musica Dei donum
CD reviews
Italian sacred concertos, 1600 - 1650
[I] Lodovico Grossi DA VIADANA: "Solo Tenor Motets" - Floriano CANALE: "Keyboard Canzonas"
Angelo Goffredi, tenor
Ensemble Il Narvalo
Dir: Federico Del Sordo
rec: Nov 2023, Mantua, Basilica Palatina di S. Barbara
Brilliant Classics - 97219 (© 2024) (60'44")
Liner-notes: E/IT; lyrics - translations: E
Cover, track-list & booklet
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Floriano CANALE (1541-1616)b:
Canzon La Averolda;
Canzon La Bevilacqua;
Canzon La Canobbia;
Canzon La Fenarola;
Canzon La Nuvolina;
Canzon La Ugona;
Lodovico Grossi DA VIADANA (1564-1627):
Congratulamini mihi omnes;
Dum complerentur;
Ego autem;
Fratres go enim (Concerto à Soprano over Cornetto)a;
Hunc preclarem;
Memento salutis;
O altitudo;
Quam dilecta tabernacula;
Salve corpus Iesu Christi;
Veni Domine et noli tardare;
Veni Sancte Spiritus
Sources:
Floriano Canale, Canzoni da sonare a quattro et otto voci, libro primo, 1600;
Lodovico Grossi da Viadana, Cento Concerti ecclesiastici op. 12, 1602
David Brutti, cornetta;
Maria Bianchi, dulcian;
Claudia Pasetto, viola da gamba;
Carlo Calegari, violone;
Diego Leverić, archlute;
Federico Del Sordo, organ (solob)
[II] Lodovico Grossi DA VIADANA (1564-1627): "Sacri Concentus"
The Viadana Collective
Dir: Maximilien Brisson
rec: May 27 - 30, 2023, Mantua, Basilica Palatina di S. Barbara
Passacaille - PAS 1142 (© 2024) (79'05")
Liner-notes: E/D/F; lyrics - translations: E
Cover & track-list
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[in order of appearance]
[Nativitas Domini]
Lodovico Grossi DA VIADANA:
Hodie nobis caelorum Rex a 8 [5];
Iason MARMARAS (*1985):
[improvisation] Toccata del decimo tuono;
Lodovico Grossi DA VIADANA:
Il sangue a pena havesti a 5 [1];
Jubilate Deo [7];
Sinfonia La Bergamasca [10]
[Currus et auriga]
Lodovico Grossi DA VIADANA:
O stupor et gaudium [7];
Festina quaesumus [7];
De profundis [7];
Ecce virgo mitto vos a 8 [6]
[Susanna]
Iason MARMARAS:
[improvisation] Intonazione sopra Susanna;
Lodovico Grossi DA VIADANA:
Angustiae mihi [7];
Francesco ROGNONI (fl 1608-1626):
Susanna d'Orlando [8];
[Passio Christi]
Iason MARMARAS:
[improvisation] Toccata det terzo tuono;
Lodovico Grossi DA VIADANA:
Vinea mea electa a 4 [3];
O Domine Jesu [7];
Tenebrae factae sunt a 4 [3];
Ardens cor meum [7]
[Corpus Christi]
Iason MARMARAS:
[improvisation] Toccata per l'Elevazione;
Lodovico Grossi DA VIADANA:
O praeciosum [7];
O dulcissime Jesu [7];
Thomas SCHATTENBERG (c1580-1622):
O dulcissime Jesu a 4 [9];
Lodovico Grossi DA VIADANA:
O quam suavis [7]
Lodovico Grossi DA VIADANA:
Ego flos campi;
Iason MARMARAS:
[improvisation] Intonazione del quarto tono;
Lodovico Grossi DA VIADANA:
Letania del quarto tuono a 6 [2]
[In aeternum]
Lodovico Grossi DA VIADANA:
Si acuero ut fulgur a 8 [10]
Sources:
[1] Giacomo Vincenti, ed., Parte delli Piettosi Affetti del ... Padre D. Angelo Grillo ... Posti in Musica, 1598;
Lodovico Grossi da Viadana, [2] Letanie che si cantano nella santa casa di Loreto, op. 14, 1607;
[3] Responsoria ad Lamentationes Hieremiæ Prophetæ, op. 23, 1609;
[4] Sinfonie musicali a otto voci, op. 18, 1610;
Abraham Schadäus, ed., [5] Promptuarii musici, Pars prima, 1611;
[6] Promptuarii musici, Pars tertia, 1613;
[7] Lodovico Grossi da Viadana, Centum sacri concentus ab una voce sola, 1615;
[8] Francesco Rognoni, Selva de varii passagi, 1620;
[9] Thomas Schattenberg, Jubilus S. Bernhardi de nomine Jesu Christi Salvatoris nostri, 1620;
[10] Erhard Bodenschatz, ed., Florilegium Portense, Teil 2, 1621
Suzie LeBlanc, soprano;
Vicki St. Pierre, contralto;
Charles Daniels, tenor;
Roland Faust, bass;
Bruce Dickey, cornett;
Anna Noelle Amstutz, violin;
Catherine Motuz, Maximilien Brisson, sackbut;
Christophe Gauthier, Iason Marmaras, organ
[III] "Vulnerasti cor meum - Motets from the Song of Songs"
I Disinvolti
Dir: Massimo Lombardi
rec: June 14 - 18, 2020 & July 14 - 15, 2021, Breno (Brescia), Chiesa dei SS. Maurizio e Compagni Martiri
Arcana - A562 (© 2024) (72'35")
Liner-notes: E/F/IT; lyrics: E/F/IT
Cover, track-list & booklet
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Adriano BANCHIERI (1568-1634):
Descendi in hortum meum [3];
Giovanni BANCI (fl 1619):
Ego flos campi [9];
Francesco CASATI (fl 1615-1617):
Vulnerasti cor meum [7];
Giovanni Bernardo COLOMBI (fl 1603-1621):
Providebam Dominum [10];
Ignazio DONATI (c1568-1638):
O Maria dilecta mea [10];
Alessandro GRANDI (1590-1630):
O quam tu pulchra es [4];
Leone LEONI (c1560-1627):
Egredimini filiae Sion [1];
Federico MALGARINI (fl 1618):
Quam pulchra es [8];
Claudio MONTEVERDI (1567-1643):
Ego dormio et cor meum vigilat (SV 300) [13];
Vespro della Beata Vergine (SV 206) (Nigra sum) [5];
Giulio Cesare MONTEVERDI (1573-c1630):
Dilectus meus [11];
Stefano PATTA (fl 1606-1619):
Surge propera [2];
Giovanni Battista RICCIO (fl 1609-1621):
Tota pulchra es [12];
Giovanni Antonio RIGATTI (c1613-1648):
Surge columba mea [16];
Giovanni ROVETTA (1596/99-1668):
Surge propera [15];
Orazio TARDITI (1602-1677):
Quam speciosa [14];
Giovanni VALENTINI (c1582-1649):
Vulnerasti cor meum [6]
Sources:
[1] Leone Leoni, Sacri fiori, Libro primo, 1606/1609/1614//1617/1621
[2] Serafino Patta, Sacra cantica concinenda 1609/1611
[3] Adriano Banchieri, Vezzo di perle mvsicali, 1610/1616
[4] Alessandro Grandi, Primo libro de motetti, 1610/1617/1618/1621/1628
[5] Claudio Monteverdi, Sanctissimæ virgini missa […] ac vesperæ, 1610
[6] Giovanni Battista Bonometti, ed., Parnassus musicus ferdinandæus, 1615
[7] Francesco Lucino , ed., Seconda aggiunta alli concerti, 1617
[8] Federico Malgarini, ed., Motetti a una, due, tre et quattro voci, 1618
[9] Giovanni Banci, Primo libro de sacri concerti, 1619
[10] Zaccaria Zanetti, ed., Sacræ et divinæ cantiones, 1619
[11] Giulio Cesare Monteverdi, Affetti musici, Libro primo, 1620
[12] Giovanni Battista Riccio, Terzo libro delle divine lodi musicali, 1620
[13] Francesco Sammaruco, ed., Sacri Affetti, 1625
[14] Orazio Tarditi, Terzo libro de motetti, 1629 or before/1638
[15] Giovanni Rovetta, Motetti concertati, [Libro primo], 1635/1640
[16] Giovanni Antonio Rigatti, Motetti a voce sola, 1643
Massimo Altieri, Massimo Lombardi, tenor;
Guglielmo Buonsanti, bass;
Noelia Reverte Reche, viola da gamba, lirone;
Marco Saccardin, theorbo;
Nicola Lamon, harpsichord, organ
Lodovico Grossi da Viadana is one of those composers whose place in history is much more important than the number of recordings of their works would suggest. He is generally considered the first to publish sacred music with a part for basso continuo, the Cento Concerti ecclesiastici op. 12 of 1602. This collection has brought him fame, and pieces from it may have been included in anthologies. However, discs entirely devoted to his oeuvre - which includes much more than this collection - are rare. It is remarkable that in a short space of time, two discs have been released in which his oeuvre is in the centre.
Viadana was born as Lodovico Grossi in Viadana, and only added 'da Viadana' to his name when he entered the order of the (Franciscan) Minor Observants. Between 1594 and 1623 he had the position of maestro di cappella at several cathedrals and convents. Some of his music found wide dissemination, and he also attracted a large number of pupils. He published more than thirty collections of music, mostly with an opus number. The largest part of his oeuvre comprises sacred music, but he also wrote madrigals and instrumental pieces.
In his oeuvre Viadana makes use of almost all techniques of his time. Some pieces are polyphonic, other homophonic, some without instruments, others with a basso seguente and later with a basso continuo. Both prima pratica and seconda pratica are represented in his output, and in addition he sometimes makes use of the technique of cori spezzati. As a result his oeuvre is various and colourful and in many ways he is a key figure in the development of Italian music at the turn of the century.
The first of the three discs under review here focuses on what is by far his best-known publication - one may even say, the only well-known, as the rest of his oeuvre is largely terra incognita. It can be considered the first major edition of sacred music for solo voices and basso continuo (although it seems likely that the Lamentations by Emilio de' Cavalieri are the first sacred monodies in history). The Cento Concerti Ecclesiastici are scored for one to four voices and basso continuo. The latter has the character of a basso seguente, which follows the lowest vocal part. That is clearly audible in the recording of the Ensemble Il Narvalo, which confines itself to concertos for a single voice. The bass is identical with the vocal part.
The concertos are connected to the various feasts of the ecclesiastical year. The first piece, Veni Domine et noli tardare is for Advent, Hunc praeclarem for Epiphany. O altitudo is for Holy Trinity, Congratulamini mihi omnes for the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Veni Sancte Spiritus and Dum complerentur are obviously for Whitsun, whereas Ego autem and Quam dilecta tabernacula are for Holy Week. Salve corpus Iesu Christi is for Corpus Christi and Memento salutis for feasts of the Virgin Mary.
There are a few rarities. Veni Sancte Spiritus is the only piece which is to be performed alternatim. The odd verses are set for solo voice; how the even verses are to be performed is not indicated. Here Federico Del Sordo plays versets by Giovanni Maria Trabaci. One concerto, Fratres ego enim, a piece for Maundy Thursday, bears the indication À Soprano over cornetto. The latter option is followed here; its two sections are allocated to two different tracks (1 and 13).
The concertos alternate with canzoni by Floriano Canale, which are taken from his first book which appeared in Venice in 1600. Although Canale, born in Brescia, was organist by profession, these pieces are not specifically intended for a keyboard instrument. They are scored for four or eight voices, and as they have been preserved in separate parts, they were intended for a performance by an instrumental ensemble. That does not exclude a performance on a keyboard instrument.
This disc deserves a wholehearted welcome, as it gives a very good impression of the 1612 collection, which will probably never be recorded complete. More recordings of pieces from it would be most welcome. This disc shows that they deserve much more attention. Although Angelo Goffredi's repertoire includes early music, he is - according to the biographical data in the booklet - mainly a singer in operas of the 19th century and even in pop music. Overall I rate his performances positively, but especially in the highest register a clearly audible vibrato creeps in.
In Memento salutis Viadana makes use of a then popular device: the echo. In each phrase the last word is repeated, and even without knowing the score I am pretty sure that the repeat should be sung piano. That is hardly audible here; the swift tempo does give little time to make more of it.
Without access to the score it is impossible to say what the composer has written down and what has been added by a performer in the field of ornamentation. It seems that Goffredi has not added that much. However, one may wonder how much Viadana expected the performer to add. With this collection we are in the early days of monody. So I have to leave it at that. I would like to add that Del Sordo's performances at the organ are excellent, and that it is an asset of this recording that it was made in the S Barbara Basilica in Mantua, with its unique Antegnati organ of 1565, which produces a gorgeous sound and also has the temperament needed to bring out the harmonic peculiarities in this repertoire.
The second disc ignores the 1602 collection, and rather turns to another one with pieces for solo voices and basso continuo. Maximilien Brisson, in his liner-notes, states: "His seminal Cento concerti ecclesiastici of 1602 have received considerable attention, but Viadana's contribution to monody has been largely seen in modern days as timid and of limited musical value beyond the innovative features of that collection. We propose, however, that his true contribution to the monodic genre resides in his later opus, the long-overlooked Cento concerti a una voce sola of 1614 (republished as Centum sacri concentus ab una voce sola in Frankfurt in 1615*), which constitutes a monumental addition to the solo repertoire of the early Baroque." This observation may support the apparent modesty in the ornamentation department in the previous recording. In the motets of 1614 Viadana is more adventurous, with regard to the connection between text and music, the use of harmony for expressive purposes and the declamatory treatment of the text. Again, this collection includes 100 pieces, equally divided between the four voice types. Brisson selected eleven pieces: each of the four singers has two to sing, and the remaining three are performed instrumentally. It is nice that the booklet includes the lyrics of the latter, which is helpful to get at least a hint of the way Viadana treats the text.
These motets are also connected to the major feast days and other events of the ecclesiastical year. The texts are biblical or liturgical, and other pieces are settings of devotional poetry. The programme is divided into a number of chapters. The first is about Advent and Christmas. It opens with a piece included in an anthology published in Strasbourg in 1611, attesting to the dissemination of Viadana's works and his international reputation. Hodie nobis cœlorum Rex is a responsory for the Matins at Christmas and is set for eight voices - a specimen of Viadana's use of the cori spezzati technique. It was originally part of a book of 29 motets for double choir, but unfortunately only one of the parts has survived. This motet is one of three that are included in anthologies. Another anthology, published in 1598, comprises spiritual madrigals, among them Viadana's Il sangue a pena havesti, which connects Christ's birth with his passion. The chapter closes with an instrumental piece from a collection of 1610. These are scored for eight voices; as there are only four melody instruments here, I assume that the remaining parts are played on the organ.
The second chapter is entitled "Currus et auriga", words from an antiphon for the feast of Saint Francis. Obviously, as Viadana was a Franciscan, this feast had a special meaning for him. This part of the programme opens with an antiphon for the Vespers for Saint Francis of Assisi. The rest of this chapter seems to have nothing to do with this feast. Festina quaesumus is a responsory for Advent. De profundis, one of the penitential psalms, is scored for bass, which was to be expected; the voice goes to the bottom of its range on "profundis", which makes the sharp rise on the next words, "clamavi ad te", all the more effective.
The story about Susanna, included in the apocryphical part of the Old Testament book of Daniel, has inspired many poets and composers. Lassus wrote a chanson on a text by Guillaume Guéroult, which was often the subject of diminutions. Here, in the third chapter, we get the diminutions by Francesco Rognoni. They are preceded by a concerto for solo voice from Viadana's 1615 collection, which deals with the same subject.
The fourth chapter is devoted to Christ's Passion, and here we get some pieces written in the stile antico: Vinea mea electa and Tenebrae factae sunt are responsories for Holy Week. They are taken from the collection Responsoria ad lamentationes of 1609. They are scored for four voices. The former is performed here by the four singers a capella, the latter by bass and instruments. The chapter closes with a piece for Easter: Ardens est cor meum is about one of the women who went to Jesus's tomb only to find it empty, and guarded by angels.
Next are pieces for Corpus Christi, either about the "sacrament of piety" (O praeciosum) or about the love for Jesus (O dulcissime Jesu). The latter text can be heard in two settings: one for solo voice and basso continuo, the other in a four-part setting by the Danish composer Thomas Schattenberg. This is an arrangement of Viadana's setting, which closely follows the original.
The last chapter is called Sancta Maria and includes a setting of a text from the Old Testament Song of Solomon; this love poetry was given a spiritual meaning since ancient times, identifying the girl with the Virgin Mary. The Litanies were also frequently set, and - like many other composers - Viadana divides the text between the voices, thus creating a kind of dialogue.
The programme ends with Si acuero ut fulgur, another motet for double choir that has survived thanks to the inclusion in an anthology, that was used in Lutheran schools and churches in Germany. The text is from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, and therefore its inclusion in a 'Lutheran collection' was no problem.
It brings to a close a most interesting and compelling programme which has been put together in such a way that there is much variety, also thanks to the decisions with regard to the line-up. A special feature is that the vocal pieces are sometimes introduced by organ improvisations in the style of the time - an impressive achievement of Iason Marmaras.
The four singers are excellent. It is quite some time ago that I have heard Suzie LeBlanc, and I am happy to hear that she is still a great interpreter of this kind of repertoire. Charles Daniels is an old hand in early music as well, and his singing is as impressive as ever. Vicky St. Pierre is a new name to me; she has a remarkable voice - a real contralto with a strong low register. Roland Faust has also a good low register, which is necessary in De profundis. In Tenebrae factae sunt his voice blends perfectly with the instruments. All four singers show a perfect command of the declamatory way of singing that is needed in this repertoire. Like in the case of the previous disc, I don't know what has been written out by Viadana and what has been added by the singers as ornamentation. Anyway, it is impressive how they deal with the coloratura in these solo motets. The ensemble of voices and instruments is immaculate. The instrumentalists are true virtuosos on their respective instruments. Like the first disc I discussed here, the programme was recorded in the Basilica of Santa Barbara in Mantua, which is the perfect venue for this kind of music.
This is an exciting disc that makes one wanting more.
The third disc's programme includes music by composers who further developed what Viadana initiated. It focuses on settings of texts from the Song of Songs, one of the books of the Old Testament. On the programme of the second disc reviewed here we already met such a piece from the pen of Viadana.
In the course of history these texts have exerted a strong attraction on composers. One reason for this is the expressive language with which the love of a young man and a young woman is described. Another - and probably more important - reason is their allegorical interpretation. The young man represented Christ, the young woman the Church, or - especially in mystic circles - the soul of the believer. When the veneration of the Virgin Mary developed, she took the role of the young woman, with the man representing the Church. The fact that a number of texts entered the liturgy in the form of antiphons, indicates that the Church embraced the allegorical interpretation and considered the texts useful to strengthen the faith of the people. However, one cannot overlook a kind of dichotomy in the Church's attitude: various people who translated these texts into the vernacular came into conflict with the ecclesiastical authorities.
Marco Bizzarini, in his liner-notes, emphasizes the connection between the sacred concertos on texts from the Song of Songs and secular madrigals. "The divide between sacred and secular music, or rather - as they would have called it then - between church music and chamber music, is considerably reduced when the respective texts share imagery and settings." Both in musical style and in the images used in the texts there is no fundamental difference between these sacred concertos and madrigals. In some pieces the connection between the woman and |Mary is made explicit. The most striking example is O Maria, dilecta mea by Ignazio Donati: "O Mary, my beloved one, come and you'll be crowned: and behold, I come". The text is a kind of 'christianized' paraphrase of verses from the Song of Songs. A comparable treatment of texts from this book is set by Leone Leoni, Egredimini filiae Sion: "Go forth, ye daughters of Sion, and see
your queen in the diadem, wherewith the Lord crowned her in the day of his espousals and in the day of the joy of his heart." Some pieces end with an "Alleluia", emphasizing their sacred character.
If there is a difference between these sacred concertos and secular madrigals, it is in the connection between characters and voice types. In the texts either the man or the woman is speaking, but that does not make any difference in the scoring. The most famous piece in the programme, Nigra sum from Claudio Monteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine, is a setting of words by the woman, but it is scored for a tenor. In Ego flos campi the two characters describe each other, but the whole piece is scored for two tenors. Quam speciosa by Orazio Tarditi is scored for tenor and bass, but they both represent the man; at the end of the piece they join in singing "Veni de Libano".
In the 16th century, the time of the stile antico, Palestrina was one of the composers to set texts from the Song of Songs. His settings were published in 1584 as his fourth book of motets. The first edition's title doesn't refer in any way to the origin of the texts. The popularity of such compositions is reflected by the fact that this book was reprinted several times; later editions are more explicit about their character. They were not intended for liturgical use, but rather for private performances among aristocratic circles. It is not self-evident that all the pieces included in the programme of the present disc were specifically intended for the liturgy, but it is certainly possible as the inclusion of such texts in Monteverdi's Vespers indicates.
The ensemble I Disinvolti made a selection of the large number of settings that were written. The size of the repertoire is easy to understand, as these texts were tailor-made for the new style, whose aim it was to express and communicate human passions, or affetti, as they were called. The texts from the Song of Songs offer plenty opportunities to do so. The pieces included here are impressive examples.
The performances do them full justice. The singers show full command of the declamatory way of singing this music needs. They also pay attention to dynamic contrasts which is essential in this repertoire, although probably not enough. And again, I wonder about the ornamentation. I was surprised that Monteverdi's Nigra sum is sung almost without any ornamentation. That suggests that in the other pieces the singers are too economical in this department as well. But that is something I can't check without looking at the scores.
Anyway, given the subject of this recording and the quality of the music, this disc deserves an unequivocal recommendation. The use of a larger organ, like the one in the two previous recordings, would have been recommendable, but fortunately the positive organ played here has a strong presence.
(*) The track-list mentions only the reprint of 1615 as the source of the selected pieces, as of the original edition of 1614 only the basso continuo part has survived, which is heavily damaged.
Johan van Veen (© 2025)
Relevant links:
I Disinvolti
The Viadana Collective