Leonardo Garcia Alarcon presents and contrasts two monumental works: a Messa Concertata by the choirmaster of the Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna and the famous Dixit Dominus composed by George Frideric Handel in Rome in 1707. A fascinating comparison between a first recording of a forgotten masterpiece and a new interpretation of one of the most brilliant works by the young Handel, dazzled as he was by his discovery of the Italian Baroque.

Classical Music

The sumptuous music of Giovanni Paolo Colonna is brought to life in this concert to honour Bologna's patron saint at the Chapel of St Petronio Basilica - the very place in which this great musician was organist and chapel master in the mid-17th century. The works in this programme are rarely heard due to their grandiose proportions and virtuoso demands in performance. They include the colossal Dixit Dominus for two choirs, trumpet fanfare and strings, as well as the dazzling Beatus vir, possibly the earliest ever example of a concerto grosso.

Giovanni Battista Colonna spent most of his career in Bologna as maestro di cappella of the basilica of San Petronio. Since he had at his disposal this imposing building with it's two choir organs, well known to lovers of the instrument, and it's very generous acoustics, Colonna wrote a large number of sacred compositions for imposing vocal and instrumental forces. But, in a more intimate vein, he also devoted two collections to the repertory of 'small motets.' The pieces recorded here come from the 1681 set of Motetti a due e tre voci. They display a wide variety of formulas, combining traditional elements and innovative aspects that were to be further developed in the following generations. These gems are highly representative of the style of small motets that heralds the stile concertante. They are characterized by various combinations of voices (from a solo recitative to a mixture of vocal duets or trios in different scorings) and a broad range of formal structures bound up with the very nature of the texts.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Giovanni Paolo Colonna (1637-1695) was a native of Bologna and the music director of one of it's major churches, dedicated to San Petronio, where he presided over a rich culture of sacred music distinguished by participation from names now far better known to us such as Torelli, Bononcini and Giovanni Gabrieli. This valuable set brings together for the first time on record all his surviving compositions in the form of the sacred motet which was so popular as an extra-liturgical contribution (perhaps performed as offertory or communion music) towards worship, featuring the skills of what must have been highly skilled singers as well as a rich continuo section. Colonna's music has received relatively little attention on record until now, though Philippe Jaroussky concluded a 2009 album with the gorgeous O coeli devota, and there is one other, older recording of several other motets, as well as a larger-scale oratorio. So the time is now right to reassess his contribution and his own voice, with excellent new, historically informed performances led by Carlo Centemeri, who has already brought several rarities from the Italian Baroque to Brilliant Classics, including music by Albinoni (BC94852) and Bassani (BC94259), which received 5 star reviews in Amadeus and Diapason. These motets are multi-movement works, scarcely dwelling for long on any one emotion or text, even in the arias, but moving pacily though narratives of repentance, devotion and praise, and mostly concluding with exuberant Allelujas, much as Bach would fashion his Jauchzet Gott BWV51 for solo soprano in the Italian style a generation later. Anyone with even a passing interest in the Italian Baroque and it's charming byways will want to hear this. First recordings by Giovanni Colonna (1637-1695), who was the Music Director of the famous church San Petronio in his native Bologna. He composed his Sacred Motets for liturgical use, on devotional texts in Latin. This set presents the complete motets for solo voice and basso continuo, consisting of several movements, written for alternatively soprano, alto, tenor and bass. It is music of great beauty, expressing the emotional content of the text, from repentance to joy, from intimacy to exultation. Excellent performances by 4 Italian soloists and the instrumental ensemble Astrarium Consort, led by Carlo Centemeri, who already successfully recorded for Brilliant Classics chamber music by Bassani (BC94259) and Albinoni (BC94852). Centemeri wrote himself the scholarly liner notes.

Among the thirteen oratorios by Giovanni Paolo Colonna, more than half are connected, by origin or tradition, to the court of Francesco II d’Este. Although in the early modern period the sacredness of monarchy was indisputable, it cannot be taken for granted that an oratorio was offered to a monarch in order to praise him unconditionally. Oratorios were often an instrument of admonition. This aspect is fully expressed in L’Assalonne, concerning familial and power entanglements between father and son. Maria Luisa Baldassari leads Ensemble “Les Nations” and a cast of 5 vocal soloists.

A MusicWeb International Recording of the Month!

For centuries the Lamentations of Jeremiah have inspired composers to write some of their most expressive music. Originally these lamentations were written by the prophet Jeremiah in reaction to the downfall of Judah and its capital Jerusalem, the destruction of the temple of God and the deportation of the Jewish people to Babylon. In the Christian church these texts were considered very appropriate to be recited or sung during the last three days of Holy Week. A parallel was drawn between the destruction of Jerusalem and the suffering and death of Jesus: both were the effect of the people turning away from God. A refrain was added to every chapter: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, turn back to the Lord your God", from the prophet Hosea (ch 14, vs 2). Liturgically the Lamentations are part of the Matins (or Tenebrae) on each of the last three days before Easter, the Triduum sacrum: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday.

In the renaissance a large number of polyphonic settings were written, but in comparison the number of settings in the baroque era seems rather limited. Today the best-known are those written by French composers of the late 17th and early 18th century, like Lambert, Lalande, Charpentier and François Couperin (Leçons de Ténèbres). It is often suggested that in other parts of Europe hardly any settings of the Lamentations were written in the baroque era. Whether that is indeed the case is hard to prove. There are probably more than one would think, but they are hardly known and are seldom performed and recorded. Alessandro Scarlatti, for instance, composed a set of Lamentations, but as far as I know these have been recorded only once. The same goes for settings by composers as Giacomo Carissimi, Francesco Durante and Niccolò Jommelli. Recently settings by little-known composers have been recorded, for instance by the Neapolitans Cristofaro Caresana, Gaetano Veneziano and Gennaro Manna.

Giovanni Paolo Colonna can also be ranked among the little-known composers. Although is name is certainly not unfamiliar, he is rather badly represented on disc. Colonna was born and died in Bologna. The son of an organ builder, he was educated as such. He developed into an expert in organ construction. After initial studies in Bologna he went to Rome, where he became a pupil of Orazio Benevoli and Giacomo Carissimi. After his return to Bologna he was active as a composer and became second organist of the basilica of San Petronio. From 1662 until his death he was maestro di cappella there. He held the same position in two other churches for some years. His extant oeuvre is not that large, compared to the output of some other composers of his time. In our time especially his oratorios have attracted some attention; eight of these have survived. He also composed some secular dramatic works, such as cantatas and a couple of operas. His sacred oeuvre includes masses, motets, psalms, responsories and canticles.

In 1689 he published his Sacre lamentationi della Settimana Santa; the publisher erroneously gave it the opus number 8, whereas in fact it was his Op. 9. The collection includes nine lamentations, three for each of the three days. They are set for solo voice and basso continuo. The first is always for soprano, the second and third lamentation for the two first days are for alto and bass respectively, but in the settings for the third day it is the other way around. When these Lamentations were written, the strict monodic style from the time of Monteverdi had made way to a more lyrical approach, but the recitative, which was to take such an important place in vocal music of the 18th century, had not fully developed yet. These Lamentations bear witness to that. They are largely syllabic; in the text of the Lamentations only very few phrases are repeated. Melismatic passages are rare. Melismas are mostly confined to the introductions ('Incipit lamentatio Jeremiae prophetae'; 'De lamentatio Jeremiae prophetae'), the Hebrew letters which open every section and the refrain 'Jerusalem, convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum'. There is also some coloratura here and there, mostly at the concluding phrase of a lamentation.

The scoring for a solo voice offers opportunities to express the text. These settings include many specimens of that. Obviously the contrast between dark and light is explored. The rather gloomy nature of these texts results in the lower part of the tessitura of the singers being fully explored. That is expecially the case in the settings for alto and bass, and fortunately in the voices of both Annalisa Mazzoni and Matteo Bellotto the low register is well developed.

These pieces ask for an optimum communication of the text. The three singers meet that requirement with flying colours. Every word is clearly intelligible. They sing in a truly speechlike manner, and also make use of dynamic shading to emphasize particular words. Especially Francesca Cassinari makes a strong impression in this recording. Her interpretation is very expressive and the often strong emotions of the text come off to the full.

The liner-notes give little information about the performance circumstances. Were these Lamentations written for the church or for a convent? Here they are embedded in a liturgical framework: every lamentation is followed by a responsory. These texts have been frequently set in the course of time. Especially settings from the renaissance are very well known, for instance from the pen of Tomás Luis de Victoria and Carlo Gesualdo. Here we hear them in plainchant, sung by just one cantor. Considering the scoring of the Lamentations that seems a logical option. Massimo Lombardi is exemplary in his performance of the liturgical chants.

This is a most interesting and musically captivating contribution to the repertoire for Passiontide. It shows that the exploration of the Lamentation repertoire is well worth the effort. And Colonna is certainly a composer who deserves more attention. This disc is also entirely convincing as far as the performance is concerned. I urge anyone who wants to hear something different during Passiontide to add this disc to his collection.

– MusicWeb International (Johan van Veen)