musica Dei donum
CD reviews
Leo: "Miserere mei Deus: sacred vocal music"
Angharad Gruffyd Jones (soprano)
Choir of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge; Timothy Uglow, Gavin Roberts, Geoffrey Webber (organ)
Dir: Geoffrey Webber
rec: April 2000, Cambridge, Chapel of Queen's College & Chapel of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
ASV Gaudeamus - CDGAU 226 (74'07")
Leo: Christus factus est pro nobis; Eripe me, Domine; Heu nos miseros; Hoc
corpus, quod pro vobis tradetur; Intellege clamorem meum; Judica me, Deus; Miserere
mei, Deus; Missa in C: Kyrie; Praebe virgo; Reminiscere miserationum tuarum;
Tribulationis cordis mei; Zipoli: All'offertorio; Verse (I) and Canzona in e minor;
Verse (I) and Canzona in g minor
Although the CD-cover suggests the whole recording is devoted to sacred works by
Leonardo Leo (1694-1744), it also contains some organ pieces by Leo's contemporary
Domenico Zipoli (1688-1726).
To be honest, this is a pretty bad recording. Leo's Miserere sounds like a 19th
century Anglican chant, slow and solemn. The mixed choir is too large (21 singers)
and lacks all flexibility this music needs. There is almost no expression and the
unusual harmonies are hardly noticeable. If you compare this performance with the
one by the
Ensemble William Byrd, it is as if you listen to a completely different work.
This CD contains a Marian motet, Praebe virgo, which is quite unusual and
differs stylistically from what we know from Leo. It consists of two arias with
recitatives for soprano solo. These pieces have survived in an Italian manuscript in
Germany. Strangely enough the accompaniment is in two organ staves, one containing an
obligato part - probably originally written for strings - the other the basso
continuo. It was decided to perform this piece by two organists, playing on one
organ with two manuals. In the booklet it is admitted that this practice wasn't
known in Italy (unlike in Germany), since there were almost no two-manual organs in
Italy. Then, one asks, why do they perform the piece this way? Wouldn't it
have been better to reconstruct the obligato parts for strings? (The part very much
sounds like it was intended for strings.) This is only an additional argument to be
rather negative about this recording. The soloist in these arias is
Angharad Gruffyd Jones, who is utterly unconvincing in this kind of music.
Unfortunately, this CD is a missed opportunity to pay tribute to Leonardo Leo. He
deserves better.
Johan van Veen (© 2002)