musica Dei donum
CD reviews
Virgilio MAZZOCCHI (197 - 1646): Psalmi vespertini a 8 voci (1648)
Ensemble Festina Lente
Dir: Michele Gasbarro
rec: Nov 25, 2018, Rome, Basilica di Sant'Apollinare
Elegia Classics - ELECLA20077 (© 2020) (77'43")
[In 2023 this disc was reissued on Aulicus]
Liner-notes: E/IT; lyrics - no translations
Cover & track-list
Spotify
[in order of appearance]
anon:
Toccataa;
plainchant:
[incipit] Deus in adiutorium meum intende;
[antiphona] Petrus et Joannes ascendebant in templum;
Virgilio MAZZOCCHI:
Dixit Dominus;
plainchant:
[antiphona] Argentum et aurum;
Virgilio MAZZOCCHI:
Confitebor tibi Domine;
:
[antiphona] Dixit Angelus ad Petrum;
Virgilio MAZZOCCHI:
Beatus vir;
plainchant:
[antiphona] Misit Dominus angelum suum;
Virgilio MAZZOCCHI:
Laudate pueri Dominum;
plainchant:
[antiphona] Tu es Petrus;
Virgilio MAZZOCCHI:
Laudate Dominum omnes gentes;
plainchant:
[capitulum] Misit Herodes rex;
anon:
Canzona VII detta la Superbaa;
plainchant:
[hymnus] Decora lux aeternitatis;
[versus] In omnem terram;
[antiphona] Ad Jesum autem;
Virgilio MAZZOCCHI:
Magnificat;
plainchant:
[oratio] Domine, exaudi orationem meam;
[conclusio] Domine, exaudi orationem meam - Pater noster;
Tomás Luis DE VICTORIA (1548-1611):
[Ad demissionem] Salve Regina
Alena Dantcheva, Francesca Cassinari, soprano;
Carla Nahadi Babelegoto, Arianna Lanci, contralto;
Andres Montilla-Acurero, Riccardo Pisani, tenor;
Mauro Borgioni, Matteo Bellotto, bass;
Andrea Lattarulo, cello;
Matteo Coticoni, double bass;
Tomasi Francesco, Fabrizio Carta, theorbo;
Alessandro Albenga, organ (soloa)
David Maria Gentile, Andres Montilla-Acurero, Roberto Manuel Zangari, chant
Music for two or more choirs is mostly associated with Venice. There Adrian Willaert laid the foundation of a practice that would become one of the hallmarks of the Venetian style. It made a strong impression on composers from outside Italy who adopted it in their own works. The most famous example is Heinrich Schütz. However, elsewhere composers also wrote music for multiple choirs. In Rome, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was one of the first who applied this practice; one of the best-known specimens in his oeuvre is his Stabat mater. Together with a number of colleagues he composed a mass for twelve voices. Whereas in Venice the practice of writing for multiple choirs came virtually to an end in the mid-17th century, in Rome it continued unto well into the 18th century. During the 17th century several composers wrote music for up to ten choirs, which could consist of voices or instruments or a combination of the two. Orazio Benevoli was one of the representatives of this practice, which musicologists have called Kolossalbarock.
A lesser-known and relatively early representative of Roman polychorality was Virgilio Mazzocchi. He was born in Civita Castellana, studied at the seminary there and took lower orders in 1614. He moved to Rome, and it seems he studied with his brother Domenico. He was at the service of Cardinal Ippolito Aldobrandini, and it was probably due to the Cardinal's influence that in 1625 he entered the service of Cardinal Francesco Barberini. This opened the way to make a career as a church musician, and in 1629 he was appointed to the Cappella Giulia at S Pietro, where he stayed until his death. Mazzocchi quickly rose to prominence, and in a way overshadowed his brother as sometimes he had to delegate the writing of music for feast days to him being too busy with his many duties. His oeuvre contains sacred music for the liturgy, oratorios, sacred and secular operas, intermedii and cantatas. Among his sacred works we find pieces for eight to twenty voices.
The disc under review focuses on what may well be his most important collection, the Psalmi Vespertini for eight voices in two choirs and basso continuo. It comprises twelve Vesper Psalms and two Magnificat settings. In these works Mazzocchi mixes the past and the present, so to speak. One the one hand he shows his command of counterpoint, the main feature of the stile antico, of which Palestrina was still considered the model. On the other hand, these psalms include passages for solo voices, which are written in the declamatory style which was a hallmark of the stile nuovo, which emerged around 1600, and was especially promoted by Giulio Caccini.
In polychoral music, the spatial effects were often more important than the illustration of the text. Especially in the multichoral works by Benevoli, there is little room for text illustration; the main aim is to make an impression, showing the strength and superiority of Rome and its church. By including passages for solo voices, Mazzocchi opens the way to text expression, and one can find them in several of the works included here, such as the Magnificat. In Dixit Dominus Mazzocchi does not ignore the possibilities of illustrating the text in the most dramatic verses ("conquassabit"). The division of the performing forces into two groups also offers opportunities for text expression, for instance by shifting from soli to tutti or from one choir to two choirs to emphasize the importance of some words or phrases. And the choirs can also be used to create a dialogue between two groups. In Laudate Dominum the split into two groups is used in a creative manner by juxtaposing two solo sopranos and a choir.
For this recording the Psalms and the Magnificat have been put into a liturgical framework. The fixed parts of the Vespers are preceded by an antiphon in plainchant; the antiphons that have been selected are intended for the feast of St Peter and St Paul. Such antiphons should be repeated after the respective Psalm or the Magnificat or be replaced by an alternative piece. That seems not to be the case her, unless the short organ pieces, probably improvisations, which follow each Psalm attacca are meant as such. The two organ pieces mentioned in the track-list are taken from an anonymous collection of the Roman school from the early 17th century. As far as the performance practice is concerned, it is known that instruments were involved in performances of such large-scale works in Rome. Michele Gasbarro decided not to use them; all pieces are performed by voices and basso continuo.
The Ensemble Festina Lente is new to me, but among the singers we find some names of performers that have acted as soloists in various recordings, such as Alina Dantcheva, Francesca Cassinari, Mauro Borgioni and Matteo Bellotto. I am quite happy with what is on offer here: the singers do a fine job, both individually and in ensemble. They master the art of declamatory singing that is required in the passages for solo voices, and the voices also blend nicely in the choral episodes. The passages in which the text is depicted in the music receive the attention they deserve.
Mazzocchi is definitely a composer who has to date not received the attention he deserves. This disc should convince any listener that he was a really fine composer, who substantially contributed to the splendour of sacred music in 17th-century Rome.
On a technical note: It is a shame that the English translation of the Italian liner-notes by Gasbarro is so poor. "Un affresco sonoro qui impreziosito dall'aggiunta di strumenti di ripieno" is translated as "A sound fresco embellished here with the addition of filling tools". Unfortunately this is a pretty common problem of productions by Italian labels. That also goes for the lack of translations of the lyrics; in this case that is not that much of a problem, except in the case of the plainchant antiphons.
Johan van Veen (© 2024)