verses either as solo voices, duos, trios, quartets or sextets and, naturally enough, the 'tuti'.

"The ensemble of viols adds its commentary to a good number of the verses, not only to the sections in eight parts but also to certain of the others, providing a polyphonic accompaniment to several solos. It plays a solo role only in the few bars of the Symphonia at the beginning of the sumptuous 6-part 'Ingemisco'.

"This 'Prosa pro-mortuis' nevertheless raises other questions, one of these being the date of its composition and the other being the identification of the chapelle for which it was written. It is not at all easy to provide an answer to the first of these questions, but it is possible to supply a possible solution for the second. Certain elements of the work make one think that it could have been composed for Vienna; on the other hand the concerto de viole that Legrenzi had used in the two 'Sonatas' from 'La Cetra' that had been dedicated to the Emperor Leopold I, and on the other the work's astonishing similarity to the 'Requiem' by Johann Kaspar Kerll that had been published in 1689. Kerll was the organist to the Viennese Court and had been a pupil of Carissimi in Rome. His Requiem also makes use of a vocal ensemble accompanied by a quartet of viols. Its 'Dies Iræ' is intricately structured also; each verse is presented in a different way and uses various combinations of singers and viols. Given that the date of Legrenzi's work remains unknown, it is there not possible to trace an exact link between the two compositions; we can only discuss their similar styles.

"Other works by Legrenzi recorded here include not only the two 'Sonate a quatro viole da gamba' from 'La Cetra' but also two motets for solo voice. These motets come from Legrenzi's op. 10 entitled 'Acclamationi divote', a volume of motets for solo voice and continuo that was published in Bologna in 1670. The source material for these motets is the copy that was preserved in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. The motet 'Angelorum ad convivium' is here presented in its original form for solo voice and continuo, whilst the poignant motet 'Suspiro Domine' for bass is accompanied here by the concerto di viole. This accompaniment was written specifically for this recording by Philippe Pierlot in the polyphonic style that was often to be met with during the 17th century. We should add that various other scores often make use of this type of accompaniment, but that such sources are often silent as far as to precisely which of the instrumental parts should be either realised or reconstituted. (Jérôme Lejeune, tr. Peter Lockwood. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Ricercar Consort, Philippe Pierlot

1. Sonata Sesta A Quatro Viole Da Gamba

2. Prosa Pro Mortuis: Dies Irae

3. Prosa Pro Mortuis: Quantus Tremor

4. Prosa Pro Mortuis: Tuba Mirum

5. Prosa Pro Mortuis: Mors Stupebit

6. Prosa Pro Mortuis: Liber Scriptus

7. Prosa Pro Mortuis: Judex Ergo

8. Prosa Pro Mortuis: Quid Sum Miser

9. Prosa Pro Mortuis: Rex Tremendae

10. Prosa Pro Mortuis: Recordare

11. Prosa Pro Mortuis: Quaerens Me

12. Prosa Pro Mortuis: Juste Judex

13. Prosa Pro Mortuis: Ingemisco

14. Prosa Pro Mortuis: Qui Mariam

15. Prosa Pro Mortuis: Preces Meae

16. Prosa Pro Mortuis: Inter Oves

17. Prosa Pro Mortuis: Confutatis

18. Prosa Pro Mortuis: Oro Supplex

19. Prosa Pro Mortuis: Lacrimosa

20. Prosa Pro Mortuis: Pie Jesu

21. Ricercar Del Secundo Tono

22. Angelorum Ad Convivia

23. Sonata Quinta A Quatro Viole Da Gamba

24. Suspiro Domine

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Antonio Lotti - Vesper Psalms

"During the first third of the eighteenth century Antonio Lotti (1667-1740) doubtless numbered among the most important Italian composers, but today general knowledge of his music hardly corresponds to its true significance. Lotti was born to a musician in Venice on 5 January 1667 and began receiving instruction from Lodovico Fuga (1643-1722) and Giovanni Legrenzi (1626-90) in 1682. Both Fuga and Legrenzi were employed at the Basilica of St. Mark (San Marco), Venice's principal church, and Lotti's career also continued to be closely connected with this church: on 30 May 1689 he was initially employed there as an alto chorister, but soon he was also assisting on the organ, and already on 30 May 1692 he was appointed second organist. On 17 August 1704 he assumed the post of first organist and continued to serve in this capacity for more than thirty years. Together with his duties at San Marco, Lotti wrote sacred music for other Venetian institutions. In addition, beginning in 1693 he composed many operas for the various theaters in Venice; these works became extraordinarily popular and brought him an appointment as music director at the Saxon-Polish court in Dresden for two years. The high point of his activity at the Saxon residence (and at the same time the end of his career as an opera composer) was marked by the premiere of 'Toefane' on 13 September 1719 on the occasion of the wedding of the Saxon Prince Elector Friedrich August and the Archduchess Maria Josepha, a daughter of Emperor Joseph I. On his return to Venice Lotti assumed his customary post and then on 2 April 1736, at the age of almost seventy, was selected as music director at San Marco, after having been unsuccesful in his first bid four years prior to this date. He died in Venice on 5 January 1740.

"Lotti's extraordinary fame as a composer of sacred music originated already during the eighteenth century. In 1770 the English music scholar Charles Burney heard 'a mass sung in four parts, without other instrument than the organ', by him at San Marco. From these years on he was regarded as an outstanding master of the 'a cappella' style. Exponents of reform movements in sacred music during the nineteenth century and early twentieth century celebrated him as 'one of the greatest sacred composers of all time', as a composer who together with Fux and Caldara 'elevated polyphony to new height in the musical focal points of Southern Europe, in Vienna and Venice, by drawing on the pure 'a cappella' style of the sixteenth century' (Vinzenz Goller, 1913). On the basis of such an elevation, Lotti's works in the traditional 'stile antico' gained a certain degree of dissemination, while his large-scale masses, mass numbers and psalms composed in the 'stile concertato' have met with the interest of musicians and musicologists only in very recent years. For example, the so-called 'Missa Sapientiae' met with some notice, and Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, as well as the Dresden church composer Jan Dismas Zelenka had copies of it. Other works of no less importance, however, continue to await their rediscovery today. The trail of this music leads to Dresden, among other places, where Lotti, together with a few outstanding singers, arrived in the autumn of 1717. These Italians were initially engaged for the opera but also assumed responsibility for the performance of sacred music on special occasions. Of their first performance on the Feast of St. Cecilia, the court church chronicler reported in absolutely rapturous terms (in an original Latin text), 'In what here is still an entirely unaccustomed manner the Ialian musicians who have been sent by His Serene Highness the Prince Elector from Venice to Dresden enlivened our church, when in honor of St. Cecilia, within the octave after her feast day, they presented a sung high mass that lasted almost three hours with such a marvelous artistic skill, both with respect to the vocal parts as well as the instruments, as one had never yet heard before in Dresden.'

"The Prince Elector of Saxony Friedrich August I, better known as August the Strong, had converted to the Catholic faith in 1697 in order to be able to present himself as a candidate for election as King of Poland. The sacred music in the Taschenberg opera house redesigned as a Catholic court church in 1708 had occupied a rather modest level until the arrival of the Italians and gained public attention only after their arrival. It is no longer possible to determine which compositions were performed in this church during the two years that Lotti spent there. As music director he may have written his own works for the use of this church or had works copied that had been composed earlier. The scores of the psalms recorded here are extant in the holdings of the Library of the German Land of Saxony - State and University Library in Dresden and are from the court church archive. These works do not belong to the tradition of Catholic church music proper in Dresden (since this tradition formed only later on) but instead very much adhere to proven Venetian models. Of them, the 'Credidi' and 'Laudate Dominum' also later found their place in the repertoire of the court church; they thus represent the Venetian component within the Dresden tradition, a component that would make its influence felt for some two generations.

"Large-scale psalm compositions played a central role in Venetian sacred music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries both in the Basilica of St. Mark as well in the famous conservatories for girls. Such compositions found their place in the vesper service, during which the opening versicle 'Domine ad adjuvandum me festina', the hymn of the particular feast, and the 'Magnificat' were also usually performed with figural music. In such compositions Lotti and his contemporaries to a great extent followed standardized models in the overall design of their works, and these models for the most part remained unchanged over several generations. The task of the individual consisted not in the invention of completely new possibilities but in the greatest possible original realization of the models set by the tradition. This applies in special measure to the 'Dixit Dominus', which was set very often as the opening psalm of the vespers on all the Sundays and feast days of the liturgical year and in which above all the assignment of the individual verses to choral and solo numbers was by and large set. Only a few of the individual versions realized by Lotti in his composing can be named here: at the beginning the alternation between 'Dixit Dominus Domino meo' (in each case two or three soloists) and 'Sede a dextris meis' (five-part chorus) on various degrees of the main key produces a large-scale entry portal taken up at the end again in 'Sicut erat in principio' ('As it was in the beginning'). Likewise, the ensuing six-part vocal number on 'Donec ponam inimicos tuos' (three altos and three basses), embedded in a simple string accompaniment, hardly finds parallels in the compositions of those times. The solo instruments employed in the individual movements of this composition also contribute not insignificantly to its musical diversity, with the oboe in 'Tecum principium' and the violin in 'De torrente in via bibet' offering two examples. In contrast, the only trumpet is employed only together with the tutti; in this function it was normally reserved for the opening and concluding psalms of a vesper service in Venice. A catalogue of musical compositions of the Catholic court church from 1765 lists not only the complete version but also an abbreviated version, but neither the score nor the part of this latter version are extant. Lotti's original composition was probably too extensive for Dresden circumstances and therefore reworked in keeping with them.

"'Laudate pueri' was almost used as frequently as 'Dixit Dominus' during the course of the church year. In this psalm too settings on the large scale and of many parts were the rule in Venice. In the present composition Lotti limited his vocal and instrumental resources to the use of three solo voices together with an instrumentarium consisting of strings and oboes. Until 'Qui habitare facit' the division of individual verses into contrasting sections so very frequent in the 'Dixit Dominus' is lacking. The center of the composition is occupied by the soprano solo 'Quis sicut Dominus' on the basis of a basso ostinato. Throughout the eighteenth century it of course was possible to use the traditional 'stile antico' not only in the setting of the 'Ordinarium Missae' but also in the setting of psalms. This style is employed rigorously in 'Credidi', a psalm ocurring not in the Sunday vespers but also in the formularies of some feasts of saints as well as on All Saints' Day and Corpus Christi. As a rule each half verse but often also a shorter part is endowed with a musical 'soggetto', and this subject is then led through several voices or through all four of them. Despite the relatively uniform outer course of the setting, here too the composer has the opportunity to emphasize individual words in the texts. At the beginning and end the eighth psalm tone is heard in the soprano part - and in addition, as the words of the text 'O Domine quia ego servus tuus' in the bass - and thus grounds the anchoring of the piece in the traditional practice on a broader level. On the other hand, the use of the 'stile antico' does not automatically mean doing without instruments. In the music archive of the Dresden court church there is an arrangement of Lotti's 'Credidi' by Giovanni Alberto Ristori (1692-1753), who was employed at the Dresden court from the end of 1715, and in this arrangement the strings, oboes and bassoon play together with the vocal parts directly or at the interval of an octave. This performance material offers solid evidence of the further use of the work in Dresden and served as the performance basis in the recording presented here.

"'Laudate Dominum' is the concluding psalm of the vespers of such important feasts as the Epiphany, Ascension, Pentecost and Trinity Sunday. With its length of only two verses together with the doxology, the text hardly offers the composer all that much space for development. As in the opening psalm 'Dixit Dominus', in his 'Laudate Dominum' Lotti included a single trumpet among the instruments. In the Dresden version, which also goes back to Giovanni Alberto Ristori, the trumpet is eliminated and two oboes are added in its stead, among other changes. The recording presented here, however, is based on Lotti's original version.

"Together with many other works, Antonio Lotti's vesper psalms first of all stand for the outstanding role played by Venice in European sacred music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In contrast to Antonio Vivaldi's works, which were composed at the same time or a little while later but today are much better known, Lotti's personal 'signature' is much more strongly marked by adaption to the resources of the human voice. There is one simple reason for this: Lotti began his career as a singer; Vivaldi as a violinist. With his activity as a singer and organist, Lotti from the very beginning had closer ties to the traditional compositional method. Within Venetian church music Lotti's works form the birdge between the traditional and the modern in unique fashion." (Gerhard Poppe, tr. Susan Marie Praeder. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Batzdorfer Hofkapelle, Sächsisches Vocalensemble, Matthias Jung

1. Dixit Dominus (Psalm 109): Dixit Dominus

2. Dixit Dominus (Psalm 109): Donec Ponam

3. Dixit Dominus (Psalm 109): Virgam Virtutis

4. Dixit Dominus (Psalm 109): Tecum Principium

5. Dixit Dominus (Psalm 109): Juravit Dominus

6. Dixit Dominus (Psalm 109): Dominus A Dextris Tuis

7. Dixit Dominus (Psalm 109): Judicabit In Nationibus

8. Dixit Dominus (Psalm 109): Implebit Ruinas

9. Dixit Dominus (Psalm 109): De Torrente In Via Bibet

10. Dixit Dominus (Psalm 109): Gloria Patri

11. Dixit Dominus (Psalm 109): Sicut Erat In Principio

12. Dixit Dominus (Psalm 109): Et In Saeculorum

13. Laudate Pueri (Psalm 112): Laudate Pueri

14. Laudate Pueri (Psalm 112): Sit Nomen Domini

15. Laudate Pueri (Psalm 112): A Solis Ortu Usque Ad Occasum

16. Laudate Pueri (Psalm 112): Excelsus Super Omnes

17. Laudate Pueri (Psalm 112): Quis Sicut Dominus

18. Laudate Pueri (Psalm 112): Suscitans A Terra

19. Laudate Pueri (Psalm 112): Ut Collocet Eum

20. Laudate Pueri (Psalm 112): Qui Habitare Facit

21. Laudate Pueri (Psalm 112): Gloria Patri

22. Laudate Pueri (Psalm 112): Sicut Erat In Principio

23. Credidi (Psalm 115)

24. Laudate Dominum (Psalm 116)

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Antonio Lotti - Requiem; Credo; Miserere

"The music chronicles of the 18th century constantly draw our attention to a name held in great admiration and respect: Antonio Lotti.

"There are still numerous manuscript copies of his compositions to be found in libraries all over Europe, as testimony to the immense range and effect of his work. In strange contrast to the above we must add that hardly any of these wonderful compositions are available in modern editions. Lotti's sphere of activity was limited almost entirely to the Cathedral of San Marco in Venice. He probably grew up in Hanover (where his father Matteo Lotti was Hofkapellmeister); in Venice, we first find him studying with Giovanni Legrenzi, then as an extra alto in the choir, later as an organist and finally as 'maestro di cappella'. He had only one extended absence from his adopted home: in 1717, he accepted an invitation to the Court at Dresden from the Saxon Elector Friedrich August II and over the following two years he wrote several operas and much new sacred music there. In a report of November 22, 1717, we read:

"'In a manner quite unfamiliar here the Italian composers sent by His Excellency the Elector from Venice to Dresden have exalted our church by preparing in honour of Sain Cecilia within the octave of her feast day a sung High Mass lasting nearly three hours and executed with such admirable artistry both in respect of the singing voices and of the instruments as has never before been heard in Dresden.'

"Unfortunately it can no longer be determined with certainty which works Lotti brought with him to Dresden, which he composed there and which he sent to Dresden after his return to San Marco. Clearly the composer and the Elector remained in contact for some years. Many of these compositions are still in the archives of the Sächsische Landesbibliotek in Dresden. The operatic works 'Alessandro Severo', 'Ascanio', 'Teofane' and 'Giove in Argo' (with which the new Court theatre in the Zwinger was opened on September 3, 1719) are to be found in the library along with a string of important sacred works. Most of them are available in performing parts as well as in full score; some of them were prepared in the 1730s by the Dresden threatre and court composer Giovanni Alberto Ristori. Johann Sebastian Bach copied Lotti's 'Missa sapientiae' when he was in Dresden and joins the company of George Frideric Handel, Jan Dismas Zelenka and Johann Georg Pisendel among those German composers whose work was influenced by the encounter with Lotti and his music.

"The works on this recording are characteristic of Lotti's masterly treatment of diverse forms and compositional techniques. The 'Requiem in F major' is remarkable for its sheer abundance of invention. Artfully extended chordal harmony of laconic brevity; all the varieties of polyphony are tried up to eight-part harmony, and juxtaposed in thrilling contrast. Lotti by no means eschews the operatic gesture (see his six-part 'Rex tremendae majestatis') and touches the heart with his cantabile 'dolcezza' and tenderness in the arias and duets (with particular emphasis in the 'Recordare, Jesu pie' and 'Lacrimosa'). The sonic range of the orchestra is augmented with many new tone colours by imaginative and sometimes idiosyncratic use of the various instruments (e.g. the combination with muted trumpet).

"The 'Miserere in D minor' - performed annually in the cathedral of San Marco in Venice till the end of the 18th century during Lauds on the Thursday morning of Holy Week - shows Lotti's feeling for harmonic modulations of great sweetness and suppleness. It is impressive and instructive to see how the expansive Miserere text is here structured within a larg-scale plan of harmonic architecture and assembled into large units - and some may have thought this first happened with Bruckner!

"With its virtuoso-concertante style, the 'Credo in F major' is not dissimilar to Vivaldi's church music of the same period, even if one cannot entirely escape the impression of the conventional. In the Crucifixus, the heart of this five-section work, Lotti piles up the dissonances that we can only concur with a contemporary account which related that Antonio Lotti's sacred works are of such 'amazing euphony that one cannot say if this should conduce more to lamentation or to holy delight.'" (Thomas Hengelbrock, tr. Janet & Michael Berridge. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble, Balthasar-Neumann-Chor, Thomas Hengelbrock

1. Requiem In F Major: Requiem Aeternam

2. Requiem In F Major: Kyrie Eleison

3. Requiem In F Major: Dies Irae

4. Requiem In F Major: Quantus Tremor

5. Requiem In F Major: Tuba Mirum

6. Requiem In F Major: Mors Stupebit

7. Requiem In F Major: Liber Scriptus

8. Requiem In F Major: Judex Ergo

9. Requiem In F Major: Quid Sum Miser

10. Requiem In F Major: Rex Tremendae

11. Requiem In F Major: Recondare, Jesu Pie

12. Requiem In F Major: Quaerens Me

13. Requiem In F Major: Juste Judex

14. Requiem In F Major: Ingemisco

15. Requiem In F Major: Qui Mariam

16. Requiem In F Major: Preces Meae

17. Requiem In F Major: Inter Oves

18. Requiem In F Major: Confutatis Maledictis

19. Requiem In F Major: Oro Supplex

20. Requiem In F Major: Lacrimosa

21. Requiem In F Major: Judicandus

22. Requiem In F Major: Domine Jesu Christe

23. Requiem In F Major: Hostias Et Preces

24. Requiem In F Major: Quam Olim

25. Miserere Mei Deus

26. Credo: Credo In Unum Deum

27. Credo: Crucifixus

28. Credo: Et Resurrexit. Presto

29. Credo: Sanctus. Allegro

30. Credo: Et Vitam

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Antonio Lotti; Jan Dismas Zelenka; Johann Sebastian Bach

"The dictates of fashion were a powerful factor in music, too, over the centuries, exercising a substantial influence on the complex interaction between composers, their patrons and their public. Music went out of date in the space of a few decades - sometimes in the space of a few years. And this meant that many works that delighted the ear when they were first heard were soon forgotten again. Changing fashions consigned them to the recesses of musical archives, with only a handful of scholars and devoted librarians still aware of their existence.

"One exception to this rule was sacred music. Since the Reformation at the latest, with the processes of denominational rethinking that it triggered, the Church tended increasingly to preserve what it deemed to be worthwhile, and to keep these values present in people's minds. Thus the strict counterpoint with its deliberate outward plainness that was developed in the 17th century from the legacy of Palestrina and other Late Renaissance masters, and was elevated to the ideal of a time-honoured stile antico, remained the central point of reference for many composers of religious music in the 18th century. These composers studied and made use of the 'old style' in some cases in its pure form, in others by adapting it sensitively to suit the taste of their own time.

"Jan Dismas Zelenka, Johann Sebastian Bach and Antonio Lotti - all three composers had a good command of the traditional church style and its adaption for which they were admired by contemporaries. And although they never actually met, their biographies are connected through Zelenka.

"Lotti was born in 1667 in Venice and spent most of his life in his native city, where - like so many successful composers of his time - he worked both as a church musician (he was organist at St. Mark's) and as an opera composer. In 1717 he was given leave from his duties in Venice to spend two years at the Dresden court, where he enjoyed huge success. He returned to La Serenissima in 1719, remaining there until his death in 1740. He wrote five operas for Dresden, and also worked in the Hofkirche church together with the Italian musicians who had accompanied him to the city known as 'Florence on the Elbe'. A substantial number of sacred works by Lotti bear witness to this: some of them he wrote especially for Dresden, others he brought with him from Italy.

"When Lotti took up his position, Zelenka had already been playing the double bass in the Dresden court orchestra for a few years. But while Lotti was in Dresden, Zelenka spent most of his time in Vienna in the retinue of Friedrich August II, the heir to the Saxon throne. And in the city on the Danube, he took the opportunity to study with the kapellmeister at the Imperial court, Johann Joseph Fux, who was one of the most respected teachers of classical counterpoint. Zelenka also accumulated a collection of manuscript scores of the works of old masters while in Vienna, which he later made use of for his own compositions.

"After his return to Dresden, Zelenka was mainly responsible for the Catholic church music at court. In addition to composing works of his own - masses, music for vespers, litanies and compositions for Easter week -, his duties also included obtaining and arranging other composers' works. Among the music that Zelenka arranged for performance in the Dresden church there are also compositions by the erstwhile court kapellmeisters Antonio Lotti, including a mass in G minor/G major that consists only of a Kyrie and a Gloria; to distinguish this from other masses, Zelenka gave this one the name 'Missa Sapientiae'. [...]

"According to Bach's song Carl Philipp Emanuel, Zelenka was one of the composers who Johann Sebastian Bach knew personally and held in high regard. No documents have come to light so far providing any indication of how the two composers communicated, but Bach obviously had access to Zelenka's collection of scores, as there was a copy of the latter's arrangement of Lotti's 'Missa Sapientiae' in his own music library.

"For Easter week 1738, Zelenka made a setting of the penitential psalm 'Miserere mei, Deus' as a sequence of strongly contrasting movements. The complete text of the psalm itself appears in the second of the five movements; it is followed by the doxology 'Gloria Patri', which is spread over two movements. The two outer movements are choruses featuring only the agitated rhythms, first the orchestral parts penetrate one another with much dissonance, then the choir comes in and unfolds a lament of colossal intensity. Unlike many of his fellow composers, such as Lotti or Leonardo Leo, who a vividly discriptive text inspired to a rich variety of emotions and intonation, Zelenka opted for an approach that is nothing short of archaic. From his collection of music of the old masters - copies of scores that he had accumulated in Vienna - Zelenka picked out a recercar by Girolamo Frescobaldi and took the latter's strictly contrapuntal, four-part setting as the basis for his own vocal writing, which adheres pretty closely to the 100-year-old model. Under these circumstances, it is impossible for the music to reflect specific expressive nuances in the text - and indeed, this was clearly not Zelenka's intention. The dignity of the Old Testament text is emphasised by the venerable character of Frescobaldi's austere style. However, the core message of the psalm, a plaintive emotional outcry, does not simply recur like a motto in the contrapuntal writing, but also forms the unusually radical framework of the piece, and this not only regards the almost shocking extremes in the dynamics. Even in the context of Zelenka's many highly unconvential compositions, 'Miserere mei, Deus' is in a class of its own.

"Johann Sebastian Bach likewise had frequent recourse to both his own works and those of other composers, not least because, as cantor of St. Thomas's, Leipzig, he had an enormous workload to cope with. He originally wrote the cantata 'Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen', BWV 12, in Weimar back in 1714, and he performed it again ten years later in Leipzig. On this occasion, he changed the original score, transposing it up by a tone. What's more, Bach later used the main part of the opening chorus, a chaconne that develops over a chromatically-led lament in the bass line, in his B minor Mass, where it appears, transposed, structurally enlarged and fitted with a new text, as the 'Crucifixus' in the Credo.

"The combination of chromatic writing and motet style is something that Bach's cantata shares with several settings of the 'Crucifixus' by Lotti, which with their radicalisation of classic counterpoint are among his most impressive works. But in some of his complete mass movements, too, Lotti also achieves moments of compelling expressiveness with similar means. Large parts of the 'Missa a tre cori', which he wrote in and for Venice, but also performed in Dresden, are laid out so that a constant alternation of intensely expressive, dense counterpoint with more loosely-woven passages ensures variety. As for the text itself, which is musically reinterpreted time after time as no other text had been since the Middle Ages: Lotti elicits entirely new facets from it. Thus the dance-like blithe spirits of the 'Gloria in excelsis Deo' is followed by an abrupt change of mood for the '...et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis', a thought-provoking motet with obbligato orchestra. Contrasts like this occur throughout the work, but Lotti's mastery of his art - recognised by both Zelenka and Bach - is evident not least in the fact that he always manages the balancing act between different styles and expressive worlds." (Thomas Seedorf, tr. Clive Williams. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble. Balthasar-Neumann-Chor, Thomas Hengelbrock

1. Jan Dismas Zelenka - Miserere In C Minor, ZWV 57: Miserere I

2. Jan Dismas Zelenka - Miserere In C Minor, ZWV 57: Miserere II

3. Jan Dismas Zelenka - Miserere In C Minor, ZWV 57: Gloria Patri I

4. Jan Dismas Zelenka - Miserere In C Minor, ZWV 57: Gloria Patri II

5. Jan Dismas Zelenka - Miserere In C Minor, ZWV 57: Sicut Erat

6. Jan Dismas Zelenka - Miserere In C Minor, ZWV 57: Miserere III

7. Johann Sebastian Bach - Cantata 'Weinen, Klagen, Zittern, Zagen', BWV 12: Sinfonia

8. Johann Sebastian Bach - Cantata 'Weinen, Klagen, Zittern, Zagen', BWV 12: 'Weinen, Klagen, Zittern, Zagen'

9. Johann Sebastian Bach - Cantata 'Weinen, Klagen, Zittern, Zagen', BWV 12: 'Wir Müssen Durch Viel Trübsal'

10. Johann Sebastian Bach - Cantata 'Weinen, Klagen, Zittern, Zagen', BWV 12: 'Kreuz Und Kronen Sind Verbunden'

11. Johann Sebastian Bach - Cantata 'Weinen, Klagen, Zittern, Zagen', BWV 12: 'Ich Folge Christum Nach'

12. Johann Sebastian Bach - Cantata 'Weinen, Klagen, Zittern, Zagen', BWV 12: 'Sei Getrost'

13. Johann Sebastian Bach - Cantata 'Weinen, Klagen, Zittern, Zagen', BWV 12: 'Was Gott Tut, Das Ist Wohlgetan'

14. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Kyrie Eleison

15. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Christe Eleison

16. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Kyrie Eleison

17. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Gloria In Excelsis

18. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Et In Terra Pax

19. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Laudamus Te

20. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Gratias Agimus Tibi

21. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Domine Deus

22. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Domine Filii

23. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Domine Deus, Agnus Dei

24. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Qui Tollis

25. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Qui Sedes

26. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Quoniam Tu Solus

27. Antonio Lotti - Missa A Tre Cori: Cum Sanctu Spiritu

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Antonio Lotti; Johann Sebastian Bach - Missa Sapientiae; Magnificat

"According to a recently discovered source, Antonio Lotti was born not in Hanover, as had been presumed previously, but on 5 January 1667 in Venice. His parents - the 'sonatore' Matteo Lotti and Marina Gasparin, the daughter of a 'baracol' - married in 1662 in the Venetian church S. Marino, and it was also there that their son Antonio Lotti was baptized on 25 January 1667. Antonio Lotti spend the greater part of his life in the city on the lagoon, where he received his training from the Maestro di cappella of San Marco, Giovanni Legrenzi, and the local tenor and counterpoint teacher Lodovico Fuga. In 1689 Lotti himself was hired as a falsetto, and in 1702 also as second organist at San Marco. He occupied various positions in the chapel until in 1736 he was able to prevail in the competition for the coveted office of 'Maestro di cappella'. He occupied various positions in the chapel until in 1736 he was able to prevail in the competition for the coveted office of 'Maestro di cappella'. He held his post until his death in Venice on 5 January 1640. Lotti wrote numerous sacred music compositions for San Marco and for other institutions such as the ospedali, the orphanages that were famous for the well-grounded musical education of their pupils. At the same time, with nearly twenty successful stage works, Lotti was considered as one of the leading representative of Venetian opera, and it was above all this reputation that led in 1717 to an invitation to Dresden by the Prince Elector of Saxony, Friedrich August. Lotti spent about two years, with his opera troop at the Saxon court, until the conclusion of the festivities in honor of the marriage of Friedrich August and Princess Maria Josepha of Hapsburg in 1719. Five large-scale stage works were written during this time. The Italian musicians also occasionally performed in the court church, and a number of sacred works by Lotti have survived in the Saxon State Library: Masses and individual Mass movements, a requiem, and various psalm settings. In terms of style and because of the high quality of their performance, Lotti's church music compositions were perceived by his contemporaries as being novel. In a report by the Dresden Jesuits, for example, it is written:

"'In a manner completely new here the Italian musicians, who were sent by his Highness the Prince Elector from Venice to Dresden, brought our church to life when they [...] embellished a High Mass, which lasted almost three hours, with such admirable artistic skill both in terms of the voices as well as the instruments, such as one has never before heard in Dresden.'

"Even outside Dresden these performances did not remain unnoticed. Johann Sebastian Bach's predecessor in the position of Thomaskantor, Johann Kuhnau, pointed out Lotti's exemplary stylistic separation of opera and church music, and praised the 'admirable gravity, strong and perfect harmony and art, in addition to the exceptional charm' of Lotti's work which he had heard in the Dresden court church.

"As far as we can see, Lotti seems in later years to have written works above all in the old church style originating from Palestrina. Perhaps with Lotti in mind, the Dresden Kapellmeister Johann David Heinichen sarcastically remarked in the foreword to his 'Generalbaß in der Composition' ('Thorough bass in Composition'): 'I have observed in other places various notable examples, that when formerly renowned theater composers in their old age had lost all their fire and inventiveness, they then finally started to become good church composers and, contrary to their former habit, to work hard on counterpoint. One could deduce various things from this.'

"Soon after Lotti's death his church music, like that of most of his contemporaries, began to disappear from the repertoire. Only in Venice were a few of his stile-antico compositions, which were less tied to a particular period, still occasionally still performed into the early nineteenth century. Thus, in 1770 Charles Burney, the writer on music who toured in Italy and France, heard in the Venetian church of San Giovanni e Poulo 'a mass sung in four parts, without other instrument than the organ. [...] The composition [...] consisting of fugues and imitations in the stile of our best old church services. [...] Upon the whole this seems to be the true stile for the church: it calls to memory nothing vulgar, light, or prophane [sic]; it disposed the mind to philanthropy, and divests it of its gross and sensual passions.'

"Burney's report marks a turning point in the history of Lotti reception: Had Lotti struck the right note for the ears of his contemporaries with his works in concertante style, the music historiography emerging toward the end of the eighteenth century saw in him above all a representative of stile-antico composition, a view that especially in Germany continued to be propagated in the early years of the nineteenth century. A central role was played by the rediscovery and publication of an eight-part 'Crucifixus' by the prominent music theorist Adolf Bernhard Marx in the 'Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung' in 1819. Marx combined the publication of the work with the intention, proposed in a manifesto-like manner, of promoting along with Lotti's easily accessible 'Crucifixus' the acceptance of stile-antico compositions, after previously published works in this genre by Palestrina, Sarti, and Fux had not been particularly well received with the public. The publication received great attention, as a result of which musical historiography, which often displays a tendency toward typification and quick historical classification, for a long time failed to take notice of a substantial part of Lotti's sacred music œuvre. Accordingly, the most extensive edition of selected works up to now, which appeared in 1930 in the series 'Denkmäler Deutscher Tonkunst', contains works exclusively in the old style.

"Since to the present day the full breadth of Antonio Lotti's sacred music has hardly been explored in its full breadth, and in particular a catalogue of his works is lacking, the context and date of origin of the 'Missa Sapientiae' lie in obscurity. Yet the work, accompanied by independent instrumental parts and fashioned in the modern sacred-music style appears to have been quite well known by Lotti's contemporaries, as shown by the wide dissemination of preserved sources and the unusual fact that prominent composers such as George Frideric Handel, Jan Dismas Zelenka, and Johann Sebastian Bach owned copies of this Mass.

"George Frideric Handel, who probably knew Lotti personally from his time in Venice and from a sojourn in Dresden, copied the Mass incompletely and without the text, as is the case in almost all his copies of works by other composers. In this way, Handel collected a store of so-called borrowing material from which he could take rhythmic models, thematic ideas or even whole sections of movements for his own compositions. Indeed, many fruits of this collecting activity can be found in his works. For example, the chorus 'Blest be the hand' ('Theodora', HWV 68) clearly comes from the 'Domine Deus', 'Agnus Dei', and the instrumental sections in the chorus 'Virtue will place thee' ('The Choice of Hercules', HWV 69) is taken from the 'Gloria in excelsis'. One could list further examples, including some in 'Jephta' (HWV 70).

"In contrast to Handel, Jan Dismas Zelenka, whose official duties in Dresden included the procurement of musical repertoire for the Catholic court church, copied Lotti's Mass ca. 1730 for performance purposes. In so doing, he adapted the work to the usage in Dresden in that he provided for a more colorful wind instrumentation. Thus, for example, he strengthened the string tutti over longer stretches with oboes, added a group of woodwinds to the interplay of the high strings and continuo in the 'Laudamus te', and transformed the oboe part into a trumpet part in the 'Gloria in excelsis'. The name 'Missa Sapientiae' also originates with Zelenka, who gave Mass compositions by other composers nicknames of this sort, apparently to be able to tell them apart more easily. Strictly speaking, the name 'Missa Sapientiae' therefore refers not to Lotti's original work, but to Zelenka's Dresden version of it, which is also to be heard on this recording.

"At the beginning of the 1730s, Johann Sebastian Bach, who like Zelenka had a large music library at his disposal, started collecting Latin sacred music by Italian composers. While doing so, he selected works of older masters as well as those of his own contemporaries, among these Lotti's 'Missa Sapientiae'. This copy of the Mass traces directly back to Zelenka's version, and was made in part by Bach, in part by a scribe. Whether Bach performed the 'Missa Sapientiae' in Leipzig is not known, at least no set of parts has been preserved. Moreover, the use in the 'Gloria in excelsis' of a variant of the eighth psalm tone not usual in the Protestant north may speak against a performance of the work in Leipzig. The reason for Bach's increased interest in Latin church music was his own productions of Masses which began at this time. They commenced with a 'Missa in B Minor' consisting of a 'Kyrie' and 'Gloria' - dedicated by Bach in Juli 1733 to the new Prince Elector of Saxony and Polish King Friedrich August II in the hope of acquiring a position at the Dresden court and future commissions. In later years, the Mass was completed to become the famous, large 'B-Minor Mass'.

"Lotti's 'Missa Sapientiae' was probably of interest to Bach in various respects: Lotti, as is generally known, numbered among the composers of whom the prince elector was particularly fond, and the Mass offered an opportunity to study a typical example of the Venetian tonal language. Moreover, the 'Missa Sapientiae' came quite close to the intended dimensions of the 'Missa in B Minor': In spite of the limitation to the 'Kyrie' and 'Gloria', both works call for a large instrumental ensemble, and the choir is expanded from four to five or six voices in individual passages. The division of the movements are similar in many respects, even if the 'Domine Deus' in Lotti is divided into three individual movements. In the first of these individual movements, 'Domine Deus, Rex coelestis', a violin (or alternately a flute in Zelenka's version) and a muted oboe concertize alongside the solo soprano, and are thus at least atmospherically reminiscent of Bach's corresponding setting. A conspicuous analogy in the instrumentation is found in the 'Quoniam tu solus', which in both cases features a soloistic brass instrument. Completely different from the 'Missa Sapientiae', Bach allows the 'Qui tollis' to develop in flowing transition out of the 'Domine Deus', whereas Lotti sets a clear caesura at the end of the 'Domine Deus', 'Agnus Dei' with a concluding fugue. Lottis link the following movements 'Qui tollis' and 'Qui sedes' in that he musically fashions the analogous text 'miserere nobis' nearly identically, and only a crass harmonic tension of the first section is not taken up again later. The choral writing of the 'miserere nobis' section is enveloped by the instruments in a delicate, typically Venetian carpet of sound that Bach unmistakably echos in the 'Crucifixus' of the 'B-Minor Mass'." (Thomas Krümpelmann. From the liner notes.)

"When Johann Sebastian Bach submitted his application for the position of Kantor at Leipzig's Thomaskirche, he already must have sensed that there was a considerable discrepancy between the supposed and the real performing ability of the choir of St. Thomas'. Indeed, Bach saw himself forced to strengthen the choir parts with trombones in his two audition pieces, the cantatas BWV 22 and 23. It can be assumed that this was due not to reasons of timbre, but primarily to insecurities in the performance. The abilities of the municipal musicians, too, were far from adequate, something that Bach realized only with time. After assuming his office at the end of May 1723, Bach went to work with great élan; perhaps he wanted to prove himself to those critics who viewed his appointment with skepticism. Almost all the works of his first year's cycle of cantatas are distinguished by their exceptional difficulty in comparison to the compositions of his predecessor Johann Kuhnae and those of his two co-candidate Georg Philipp Telemann and Christoph Graupner, who had been favored by the town council.

"Among the festive compositions of the year 1723, the 'Magnificat' occupies an outstanding position. For a long time, it was thought that the work was composed for Christmas 1723, since the score of the work, originally in E-flat Major, contains four interpolated Christmas movements. However, examination of the autograph score shows that the movements related to Christmas were later additions. It would seem obvious that the performance on 25 December 1723 was not the first; yet, since the composition was written in Leipzig - unequivocally proven by the paper of the score - it follows that the E-flat Major Magnificat, BWV 243a, was intended for the feast of the Visitation on 2 July 1723. On this day, which was solemnly celebrated in Leipzig - like the feast of the Purification on 2 February and the feast of the Annunciation on 25 March - the reading is song of praise to Mary from the Gospel of St. Luke; the work was not intended for the main church service, but rather for the vespers service in which the 'Magnificat' could be performed in Latin. This feast, five weeks after his assumption of office, was Bach's first chance to demonstrate his special talents - and the new Thomaskantor did not pass up the opportunity. Instead of the usual four-part vocal setting, the choral movements have been expanded to five parts; Bach found models for this in the library of the Thomasschule, since his predecessors Johann Schelle and Johann Kuhnau likewise preferred five-part writing with three high voices for festive compositions. It remains uncertain, though, how Bach was able to conceal the dearth of capable sopranos among the pupils of the Thomasschule.

"The biblical song of praise to Mary is - as in numerous other compositions of the time - broken down into its individual statements, which are set as chorale movements and arias. Unusual in Bach's way of treating the text is at all events the splitting off of the concluding words 'omnes generationes' in the 'Quia respexit', and their assignment to the choir. In this manner Bach emphasizes the generations who praise Mary. In spite of the brevity of the sentence fragment, he creates a choral section important for the balance of the work. The choice of text means that none of the arias are in the otherwise still pre-dominant da-capo form. Contrasts are achieved through the choice of new, closely related keys, various compositional techniques, and a varied instrumentation. The unity of the work is established by the use of the music of the opening chorus again for the doxology, the song of praise to God.

"By virtue of an old Leipzig tradition, which can be traced back to the beginning of the seventeenth century, the 'Magnificat', the song of praise to Mary, could be extended on Christmas by inserted movements related to the feast. In comparison to the better-known D-Major version, which recent research has shown to have been first performed on 2 July 1733, the E-flat Major version sounds fresher and, particularly in the trumpet parts, more radical, although at the expense of extreme technical demands. Perhaps the Leipzig town musicians or their superior had told the Cöthen court Kapellmeister, 'who at the beginning could not reconcile himself with the transition from Kapellmeister to Kantor', that they could play anything. Several years later Bach expressed himself about their abilities with great reservation: In the 'Entwurff einer wohlbestallten Kirchen Music' ('Plan for a well-appointed church music') of August 1730 it is tersely stated that decency prohibits him 'however from reporting anything approaching the truth about their qualities and musical skills.'

"The high range of the vocal parts, which was typical of Bach's Cöthen works, also seems to have caused problems at the performances in Leipzig. It is conceivable that Bach therefore had in mind a considerably lower pitch than was usual in Leipzig. The so-called French chamber pitch [...] is a whole tone lower than today's normal pitch and a semitone lower than the pitch usual during Bach's time [...]. The lower pitch adopted for the recording lends the strings and winds a more mellow timbre, which underscores the individual chracter of the E-flat Major version.

"In Bach's time, the pitch level was not standardized, and could therefore be chosen as required. As a result, the organ, which is fixed at a specific pitch level, had to transpose; and with many wind instruments there were several idiosyncracies that had to be taken into consideration, which could explain some of the differences in the instrumentation of the two versions. The revision of this work, which Bach undertook during the period of national mourning after the death of August the Strong, was intended to make the piece easier to perform by means of the transposition from E-flat to D Major, and above all with the simplification of the demanding and, when played on natural trumpets in E-flat, exceedingly difficult trumpet parts. Nevertheless, this revision resulted in a repertoire work no less brilliant." (Ulrich Leisinger, tr. Howard Weiner. From the liner notes.)

Performer: Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble, Balthasar-Neumann-Chor, Thomas Hengelbrock

1. Antonio Lotti - Missa Sapientiae: Kyrie. Kyrie Eleison

2. Antonio Lotti - Missa Sapientiae: Kyrie. Christe Eleison

3. Antonio Lotti - Missa Sapientiae: Kyrie. Kyrie Eleison

4. Antonio Lotti - Missa Sapientiae: Gloria. Gloria In Excelsis

5. Antonio Lotti - Missa Sapientiae: Gloria. Laudamus Te

6. Antonio Lotti - Missa Sapientiae: Gloria. Gratias Agimus Tibi

7. Antonio Lotti - Missa Sapientiae: Gloria. Domine Deus, Rex Coelestis

8. Antonio Lotti - Missa Sapientiae: Gloria. Domine Fili

9. Antonio Lotti - Missa Sapientiae: Gloria. Domine Deus, Agnus Dei

10. Antonio Lotti - Missa Sapientiae: Gloria. Qui Tollis Peccata Mundi

11. Antonio Lotti - Missa Sapientiae: Gloria. Qui Sedes

12. Antonio Lotti - Missa Sapientiae: Gloria. Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus

13. Antonio Lotti - Missa Sapientiae: Gloria. Cum Sancto Spiritu

14. Johann Sebastian Bach - Magnificat, BWV 243a: Magnificat Anima Mea

15. Johann Sebastian Bach - Magnificat, BWV 243a: Et Exultavit

16. Johann Sebastian Bach - Magnificat, BWV 243a: Von Himmel Hoch

17. Johann Sebastian Bach - Magnificat, BWV 243a: Quia Respexit

18. Johann Sebastian Bach - Magnificat, BWV 243a: Omnes Generationes

19. Johann Sebastian Bach - Magnificat, BWV 243a: Quia Fecit

20. Johann Sebastian Bach - Magnificat, BWV 243a: Freut Euch Und Jubiliert

21. Johann Sebastian Bach - Magnificat, BWV 243a: Et Misericordia Eius

22. Johann Sebastian Bach - Magnificat, BWV 243a: Fecit Potentiam

23. Johann Sebastian Bach - Magnificat, BWV 243a: Gloria In Excelsis

24. Johann Sebastian Bach - Magnificat, BWV 243a: Deposuit Potentes

25. Johann Sebastian Bach - Magnificat, BWV 243a: Esurientes Implevit

26. Johann Sebastian Bach - Magnificat, BWV 243a: Virga Jesse Floruit

27. Johann Sebastian Bach - Magnificat, BWV 243a: Suscepit Israel

28. Johann Sebastian Bach - Magnificat, BWV 243a: Sicut Locutus Est

29. Johann Sebastian Bach - Magnificat, BWV 243a: Gloria Patri Et Filio

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Giovanni Legrenzi - Missa Opus 1; Sonata da Chiesa

"Giovanni Legrenzi (1626-1690) belonged to a generation that came between the early Baroque composers, such as Claudio Monteverdi, and the great masters of the eighteenth century, including Johann Sebastian Bach and Antonio Vivaldi.

"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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Giacomo Carissimi - Complete Motets of Arion Romanus

"'A 17th-century Arion': In 1670, the dedication of a cycle of 'sacred songs' to the Bishop of Costanza, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire Franz Joseph, marked the consecration of Giacomo Carissimi as the 'Roman Arion' and represented a definitive confirmation of his fame and important as maestro of maestros, the inventor of a new way of making and listening to music. Arion, born in Lesbos and resident in Corinth at the court of the tyrant Periander in the 7th century B.C., has to all intents and purpose become a myth, and his enormous fame has stripped him of his concrete reality and made him an emblematic figure surrounded by divine power, a symbol of a new concept of music and poetry destine to remain as an example for centuries to come.

"A singer of matchless gifts, a lyric poet of the utmost refinement and sensibility, Arion is recorded as a flesh-and-blood historical figure by Herodotus, who describes him as the inventor of the dithyramb, the ancient Greek hymn sung and danced in honour of Dionysus, characterised by variable metres and extravagant form that reach almost orgiastic lengths. This would place him at the very origins of tragedy according to the doctrines elaborated by Aristotle. In actual fact, throughout the long evolution of poetic form, the form of the dithyramb has been exploited brilliantly in moder works, and it is in the 17th century that it enjoyed a kind of revival enriched with exhilerating new meaning. In that sense Carissimi was an exemplary figure, gifted with charisma and surrounded by intrigue to a much greater extent than so many of his contemporaries were, and in this sense the comparison with Arion takes on a deeper significance.

"Athanius Kircher had already explained with convincing precision that the defining quality of Carissimi's music was its capacity to make the listener feel an enormous range of emotions, and ultimately reach spiritual fulfilment. It was the range of liveliness and the density of content that Kircher saw as the essence of Carissimi's creative genius, hence Arion as a metaphor for changing emotions and the utmost skill in the elaboration of form. Just as Arion was miraculously saved by a dolphin that guided him through the treacherous waters that were about to submerge him, Carissimi had plunged into the difficult waters of oratorio through which he guided the listener on a path that seems to avoid difficulty or danger such is its gentle, reassuring smoothness, belying spontaneous expression of passion. Compared with the many musicians of generations immediately previous to his, Carissimi seems far superior to those whose scholarly efforts seemed to be a vain attempt to vindicate their mediocre work. At that time Carissimi, the maestro of maestros, was considered a composer truly able to mould personalities as diverse as the French composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier or Giovanni Paolo Colonna from Bologna, thanks to the incomparable fascination held by his creative powers and the extraordinary facility with which he seemed to teach others to take charge of sound and musical texture. It is this perfect synthesis of doctrine, which is converted into expressive substance, and the endless freshness of his inspiration that make of this man the Arion of the 17th century, inevitable destined for imperishable fame. (Claudio Strinati. From the liner notes.)

"'Jacomo Carissimi 'sive' Arion Romanus: the 'Melopoet's' dive': Within the specific double-faceted tradition promoted by the Ensemble Seicentonovecento, with the 'sive' of our title our intention today is to suggest a reflection that will help us to reveal one of the metaphors of the Maestro of the San'Apollinare church; thus, in addition to the 'Vir frugi' suggested by Lino Bianchi and the 'Magister humilitatus' I discussed elsewhere, this 'sive Arion' can be considered the key to an understanding 'in reverse order' - from maestro to work/from work to maestro. Plutarch tells the story of a journey made by the famous musician and poet Arion during which the sailors on the ship that was carrying him from Sicily plotted to kill him in order to steal his money. In a dream Apollo promised to help the artist who, as soon as he saw he was in danger, sang one of his hymns, threw himself into the sea and was rescued by a dolphin that had been attracted by his singing. The god then transformed his protégé's lyre and the faithful animal who had saved him into constellations of the boreal sky. The dolphin is the symbol of regeneration, of wisdom, of conversion (in a number of legends dolphins are considered pirates who have been transformed by their repentance), and has an important role in rites of passage and as a psychopomp to lead the soul of the deceased to the afterlife: Christ the Saviour Himself is known to have been represented by a dolphin.

"In Arion's plunge into the sea we see man's self-abandonment into the arms of divine Providence: the longing to reach the gates of salvation - 'in this aiming for a future that contains the notion of returning' - has further echoes in some texts set by hte 'Melopoet' Carissimi: this is the case with one of the motets for solo voice in the collection 'Convertere ad me qui relinquis me peccando ad fontem pietatis abyssus egestatis revertere'. The title of the collection 'Arion Romanus sive Liber primus sacrarum cantonium' refers to the supernatural qualites of the mythical canto and of our composer alike: the poetic dedication 'to the Feast of the Pentecost' where the works of Carissimi, known as 'musical models' even in their time, are defined as 'composed of art and special sweetness merged together', as well as many other philosophical elements displayed in typical laudatory style, extols the rose as 'King' and 'Eye' of flowers. It shows an important relationship between the flower's geometrical principles as symbol of the golden numbers 5 and 12 and those of music which, like 'Orpheus's potion', revives the body and achieves the reconciliation of the universe 'mostly because Music is considered as being either Mistress, or comparison and symbol of a government which through its laws is perfect and absolute'.

"Carissimi's works, as 'models' both new and old, are defined as Gems, Pearls, Marguerites, Roses 'worthy to be woven or to bestow victory on Apollo's crown', while the example they set is recognised as a gift from Heaven. Just as Palestrina was elected as a renewer of polyphonic singing, so Carissimi, as tastes evolved, seems like a kind of fixed star and - 'Sicut stella' - his theories and 'models' appear as golden precepts: 'Every note of his was a gem because it gave a glow to the most precious of art.'

"Giovanni Barrista Mocchi, a loyal student of Carissimi's at the Jesuit German-Hungarian College, ensured the publication in Costanza - the city of the 15th century Council which managed the feat of restoring the unity of the Church after its schism - of a new Catholic and 'Roman' 'icon'. The 'Notice' to further readers and performers is below:

"'To the Musicians. Take note of two things. Don't be frightened by the difficulty of one or two of the songs in this collection: there are no difficulties that cannot be easily overcome even by a student [...] Few of you can use as an excuse their excessive length, which can immediately by remedied by omitting a few verses from the songs for solo voice. Finally I would point out that it was be a good thing to engage Singers, Melopoets and Composers at whatever fee they ask on behalf of those who will thus savour the art of music more deeply than hearing it from raucous lips. I trust you are well and look upon my effort with favour [...] J.B.M.'

"'After us will already be what it once was: '[...] my Arion crowned with music flowers will sing everywhere'.' (Flavio Colusso. From the liner notes.)

"'Reflections on the texts and music of the 'Arion Romanus': 'Arion Romanus' is the title of a published collection of 28 motets by Giacomo Carissimi compiled by Giovanni Battista Mocchi. (The attribution of some of these motets to the composer is currently in doubt). Mocchi (c. 1620-1688) was born in Marino, as was Carissimi, and was a singer at the German College in Rome in the 1630s under Carissimi's direction. For several months in 1646 he studied composition with Carissimi; around that date, like many other Italian musicians of the time but unlike his illustrious teacher, he left Italy to cross the Alps. Subsequently, even when he held the post of 'maestro di cappella' for the Palatine counts in Neuberg, he frequently returned to Rome to keep up his contacts with his teacher and other Roman composers.

"For his project dedicated to Carissimi, Mocchi turned in 1670 to the printer David Hautt the younger in Constance. He was official printer to the local diocesan bishop, Johann Franz, to whom the publication was dedicated. It appears that the Bishop was a fervent Marian devotee and this, as we shall see, had a certain relevance to the content of 'Arion'.

"Rather unusually for Roman musical circles, the only publications entirely devoted to Carissimi's music while he was alive were produced in Germany (the other was printed by Fridericum Friessem in Cologne in 1666): otherwise Carissimi's works featured only in anthologies. Why did the Maestro of Sant'Apollinare not personally promote the publication of his works? Carissimi, the famous maestro of a Jesuit college that was certainly not short of funds, had many admirers and patrons, including Queen Christina of Sweden, who named him 'Maestro di Cappella of the Court Ensemble'. The composer was probably very frugal (he did not have to pay for anthologies) and perhaps even too humble to turn to wealthy patrons, however willingly they might certainly have supported him.

"Looking at the texts set to music in the 1670 publication, we note that none of the 28 motets has strictly liturgical texts. This does not means that these sacred pieces were not appropriate for liturgical use, even in the 17th century: it would be perfectly proper for them to replace the Responsory or to be sung during Communion; in the Office of Hours they can be sung instead of the antiphons, especially the Marian motets as an antiphon before the Magnificat. In any case they were all suitable for the musical forces attached to cardinals, princes and patricians, not least of which were those belonging to Christina of Sweden.

"The use of texts set to music normally meant altering, combining, paraphrasing or transforming textual material that already existed. We also find snatches of biblical texts that haven't been altered that are also present in liturgy, notable from the Psalms and the Song of Songs, but also from Isaiah. We can spot references to Ecclesiastes 17:21 or 23 ('Convertere ad me', a spiritual song appropriate to the period of All Souls) or to Numbers 12:17 (the central section of 'Sicut Mater'). In 'Convertere' the concluding allusion to the Song of Songs does not refer to the Madonna, as is usually the case, but to the human soul that has to start loving God. Other motets that feature Psalm texts, include 'Benedicte gentes', which starts with a direct quote from Psalm 6:8-9 (start) and from Psalm 61:9, and then continues to paraphrase freely. Taking these quotes as a guide the motet is appropriate for Lent, the period following Easter or the Feast of St. Joseph. As far as the prophet Isaiah is concerned we must once again turn to the 'Sicut Mater', which begind with a quote from 66:13 and ends with 35:2. The central sections of the motet, on the other hand, are less specific and the motet, which is stated as 'De Tempore', is appropriate for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany; the conclusion draws particular attention to Mary's status as the Mother of God, which is unusual for Carissimi. At least seven motets in our publication are dedicated to the Madonna. It is not surprise to find references to the Song of Songs, but in 'Salve Virgo' we also find references to the antiphon 'Salve Regina', to the 'Ave Maria' and to the Gospel according to St. Luke.

"In three cases we find references to spiritual literature of the Middle Ages. 'Panem caelestem' shows clear assonance with the prose and mystic poetry of the Franciscan St. Bonaventura (c. 1217-1274): a similar case if 'O quam dilecta Mensa', which also has a refrain taken from two rhyming verses of the 'Giubilo' attributed to St. Bernard of Chiaravalle (1090-1153), who re-founded the Cistercian Order: both motets are liturgically suited to the Feast of Corpus Domini. The same thing seems to go for 'Ave dulcissime Angelorum panis'.

"Who collected or wrote these texts? We know for example that Domenico Mazzocchi and Alessandro Stradello themselves wrote the text of some of their sacred music: we can presume that the same went for Carissimi. We must, however, consider that he also had as eminent colleagues Jesuit father who could act as consultants and even as authors of sacred and spiritual texts set to music.

"Carissimi's motets are usually made up of several sections: that is, they are divided up into a series of sections of variable structure. The main formal elements are: monody in recitative style, the concertato (lively or alternatively more contemplative and closer to the madrigal), the arioso in 4/4 with moving bass, the arioso section in 3/2, the aria and the madrigal proper.

"The 'Arion Romanus' offers us the peerless art of Giacomo Carissimi made accessible in ever possible way to small ensembles. As regards the four 'unica' in this publication and in particular the precious 'Panem caelestem' and 'Benedicte gentes', we are grateful to the pupil Giovanni Battista Mocchi and the printer David Hautt for saving these masterpieces that would otherwise have been lost forever." (Wolfgang Witzenmann. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Ensemble Seicentonovecento, Flavio Colusso

1.1. Mortalis Homo

1.2. Sicut Stella Matutina

1.3. Convertere Ad Me

1.4.  Domine Deus Meus

1.5. Panem Coelestem Angelorum

1.6. Anima Nostra Sustinet Dominum

1.7. Laudemus Virum Gloriosum

1.8. O Dulcissime Jesu

2.1. Sicut Mater Consolatur

2.2. Ecce Sponsus Venit

2.3. Hymnum Jucunditatis Cantemus

2.4. Viderunt Te Domine

2.5. Quis Est Hic Vir

2.6. Omnes Gentes Gaudete Cum Maria (Victore)

2.7. O Beatum Virum

2.8. Egredimini Filiae Sion, Et Videte

2.9. Benedicite Gentes

2.10. O Beatum Virum

2.11. Gaudeat Terra, Jubilent Montes

2.12. Salve, Virgo Immaculata

3.1. Audite, Sancti (Justi)

3.2. Quo Tam Laetus Progrederis

3.3. Quasi Aquila

3.4. Exurge, Cor Meum, In Cithara

3.5. Ardens Est Cor Nostrum (Meum)

3.6. Ave Dulcissime Angelorum Panis

3.7. Desiderata Nobis

3.8. O Quam Dilecta Sunt Tabernacula

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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 - Requiem

"Antonio Caldara was not only one of the most important composers of his generation, but wielded considerable influence over the evolution of Italian vocal music of the early eighteenth century. Moreover, having lived the last two decades of his life in Vienna, he was a significant factor in shaping the direction of both Viennese and German music. To say Caldara was prolific is an understatement: he wrote nearly 3,500 works, including more than 90 operas, numerous oratorios, liturgical works, cantatas, madrigals, and many instrumental pieces. Unfortunately, many of his scores are lost, but there still exists a substantial body of work by which to judge him positively. As a performer he was immensely talented: he was accomplished as a viol player, cellist, and keyboardist, and in his childhood, as a choirboy at St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice, he was considered a highly gifted singer. While his operas are rarely performed today, his instrumental and liturgical music has achieved some currency, and because of the increasing availability of them on recordings, Caldara's reputation could be on the upswing.

"Antonio Caldara was born in Venice, Italy, probably in 1671. Caldara's educational background is clouded: his first teacher was probably his father, a workaday violinist, and Giovanni Legrenzi, maestro di cappella of St. Mark's, and cello virtuoso Domenico Gabrielli likely taught the young Caldara.

"By the early 1690s Caldara's operas were drawing attention, and he was already known as a virtuoso cellist in Venice. In 1699 he was appointed maestro di cappella to the Duke of Mantua, a fanatic lover of opera. Caldara apparently wrote many operas for the Duke, but none of the manuscripts survive.

"Caldara relocated to Rome in 1708, where he was taken into the service of Cardinal Ottoboni. Caldara's Serenata 'Chi s'arma di virtù' (1709) was one of many successful works he wrote while in Rome.

"In 1717 Caldara resettled once more, this time in Vienna as the vice-kapellmeister under Charles VI. Caldara was required to write many operas, oratorios, and other works as part of his duties. Among his more successful efforts from the Vienna years were the operas 'Dafne' (1719) and 'Sancio Panza' (1730). His sacred music also drew acclaim with such works as 'Missa Laetare' (1729) and 'Missa in spei Resurrectionis' (1732). So busy was Caldara from the demands of his Viennese post that there is evidence exhaustion was a factor in his death on December 28, 1736." (Biography by Robert Cummings for AllMusic. See here.)

Performers: Musica Fiorita, Daniela Dolci

1. Reqiuiem: Requiem. Andante

2. Reqiuiem: Te Decet Hymnus. Largo

3. Requiem: Requiem. Andante

4. Reqiuiem: Kyrie Eleison. Andante

5. Reqiuiem: Christe Eleison. Andante

6. Reqiuiem: Kyrie Eleison. Andante

7. Trio Sonata In E Minor, Op. 1 No. 5: I. Grave

8. Trio Sonata In E Minor, Op. 1 No. 5: II. Vivace

9. Trio Sonata In E Minor, Op. 1 No. 5: III. Adagio

10. Trio Sonata In E Minor, Op. 1 No. 5: IV. Vivace

11. Reqiuiem: Dies Irae. Adagio. Quantus Tremor

12. Reqiuiem: Tuba Mirum. Andante

13. Reqiuiem: Mors Stupebit. Adagio

14. Reqiuiem: Judex Ergo

15. Reqiuiem: Rex Tremende. Largo

16. Reqiuiem: Recordare

17. Reqiuiem: Ingemisco Tamquam Reus

18. Reqiuiem: Confutatis. Presto

19. Reqiuiem: Voca Me Cum Benedictis

20. Reqiuiem: Oro Supplex. Adagio

21. Reqiuiem: Lacrymosa. Adagio

22. Reqiuiem: Judicandus. Largo

23. Reqiuiem: Pie Jesu

24. Reqiuiem: Reqiuem. Andante

25. Reqiuiem: Amen

26. Sonata In A Major No. 15: I. Largo

27. Sonata In A Major No. 15: II. Allegro

28. Sonata In A Major No. 15: III. Aria Non Molto Allegro

29. Sonata In A Major No. 15: IV. Allegro

30. Missa Dolorosa: Sanctus. Andante-Allegro

31. Missa Dolorosa: Benedictus. Andante-Allegro

32. Missa Dolorosa: Agnus Dei. Lento-Allegro

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