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Giacomo CARISSIMI (1605 - 1674): Oratorios and motets
[I] "Historia di Jephte, Motets"
Voces Suaves
Dir: Michele Vannelli
rec: March 13 - 16, 2025, Basel, Martinskirche
Arcana - A592 (© 2026) (63'13")
Liner-notes: E/F/D/IT; lyrics - translations: E/F/D
Cover, track-list & booklet
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Giacomo CARISSIMI:
Annunciate gentes [3];
Historia di Jephte;
O quam dilecta sunt [2];
Domenico MAZZOCCHI (1592-1665):
Cristo smarrito col lamento della Beata Vergine [1]
Sources:
[1] Domenico Mazzocchi, Musiche sacre e morali, 1650;
Giacomo Carissimi, [2] Arion romanus sive liber primum sacrarum cantionum, 1670
[3] Sacri concerti musicali, 1675;
Mirjam Wernli, Christina Boner, soprano;
Jan Thomer, alto;
Andrés Montilla-Acurero, Dan Dunkelblum, tenor;
Joachim Höchbauer, bass
Johannes Frisch, Katharina Heutjer, violin;
Giovanni Baviera, violone;
Orí Harmelin, theorbo;
Michele Vannelli, harpsichord, organ
[II] "Jephte, Judicium Salomonis, Motets"
Boston Early Music Festival Vocal & Chamber Ensembles
Dir: Paul O'Dette, Stephen Stubbs
rec: August 14, 2024 & Jan 18 - 24, 2025, Bremen, Sendesaal
CPO - 555 730-2 (© 2026) (74'03")
Liner-notes: E/D; lyrics - translations: E
Cover, track-list & booklet
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Apritevi inferni;
Audivi vocem de caelo;
Confitebor tibi Domine;
Ecce nos reliquimus omnia;
Historia di Jephte;
Judicium Salomonis;
Militia est
Amanda Forsythe, Danielle Reutter-Harrah, Sarah Hayashi, soprano;
Cecilia Duarte, mezzo-soprano;
James Reese, Aaron Sheehan, tenor;
Felix Schwandtke, bass
Miloš Valent, Peter Spissky, violin;
Frauke Hess, viola da gamba;
David Morris, viola da gamba, lirone;
Juliane Bruckmann, double bass;
Maxine Eilander, harp;
Paul O’Dette, theorbo;
Stephen Stubbs, lute, guitar;
Michael Sponseller, harpsichord;
Jörg Jacobi, harpsichord, organ
[III] "Jonas - Monteverdi, Lasso"
Choir of Bavarian Radio; Il Giardino Armonico
Dir: Giovanni Antonini
rec: Nov 22 & 23, 2024 (live), Munich, Prinzregententheater
BR Klassik - 900535 (© 2026) (66'26")
Liner-notes: E/D; lyrics Carissimi - translations: E/D / lyrics Lassus & Monteverdi - translations: D
Cover & track-list
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Giacomo CARISSIMI:
Jonas;
Orlandus LASSUS (1532-1594):
Lagrime di San Pietro (Il magnanimo Pietro; Ma gli archi; Tre volte haveva; Così talhor; E non fu il pianto suo; Quel volto; Veduto il miser; Vattene vita, va; Non trovava mia fé; Negando il mio Signor; Vide homo);
Prophetiae Sibyllarum (Prologus; Sibylla Persica; Sibylla Cimmeria; Sibylla Cumana);
Claudio MONTEVERDI (1567-1643):
Lamento d'Arianna à 5 (SV 107)
[soli] Magdalena Dijkstra, soprano;
Mareike Braun, Kerstin Rosenfeldt, contralto;
Q-Won Han, Andreas Hirtreiter, tenor;
Nicolas Ries, Korbinian Schlag, bass
Scores Carissimi
In the 1730s and 40s Rome was the place to be. The music scene was dominated by two composers who had an international reputation and attracted pupils from all over Europe: Girolamo Frescobaldi, whose main activity was in the field of keyboard music, and Giacomo Carissimi, who predominantly composed vocal music.
In 1629 Carissimi became maestro di cappella of the Jesuit Collegio Germanico in Rome, where students from German-speaking countries received a theological education with everything that was connected to it. One of those things was music: Carissimi was responsible for the musical performances at the Collegio and for the music classes as well. But he also attracted pupils from outside the Collegio. Among the most famous were Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Johann Caspar Kerll, Christoph Bernhard and perhaps also Agostino Steffani.
Today Carissimi is mainly known for his oratorios. He is often even considered the father of this genre. This is not entirely correct, as the origins of the oratorio are in the liturgical plays of the Middle Ages, performed on the most important feasts, such as Christmas and Easter. However, it is true that Carissimi was the first to compose oratorios, which strongly influenced the development of the genre. In the second half of the 17th century it would gradually move into the direction of the opera, both with regard to the music (recitatives and arias, more virtuosity in the solo parts) and to the text (Italian instead of Latin). In this form it disseminated across the continent.
Carissimi's output in this genre isn't that large. How many oratorios he has written is difficult to decide, since there is no clear definition of what exactly an oratorio is. One of its features is its dramatic character. But as some of Carissimi's motets are also quite dramatic and contain elements of dialogue, they could also be considered oratorios. In New Grove the work-list includes eleven oratorios, but some years ago Brilliant Classics reissued a complete recording of Carissimi's oratorios by the Ensemble Seicentonovecento, which comprises nine discs and 35 works. As none of Carissimi's oratorios have come down to us in autographs, it is impossible to tell what the exact titles are. It is thanks to copies by his pupils and others who admired his work that a part of his oeuvre has been preserved.
It is understandable that some of Carissimi's oratorios are performed and recorded regularly. Jephte, Jonas and Judicium Salomonis, to mention some of the best-known, are famous for a reason. Even so, it is disappointing that most of Carissimi's other works of this kind, whether formally known as oratorio or as dialogue or motet, are so seldom performed. The discs which are the subject of this review, all focus on the oratorios just mentioned, but they at least have also other pieces to offer.
Of all Carissimi's oratorios the Historia di Jephte is undoubtedly the most famous. It has everything: a social outlaw is asked to lead his people in war and leads it to victory, only to find out then that the jubilation is short-lived as he has to sacrifice his daughter to God as a consequence of his own thoughtless vow. Carissimi has exploited the contrasts in this story to the full. The oratorio starts with the Historicus telling that the people of Israel are suppressed by the Ammonites and that the 'Spirit of the Lord' came upon Jephtha and that he promises the Lord: "If the Lord shall deliver the children of Ammon into my hands, I promise that whatever comes first to me from my home shall be sacrificed to the Lord". Then follows the description of the battle with the Ammonites, in a sequences of choruses and soli, written in the stile concitato. What follows then is a very moving description of the lament of the Ammonites, where Carissimi makes use of a four-note bass figure which is often used in laments in the 17th century. When Jephtha returns home he is greeted by his daughter, leading the jubilations of the people. It is only short-lived, as he has to tell his daughter about his vow to God. All of a sudden the music shifts from major to minor. In Jephtha's daughter's lament of her fate - "Plorate colles, dolete montes" - Carissimi uses another popular phenomenon in Italian dramatic music of the early baroque: the echo. And then the chorus joins her: "Plorate, filii Israel, plorate, omnes virgines". Here Carissimi returns to the bass figure he used in the description of the lamenting Ammonites.
In Carissimi's own time this work already earned fame. That is partly due to Athanasius Kircher, who in his book Musurgia universalis (1650) cited the lament of Jephta's daughter as a perfect example of this genre: Carissimi "composes with such skill that you would swear you could hear their sobbings and lamentations". The ensuing chorus was also frequently copied, and Handel used passages from it in his oratorio Samson. The scoring is for six voices and basso continuo. In both recordings the performers have added two violins. Arnaldo Morelli, in his liner-notes to the recording by Voces Suaves, states that "[this] choice was made on the basis of a practice which is documented by various sources: for example, in the Lenten music performed at SS. Croficisso di San Marcello in Rome, with which Carissimi collaborated in the 1650s, the ensemble always included two violins in addition to the singers and basso continuo instruments."
In the booklet to the CPO recording, Paul O'Dette also discusses this issue. He mentions that many manuscripts only include a basso continuo accompaniment, whereas others have string parts with added preludes and ritornellos. He writes that "there was a well-established practice in Roman church music of violinists improvising over a bass line, as well as doubling vocal parts in choruses. The foreign sources that include notated string parts thus reflect a practice Roman musicians improvised, but which needed to be written out for foreign musicians unfamiliar with and untrained in the practice." And he adds that eyewitness accounts of performances of this kind of repertoire in Roman churches also mention the presence of instruments. The two ensembles both make use of instruments, but in different ways. O'Dette and Stubbs open Jephta with a symphonia. Morelli mentions that Voces Suaves' instrumental parts are based on other works by Carissimi; O'Dette does not specify the source, but I assume that he and his colleagues have proceeded the same way.
However, in their performance that is the only time a sinfonia has been added. In Voces Suaves' recording, the chorus of jubilation is followed by a sinfonia, after which the Historicus tells about the confrontation of Jephta and his daughter. This way the two 'parts' of the work - although not formally indicated - are clearly divided. I think that this was an unlucky decision, as it softens the turn of the events, and hence the dramatic effect. At the end of the work, the lament of Jephta's daughter and the closing chorus are separated by another sinfonia. This is rather unnatural, and breaks up the dramatic flow of the work. From that angle I prefer the CPO recording, and that also goes for the vocal parts, which I find overall more satisfying, mainly from a stylistic point of view. To my surprise, given previous recordings of Voces Suaves, the singers use more vibrato than one would wish. In the CPO recording, Danielle Reutter-Harrah is impressive in the role of the daughter.
The CPO recording includes a second oratorio: Judicium Salomonis. This is about King Solomon, son of David, who has asked God for wisdom. This is put to the test when two women appear before him, who have both given birth to a son. As one of them has been accidentally killed during the night, they dispute about whose son is alive. Solomon decides to divide the boy and give both a half of him. The true mother then pleads to give it to the other, but not to kill him. Solomon decides that she is the mother and gives the child to her. The oratorio is for four voices: the two women are sopranos, the role of Solomon is scored for bass, and a tenor takes the role of Historicus. In the centre is the prayer of Solomon: "O God, give your judgment to the king, that he may discern between good and evil." It is embraced by the bickering of the two women: "It is not true, what you say. It is yours who lacks life; mine, however, lives." The piece closes with words of the Historicus, this time in the form of a chorus for all four voices: "O you peoples, come; O you nations, come, celebrate the judgment of Solomon and praise together the wise king, applaud King Solomon." The latter was a common phenomenon in Carissmi's oratorios, and also in music of this kind by other composers (for instance Heinrich Schütz). In Jephta the words of the Historicus are also sung by different voices and even by the tutti.
The main work in the programme that Giovanni Antonini recorded with the Bavarian Radio Choir and his ensemble Il Giardino Armonico, is Carissimi's Historia di Jonas, lesser-known than Jephte, but available in several recordings. It tells part of the story in the Old Testament book Jonah. Wolfgang Stähr, in the liner-notes to this recording, calls it a 'fairy tale', and states that Carissimi "treated even biblical legends freely and imaginatively", apparently referring to the composer's other oratorios on subjects from the Old Testament. It shows that one needs to read liner-notes critically: there is no reason not to take the historical character of the respective stories seriously. They are presented as history, and should be interpreted as such.
After a sinfonia the Historicus gives an account of the story as it unfolds. This role is divided over four voices - soprano I and II, alto and bass. But a part of this role is assigned to the tutti, and that is one of the most dramatic passages of the oratorio. As Jonah tries to escape by boat from his task to preach to Nineveh, a heavy thunderstorm springs up. This is vividly depicted by the choir: "Clouds and storms, wave and whirlwinds, hailstones and thunderbolts, thunder and lightning hurled themselves against the ship with a terrible crash". As mentioned above, Handel knew Carissimi's oratorios. Could his depiction of the plagues in Egypt in his oratorio Israel in Egypt have been inspired by this chorus? When the sailors find out that Jonah is responsible for the storm as God wants to punish him, they throw him into the sea, where he is swallowed by a big fish (called a whale in the oratorio). From the belly of the fish he sings a lament - a moving solo for tenor in three sections each of which ends with the words "Be gentle, Lord, forgive, Lord, and have mercy". God orders the fish to spit him out on a beach. Jonah goes to Nineveh whose citizens repent and ask God for forgiveness. This is set as another lament, this time for the tutti.
What is especially notable in this work is that Carissimi makes use of the cori spezzati technique, which substantially contributes to its dramatic power. This is also a good opportunity to pay attention to an important issue in the performance of Carissimi's oratorios: the number of singers that should be involved. It is discussed neither in the booklet to this recording nor in that of Voces Suaves. Paul O'Dette does discuss it in the liner-notes to the CPO recording. He mentions that Carissimi's oratorios "were written for small forces to be performed in an oratory, a small chapel designed for private devotion or intimate services. In seventeenth-century Rome, the most popular of these was the Oratorio del Santissimo Crocifisso, an exquisite chapel built in 1568 by the architect Girolamo della Porta. (...) [The] accounts indicate that the oratorios presented there were for a chamber ensemble, usually four to ten singers and a small instrumental group. Indeed, the space is too small to accommodate the larger choirs that often perform this work today." In line with this both Voces Suaves and the ensembles of the Boston Early Music Festival recorded his oratorios with one voice per part. That is different in the recording of Antonini. The booklet does not list the singers, but the picture of the live performance shows a choir of about forty voices. That is definitely too large, even if one accepts the possibility that more than one voice per part may have participated. The Historia di Jonas includes some passages allocated to the Sailors. These are sung by the choir. One section is for two Sailors, which is undoubtedly scored for tenor and bass, but is here sung by the male voices of the choir. That is very unsatisfying. The main virtue of this performance is Q-Won Han in the role of Jonas, with a very incisive account of his lament.
Whereas the participation of such a large vocal ensemble has a negative effect in Carissimi, apart from historical considerations, it is pretty disastrous in the other items in the programme. One may wonder why Carissimi's oratorio is followed by a madrigal by Monteverdi and excerpts from two cycles by Orlandus Lassus. The liner-notes don't give any reason for it. I found a sheet with "Sales information" by Bavarian Radio, and here we find the concept: "With choral music by Claudio Monteverdi and Orlando di Lasso, this album also traces the development of dramatic vocal music in the transition from the late Renaissance motet to the more emotionally expressive interpretations of the early Baroque period." This already shows the basic misunderstanding: the works by Monteverdi and Lassus are not 'choral music' in the modern sense of the term. And as far as the term 'dramatic vocal music' is concerned, that certainly goes for Monteverdi, but far less for the rather meditative Lagrime di San Pietro by Lassus, and definitely not for his Prophetiae Sibyllarum. More information on these two works can be found elsewhere on this site. I rather focus here on the performances, which are fundamentally wrong because of the large number of singers. In Lassus, the intimacy of the Lagrime is entirely lost, as is the subtlely of Monteverdi's Lamento d'Arianna. These works also require singing in mean-tone temperament, which is too much to ask from a radio choir with a wide repertoire from all times. The means a madrigal ensemble needs to use, such as the messa di voce, are also largely ignored (and are difficult to realise with a choir anyway). I can only conclude that this disc is superfluous, as there are better recordings of all the works performed here.
The additional pieces in the two other recordings are more relevant and meaningful. The CPO recording confines itself to Carissimi, and consists of four motets and one cantata. The motets are for three voices and basso continuo, in different scorings. Confitebor tibi Domine, for two sopranos and bass, is a setting of Psalm 110 (111), one of the Vesper psalms. It includes quite some coloratura. Militia est is for the same scoring; according to the booklet the free text is based on the first verse of the Old Testament book of Job: "Do not mortals have hard service on earth? Are not their days like those of hired laborers?" However, the text is largely taken from Paul's letter to the Ephesians (ch 6), where he writes: "Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." He then specifies how to do that, and that is what the text of this motet refers to. The opening makes use of the stile concitato: "The life of man upon earth is a warfare, none will be crowned unless he does battle lawfully." The second line returns at the end.
In these motets solos, duets and trios alternate. That is also the case in Ecce nos reliquimus omnia, but here the three parts are allocated to characters, which makes this motet an example of a dialogue. The terms oratorio, dialogue and motet were largely interchangeable. The text is based on Matthew 19, vs 27-29, where Peter asks Jesus: "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?" He is one of two disciples taking part in this dialogue, both scored for tenor. The part of Jesus is sung by the bass. The work closes with a trio: "Rejoice, therefore, you saints. Rejoice and exult, for your reward will be great in heaven." Audivi vocem has obbligato parts for two violins, lute and theorbo. The scoring for three sopranos, probably embodying angels, may be inspired by the text, taken from Revelations: "I heard a voice from heaven like the voice of a great thunder."
One of the most virtuosic pieces of Carissimi's pen is the cantata Apritevi inferni, scored for a solo voice and basso continuo. Here it is sung by a soprano, but many years ago it was part of a recording of cantatas by Carissimi by the British tenor Martyn Hill. Thematically it has much similarity with the motet Militia est, as this is also about the battle against the temptations of the world. It ends thus: "To he who does not follow God on earth, may heaven enlist a conspiracy, and let indignant nature order nothing but war. War, war, war, war!" The image of war or a battle was often used for spiritual matters. Especially the closing line (sung once before) is technically demanding because of the coloratura and the wide tessitura. Amanda Forsyth masters it brilliantly, but stylistically I am not very happy with her performance, as it suffers - as so often - from too much vibrato.
In comparison the motets are coming off much better. The singing is generally very good, and the voices blend rather well. In Judicium Salomonis the bickering of the two women is perfectly realized. Felix Schwandtke does well as Jesus in Ecce nos reliquimus omnia and as Solomon in Judicium Salomonis. His voice has just enough weight and authority.
Voces Suaves included two other motets by Carissimi. Annunciate gentes is a motet for five voices per ogni tempo. It is a setting of parts of Psalm 95 (96) (Cantate Domino canticum novum). O quam dilecta sunt is another motet for five voices; it has the addition per il Santissimo, which means that it is about the Holy Sacrament, and probably specifically intended for Corpus Christi. Two sections have a very personal character, which explains the scoring for a solo soprano: "Behold, Lord Jesus, I dare not approach the table of your sweetest banquet" / "My Lord God, sweet and everlasting life, set me on fire, burn me and transform me". Both end with the tutti, singing "O ardent desire, to love the Son of God!" / "O joy of the soul, to praise the Lord of heaven!"
The third additional work on this disc is by Carissimi's contemporary Domenico Mazzocchi, another prominent composer of oratorios and sacred dialogues. Cristo smarrito col lamento della Beata Vergine is a dialogue for four voices about the scene described in Luke 2 (vs 41-52): Jesus, separated from his parents during Passover in Jerusalem, is found three days later in the temple courts engaging the religious teachers. The oratorio does not focus on Jesus, but rather the mood of Mary: "She sighed and shed a great river of tears" are the opening words. Basically this piece is a lament of Mary, as so many were written at the time. This explains the mostly slow tempi in this work. It is notable that the text is in the vernacular, which indicates that it has strong similarity with secular music and was not intended for liturgical performance. Christina Boner sings the part of Mary rather well, with some restrictions with regard to style.
Let me sum up. Recordings devoted to Carissimi's oratorios are always welcome, as he is one of the great masters of the 17th century. However, it is disappointing that performers always select his best-known works, and largely ignore the rest of his oeuvre. The CPO and Arcana discs include some of it, and that cannot be appreciated enough. In these lesser-known works he also shows his mastery in setting texts. All three recordings have defects, as mentioned above. Whereas the disc of the Bavarian Radio Choir, despite the generally fine singing, falls short of what may be expected in this repertoire, the two other recordings are a mixture of virtues and shortcomings. In the end, the CPO recording is the one where the former outweigh the latter.
Johan van Veen (© 2026)
Relevant links:
Boston Early Music Festival
Choir of Bavarian Radio
Voces Suaves