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CD reviews
Giulio San Pietro DE' NEGRI (DEL NEGRO) (c1570 - 1620/34): "Amore langueo - Motets, Pavia 16th Century"
Schola Cantorum Barensis
Dir: Gilberto Scordari
rec: April 2022, Monopoli, Chiesa dell'Amalfitana
Da Vinci Classics - C00658 (© 2022) (46'03")
Liner-notes: E; no lyrics
Cover, track-list & liner-notes
Spotify
Adorent sacramentum a 4acdf [2];
Amore langueo à voce solaa [2];
Amore langueo a 4acde [1];
Audi soror mea a 2ae [1];
Ave mater salvatoris a 4acdf [1];
Cantemus Domine gloriose a 3abd [3];
Descendi in hortum meum a 2cd [1];
Dulcis amor Iesu a 2ac [2];
Fratres qui gloriatur a 3def [1];
O Iesu mi dulcissime a 4bcdf [1];
O laeta dies a 2de [1];
O quam gloriosum regnum a 3abd [1];
Quam pulchra es a 2ab [1];
Quis est hic a 2ac [3];
Veniat dilectus meus a 2ab [1]
Sources:
Lorenzo Calvi, [1] Symbolae diversorum musicorum, binis, ternis, quaternis, & quinis vocibus cantandae, una cum basso ad organum, 1621;
[2] Seconda raccolta de sacri canti, 1624;
[3] Quarta raccolta de sacri canti, 1629
Valentina Varrialea, Ester Facchinib, soprano;
Matteo Pigato, altoc;
Riccardo Pisani, tenord;
Davide Benettie, Michele Dispotof, bass;
Thomas Chigioni, cello;
Gilberto Scordari, organ
One of the fruits of the dissemination of historical performance practice in Italy in the course of the last thirty years or so is the growing interest in composers who hardly appear on the programmes of concerts or on disc. A number of such composers were and are the subject of recordings of keyboard music on the label Brilliant Classics. In the field of vocal and instrumental music the contributions of two Italian labels are substantial: Tactus and Da Vinci Records. The latter is responsible for the release of a recording of pieces by a composer only specialists may have heard of. The liner-notes, written by the director of the Schola Cantorum Barensis, Gilberto Scordari, include much information that complements or corrects what is written in New Grove about the composer.
New Grove mentions several versions of his name: Giulio Santo Pietro de' (del) Negri (Negro) (*). It does not mention the years of his birth and death, and states that he was born in Milan. The liner-notes correct this information: Del Negro - as he is called on the frontispiece and in the liner-notes - was born around 1570 and died between 1620 and 1634. The place of his birth was not Milan, but Lecce, a town at the heel of the Italian peninsula. He was one of four brothers, two of which were military man and one was a musician, like Guilio. Until the turn of the century Giulio lived in Lecce, where he may have received his musical education from Francisco Antonio Baseo, maestro di cappella at Lecce Cathedral.
It is not known when Giulio moved north, but he spent the last twenty to thirty years of his life in Milan. It seems not to be known what exactly Giulio was doing there; Scordari does not mention any position, musical or otherwise. Nigel Fortune, in his article in New Grove, writes: "He was probably of independent means and, as a composer, an amateur." The latter probably should be interpreted as what was later called a dilettante - someone who could not be a professional musician because of his aristocratic descent. That does not say anything about such a person's musical qualifications. That is very clear from the oeuvre that Giulio San Pietro del Negro has left.
Again, here the liner-notes add substantial information to New Grove. The work-list comprises six collections of music, printed between 1607 and 1620 in Venice or Milan. The first four are devoted to secular music, the last two include sacred works. The present disc focuses on pieces from later printed editions, apparently taken from anthologies (which are not mentioned in New Grove). The fact that Del Negro's works were included in such editions tells us much about their appreciation. The largest part of the programme consists of sacred concertos taken from Symbolae diversorum musicorum, binis, ternis, quaternis, & quinis vocibus cantandae, una cum basso ad organum, which was put together by Lorenzo Calvi, from 1609 to 1626 maestro di cappella of Pavia Cathedral. In this collection pieces by Del Pietro figure alongside works by such renowned masters as Claudio Monteverdi, Alessandro Grandi, Ignatio Donati, Adriano Banchieri and Tarquinio Merula.
Stylistically they are close to the oeuvre of those composers. Del Pietro shows that he mastered the monodic style which was in vogue in his time. The text is set in a declamatory manner and is illustrated with musical means, either figures depicting elements in the text, or coloratura emphasizing important words or phrases, with the aim of expressing its affetti. Impressive examples are in particular the settings of texts from the Song of Solomon, which were especially popular at the time. The seconda pratica was tailor-made to express the often graphic pictures in this Old Testament book about the love of a young man and a young woman. These texts were not used for madrigals, but for sacred concertos, as since ancient times they were interpreted allegorically. The young woman was identified with the Virgin Mary. One of the text seems to be a setting of a text from the Song of Songs: Quam pulchra es. However, the text does not say, as in that book, "How beautiful are you, my love", but rather "How beautiful you are, Mary". The treatment of such texts was not very different from the way secular texts were set. The remaining concertos are also from anthologies, edited by Lorenzo Calvi. They were published in 1624 and 1629 respectively.
One of the problems of this disc is that the booklet omits the lyrics. I have spent quite some time trying to find them on the internet. In the case of texts from the Book of Songs that was not hard, but others I was not able to find, and that makes it nearly impossible to know, what they are about and how text and music are connected. Da Vinci discs always omit lyrics, and I find that very annoying. The liner-notes do give some clues, in that it is indicated that some pieces are connected to stages of the liturgical year. O laeta dies is for Christmas, four pieces are connected to Saints (O quam gloriosum regnum: "O how glorious is the kingdom in which all the saints rejoice with Christ"), three pieces with the Eucharist. Two of the latter include expressions of Jesus which are comparable with those used for Mary.
All the pieces, except one, are set for two to four voices, in various combinations. This allows for the use of harmony for expressive reasons. Even though the lyrics are omitted, the expressive character of these sacred concertos can hardly escape the attentive listener. The treatment of words like "amore langueo" (rightly used as the title of this disc (**)) is quite effective. The affetti in these pieces is perfectly conveyed by the singers. They blend well, and each of them displays a good command of the declamatory way of singing that is needed to communicate the text. In the only solo piece, Amore langueo, Valentina Varriale uses a bit too much vibrato. That is only a minor issue here, given the overall quality of the performances. The use of a cello is anachronistic.
Despite the lack of lyrics and the rather short playing time, I urge anyone interested in music of the early 17th century to investigate this disc. It is to be hoped that more of the oeuvre of Giulio San Pietro del Negro is going to be recorded in the near future.
(*) This release consistently use the version 'Del Negro'. As I have reviewed another disc with his music, by the ensemble Faenza, which has 'De' Negri', I use that version here as well, for reasons of consistency.
(**) The addition "16th Century" is rather odd, as the music was published in the 17th century. This is probably a wrong translation of the Italian seicento.
Johan van Veen (© 2024)
Relevant links:
Schola Cantorum Barensis