Vecchi: L’Amfiparnaso, a madrigal comedy in music. Deller Consort, London; Members of the Collegium Aureum conducted by Alfred Deller – Deutsche Harmonia Mundi – 88697-576182 (53 minutes).
Orazio Vecchi (1550-1605) is one of the most colourful figures of 16th century Italy. A canon of the Catholic Church, he was as famous for his musical and ecclesiastical activity as much as for his roguery. A man of the world and a man of music, he was indeed a rascal of the first order, as can be deduced with certainty from the fact that he was capable of the most outrageous actions as well as the most abject moods.
A versatile writer and an accomplished composer, he was also an excellent player of ball-games. He did not shy away from dealing his brother’s wife’s lover a couple of smart blows over the head with his sword, and after 1570 it is not surprising to find him mixing with high-born Italians of the time.
The work under review was first presented in 1594. Three years later it was printed in Venice, after which its popularity was assured. L’Anfiparnaso cannot be considered a wholly musical piece, because both its subject and its style lean more towards world theatre rather than a story set to music. But the rich portrayal of the verses combined with the imaginativelyluscious sounds (both Vecchi creations), give the work a marvellously vibrant ambience, reflecting all of life’s triumphs and delusions.
Performances are excellent all round but the booklet leaves much to be desired, as the listener is left to conjure up his own images, deprived as one is of a proper text and translation.
This is a unique insight into the musical and theatre world of Renaissance Italy. Sound quality is first-rate.
Lully: Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme; CAMPRA: L’Europe Galante. La Petite Bande directed by Gustav Leonhardt – Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 88697-576312 (two CDs, 134 minutes).
For France, the 17th century was indeed a grand siècle, where the classical arts flourished.
Music was no exception, and by the turn of the century composers such as Marais, Rameau, Lully and Campra had earned their claim to fame with some of the most dazzling music to come out of this proud nation.
This sumptuous recording highlights two grand opera-dance festivals that are considered as masterpieces of their time. Jean-Baptiste Lully’s (1632-1687) comedie-ballet was composed in 1670, and in it the composer was able to combine all the best elements of the French dance enmeshed in the new style of French opera. What before was a medium for social criticism had now become a means of glorification of man’s greatness, the accent focusing on the all-magnificent King of Versailles.
A few years after his arrival in Paris in 1694, André Campra (1660-1744) succeeded Lully in the field of ballet and opera. He did so with some reserve, as his first opera-ballet L’Europe Galante was published anonymously in 1697, when it also received its first performance. Indeed, this was the work that made him a household name.
Campra continued Lully’s style and so remained faithful to the traditional form of the ballets, as in the instrumentation of the music. Campra’s emphasis is more on the liveliness of his dances and the elegance of his arias. Both composers indulge in music of astonishing grace and beauty and both scores are bursting with rhythmic vitality, melodic and harmonic inventions and gorgeous orchestration. The Versailles monarchs were absolutely bowled over by this music and so will you.
Venetian Music at the Hapsburg Court in the 17th Century: Musica Fiata – DeutscheHarmonia Mundi 88697 568382 (63 minutes).
Seventeenth century Venice was a powerhouse of musical productivity, particularly during the first decades, when musicians from all over Europe were drawn to the magical atmosphere of the Lagoon. But this was also a time when Venetian culture had encroached upon almost all of Europe, and artists from the city were spreading the message which was to set the standards up to the end of the Baroque era. As a result, many a duke or prince were employing Venetian composers to supervise and direct all musical activities both sacred and profane.
One striking example was that of Archduke Ferdinand in Graz, when in 1596 he entrusted his newly formed court ensemble and the court chapel in the hands of Italian composers and Kapellmeister. This Italianisation continued as more and more Italian singers and instrumentalists were engaged.
By the time the Archduke had been crowned Emperor Ferdinand II, his court ensemble was an all-Italian group under the direction of Giovanni Priuli.
This was duly transferred to the Hapsburg metropolis when the Emperor took up residence in Vienna.
This historic development was the beginning of a long musical association between Venice and the Hapsburg Empire, and this issue focuses on compositions by five such musicians who plied their trade in this environment.
All 14 works are in sonata form, but there is a great variety in the combination of instruments which makes this programme rich in contrasting tone-colours.
This disc highlights such important names as Massimiliano Neri, Giovan Battista Buonamente, Giovanni Valentini, Antonio Bertali and the samePriuli, so there is no lack of imagination and versatility.
Musica Fiata interpret this repertoire with grace and panache, and their articulate performances are consistently vivid and attentive to detail. An exercise in peace and serenity which should not be missed.
These CDs were made available for review by D’Amato Record Shop of 98/99, St John Street, Valletta.