GIOVANNI BOTTESINIBOTTESINI

MMESSAESSA DADA RREQUIEMEQUIEM

Marta Mathéu • Gemma Coma-Alabert Agustín Prunell-Friend •Enric Martínez-Castignani Joyful Company of Singers • Philharmonic Orchestra Thomas Martin (1821–1889) The critics of the day were, for the most part, fairly , from which his linguistic and stylistic models are negative about the work, largely perhaps because they felt clearly drawn. Messa da Requiem obliged to compare it with Verdiʼs Requiem of three years As far as the instrumentation is concerned, he gives “He was one of the greatest musicians of the century 1856) he, along with Antonio Bazzini, Luigi Arditi and earlier. Their views have also undoubtedly influenced the leading rôle not to the strings, but to the woodwind, dominated by Verdi, and the most prodigious of virtuoso Alfredo Piatti, had given a historic concert in London some of those who have written about the work in our time often entrusting them with the workʼs principal theme. His performers. Beneath his bow, the double bass would sigh, featuring five unpublished string quartets composed by a (Sergio Martinotti, Giovanni Carli Ballola, Umberto treatment of the four solo singers and the chorus, lament, sing, croon, tremble and roar, an orchestra in itself, nineteen-year-old Donizetti. Bottesini himself also wrote Scarpetta). Bottesiniʼs Requiem fell into neglect almost meanwhile, demonstrates his skill for contrapuntal writing. capable of both powerful outbursts and the softest of string quartets and quintets, as well as other chamber immediately and was only revived a century later, in 1979, All in all, the Requiem is a work “rich in harmonic interest nuances...” (Giovanni Depanis). Giovanni Bottesini (1821- works, many salon songs (seventy or more), orchestral when it was performed in Crema cathedral in an edition and is beautifully constructed both in terms of counterpoint 89) travelled the globe as a double bass player and music and a theoretical publication, the Complete Method used again the following year at St Markʼs in Venice. and the overall quality of its choral and orchestral writing” conductor, earning worldwide fame and continuing to tour for Double Bass. Nor should his go unmentioned: In his setting of the Mass, Bottesini interprets the (Umberto Scarpetta). until a few months before his death. Given the time it took while he did not achieve huge success in this field at a time liturgical text with apt and colourful accents. His use of in his day to journey from place to place, his appearances when Italian opera was entirely dominated by Verdi, he counterpoint gives the work a conventional ecclesiastical Gaspare Nello Vetro at so many far-flung concert halls are almost beyond belief: nonetheless created some gems of well-crafted and stamp, while his melodies attest to the key influence of English translation by Susannah Howe he performed right across Europe, from Portugal to expressive melodic beauty (in, for example, Ero e Leandro Russia, and throughout the Americas, then almost a month and Alì Babà). away from by sea, and won great acclaim wherever Like other Italian musicians of the time, Bottesini also he went. wrote a number of sacred works, the most significant of Dubbed the “Paganini of the double bass”, Bottesini which is his Requiem, the form of the Catholic Mass which was a warm-hearted and generous man. He earned a had recently inspired masterworks from Mozart, Berlioz, fortune during his lifetime yet his funeral expenses had to Cherubini, Cimarosa and Verdi. While over the centuries be met by Parmaʼs city council after he died penniless, there had been many settings of the Requiem, or Mass for having spent or given away much of his money and lost the the Dead, in the Romantic era the genre moved away from rest at gambling. its liturgical roots somewhat to reflect instead the Though he is principally remembered today as a symphonic and operatic trends of the day, resulting in double bass virtuoso, Bottesini was a complete musician in versions written on a grand scale for large forces. the sense that he excelled in every branch of his art. He Bottesiniʼs Requiem was composed in early 1877 in was a pioneer in Italy in combining the rôles of soloist and response to the death of his brother Luigi. It was first conductor, gaining praise on an international level for the performed (in adapted form, because women were not precision and accuracy of his conducting, as well as for his allowed to sing in church at this time) in the Capuchin fidelity to composersʼ intentions, although the formality of chapel in Cairo, Bottesini then being musical director of the his interpretations came in for occasional criticism. cityʼs Italian opera company. A large audience thronged to Bottesini directed many orchestral concerts, working with hear it and gave the performance a warm reception; it also all kinds of instrumental soloists, unlike many of his earned an enthusiastic review from the correspondent of compatriots, whose focus was still firmly fixed on the opera the Gazzetta Musicale di Milano. The first complete house. performance took place at Turinʼs Teatro Regio on 24th His work in the chamber music world was equally March 1880, but was not well attended – not only was it innovative. One of the founding members of the first Italian Holy Week, but the theatre was not known for staging Quartet Society, established in Florence in 1861, and of sacred works. One year later, however, the Requiem won another in Naples in 1862, just five years earlier (in August a silver medal at the National Music Expo in . Giovanni Bottesini (1821–1889) I giudizi dei critici del tempo – probabilmente portati a la presenza della melodia, il notevole influsso del fare un confronto con il Requiem di Verdi di tre anni prima melodramma, da cui risultano attinti i modelli linguistici e Messa da Requiem – furono per lo più negativi e non è escluso che ebbero una stilistici. «Fu uno dei più geniali fra gli artisti del secolo verdiano, e quartetti inediti che Donizetti aveva scritto diciannovenne. certa qual influenza anche sugli autori contemporanei che Dal punto di vista strumentale, se minor cura viene fra i virtuosi il più fantastico. Sotto il suo archetto il Oltre che come esecutore, fu attivo come autore di quintetti hanno scritto su questo lavoro (Sergio Martinotti, Giovanni dedicata agli archi, ruolo predominante è riservato ai fiati, contrabbasso gemeva, sospirava, tubava, cantava, e quartetti per archi, di composizioni cameristiche, di arie Carli Ballola, Umberto Scarpetta). Dopo queste esecuzioni cui spesso viene affidato il tema principale dellʼintero fremeva, ruggiva, unʼorchestra completa, con impeti da salotto (se ne conoscono più di settanta), di musica la Messa cadde nel dimenticatoio e venne riesumata pezzo, mentre il trattamento del coro e dei quattro solisti terribili e con sfumature dolcissime» (Giovanni Depanis). sinfonica e di un testo di didattica (Metodo per soltanto un secolo dopo, nel 1979, quando venne eseguita rileva una notevole maestria contrappuntistica. La fama di Bottesini fu mondiale e la sua vita, fino a pochi contrabbasso). Non si possono dimenticare le opere nel duomo di Crema in una edizione ripresa lʼanno dopo Per concludere il Requiem è un lavoro «ricco di risorse mesi prima della morte, tutto un viaggio: la sua presenza liriche: anche se non ebbero un successo straordinario in nella basilica di S. Marco di Venezia. armoniche e di ottima fattura per quanto riguarda il nei teatri più lontani tra loro, considerati i tempi impiegati unʼepoca in cui il teatro lirico italiano era schiacciato dalla In questa composizione Bottesini interpreta il testo contrappunto e, in generale, la scrittura corale e dai mezzi di trasporto del tempo, ha dellʼincredibile: presenza di Verdi, si deve riconoscere che in esse vi sono liturgico con accenti vivi e appropriati: pur non mancando orchestrale» (Umberto Scarpetta). percorse infatti lʼEuropa dal Portogallo alla Russia, e le pagine che rappresentano dei veri gioielli di melodia brani di stile contrappuntistico che danno al pezzo una Americhe, lontane quasi un mese di navigazione, espressiva e appropriata (tra queste, Ero e Leandro, Alì convenzionale impronta ecclesiastica, mentre si rileva, con Gaspare Nello Vetro suscitando ovunque un indescrivibile successo. Babà). Battezzato “il Paganini del contrabbasso”, lʼuomo Come altri musicisti italiani del tempo, Bottesini ha Bottesini era una persona generosa, di buon cuore: lasciato anche alcune composizioni di musica religiosa. La guadagnò cifre incredibili per trovarsi, alla morte, a più significativa è il Requiem, utilizzando quella particolare ricevere i funerali a spese del Comune di Parma, in quanto forma del messale romano che già in tempi recenti aveva non possedeva nulla: aveva dilapidato tutto con le spese visto i capolavori di Mozart, Berlioz, Cherubini, Cimarosa e incontrollate, la beneficenza, mentre il gioco dʼazzardo Verdi. Anche se nei secoli della Messa pro defunctis o da aveva fatto il resto. requiem si contano un grande numero di esemplari, in Anche se oggi è ricordato soltanto come periodo romantico questo genere, più che allo spirito contrabbassista, Bottesini fu un musicista completo, nel liturgico, fu particolarmente legato alle tendenze sinfoniche senso che brillò in ogni ramo della sua arte. Fu uno dei e operistiche ricorrendo a orchestrazioni di grandi primi, se non il primo, a unificare tra gli italiani le figure del dimensioni. concertatore e del direttore dʼorchestra e, anche come La Messa di Bottesini fu composta ai primi del 1877 in direttore dʼorchestra lavorò in ogni parte del mondo, dove suffragio del fratello Luigi da poco deceduto, e venne fu stimato per la precisione, lʼaccuratezza, lʼaderenza agli eseguita, anche se non integralmente, – alle donne non intenti dellʼautore, anche se, talvolta, gli venne era concesso di cantare in chiesa – nel tempio dei frati rimproverata una certa formalità di interpretazione. Tra gli cappuccini del Cairo, città dove il maestro dirigeva la italiani si rilevò uno dei primi direttori con una concezione stagione lirica. Lʼesecuzione fu accolta con successo dal innovativa di questo ruolo, dirigendo anche un grande pubblico che affollava il luogo sacro ed ebbe una numero di concerti sinfonici e con solisti di vari strumenti. recensione favorevole dal corrispondente della Gazzetta Altrettanto innovativa fu la posizione nella musica da Musicale di Milano. La prima esecuzione completa si ebbe camera: la prima Società del Quartetto nacque a Firenze al Teatro Regio di Torino il 24 marzo 1880, con scarsa nel 1861, e lui fu tra i fondatori; lo stesso a Napoli lʼanno presenza di un pubblico che non era abituato a frequentare seguente. Già pochi anni prima, nellʼagosto 1856, era stato i teatri durante la settimana santa né ad udirvi musica uno degli interpreti di una serata storica: Bazzini, Arditi, sacra. Lʼanno dopo, infine, vinse la medaglia dʼargento Piatti e Bottesini avevano eseguito a Londra cinque dei allʼEsposizione Nazionale di Musica di Milano. Marta Mathéu Enric Martínez-Castignani Born in Tarragona, Marta Mathéu studied at the Conservatory there, continuing in Valencia. She The Italian-Spanish baritone Enric Martínez-Castignani studied at the Barcelona Municipal has been taught by Montserrat Caballé, Helena Obratzova, Nelly Miricioiu, Ana María Sánchez, Conservatory, at the Musikhochschule Heidelberg-Mannheim and with eminent masters Enedina LLoris, Isabel Penagos, Carmen Bustamante, Miguel Zanetti, Robert Expert, François including Gérard Souzay, Dalton Baldwin, Gerd Türk, Ulrich Eisenlohr, Paul Schilhawsky, Carlos Le Roux and Wolfram Rieger. She has sung in leading national and international concert halls Chausson and Wolfram Rieger. Since his début in La Bohème at the Budapest Opera he has with distinguished conductors as well as in chamber groups and with well known colleagues, and sung in several of the leading international opera houses. His concert activity has brought has won awards in several international contests and festivals. She has made several recordings appearances in major festivals, and with distinguished orchestras and conductors. Considered for the Klassicat label. one of the best Spanish Lieder singers, he has given many recitals.

Gemma Coma-Alabert Joyful Company of Singers The young Catalan mezzo-soprano Gemma Coma-Alabert made her American début at the Aspen Opera Theater Center as Medea in Cavalliʼs Giasone in 2005. She is a frequent guest at One of Europeʼs most prominent chamber choirs, the Joyful Company of Singers has a repertoire ranging from the the Gran Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona and has appeared frequently in France and elsewhere in sixteenth century to the present day including first performances of works by many of leading contemporary composers. Europe, taking important rôles at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the operas of Toulon, Formed by conductor Peter Broadbent, the choir regularly appears at major music festivals throughout the Britain and Nantes, Rennes and Lausanne, Bilbao Opera and at the festivals of Bergen and Lugo. She also Europe, broadcasting in many countries. The choir has released 22 CDs, and recording continues to be an important appears frequently in recital and in concert. Her radio and television productions include work for part of its activity, as does its work with orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic, the Bournemouth Symphony and Arte, Mezzo, France Musique, Radio Nacional de España and Catalunya Música. the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Agustín Prunell-Friend

Born in Tenerife, the tenor Agustín Prunell-Friend trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Since his 1996 début in La Cenerentola in , he has made Rossini an important part of his wide repertoire, covering the baroque and classical periods, Britten, oratorio and Lied. He has performed in prestigious festivals and concert halls in Europe and America and collaborated with distinguished European and American orchestras and conductors. He has recorded for the RTVE, Mondo Musica, Dynamic, Naxos, Glossa and Harmonia Mundi labels.

Photograph: Benjamin Ealovega London Philharmonic Orchestra Giovanni Bottesini (1821–1889) The London Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1932 by Sir Thomas Beecham. Since then its Principal Conductors Messa da Requiem have included Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. In 2007 Vladimir Jurowski became the Orchestraʼs Principal Conductor.The London Philharmonic Orchestra has been performing at Southbank Centreʼs Royal 1 Introit and Kyrie: Requiem aeternam Introit and Kyrie Festival Hall since it opened in 1951, becoming Resident Orchestra in 1992. It also has residencies in and Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, Eternal rest grant to them O Lord, Eastbourne, and performs regularly around Britain and abroad. The Orchestra broadcasts regularly on television and et lux perpetua luceat eis. and let perpetual light shine upon them. radio, and has recorded soundtracks for numerous films including The Lord of the Rings. In 2005 it began releasing live, Te decet hymnus Deus in Sion, A hymn, O God, is fitting for you in Sion studio and archive recordings on its own CD label. et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem: and a vow shall be paid to you in Jerusalem: exaudi orationem meam, hear my prayer, ad te omnis caro veniet. to you all flesh shall come. Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, Eternal rest grant to them O Lord, et lux perpetua luceat eis. and let perpetual light shine upon them.

Kyrie eleison. Lord have mercy. Christe eleison. Christ have mercy. Kyrie eleison. Lord have mercy.

Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, Eternal rest grant to them O Lord, et lux perpetua luceat eis. and let perpetual light shine upon them.

2 Dies irae Dies irae Dies irae, dies illa, Day of wrath, that dreadful day, solvet saeclum in favilla, the world will melt in ashes teste David cum Sybilla. as David and the Sybil foretold. Photograph: Patrick Harrison Quantus tremor est futurus, What trembling there will be quando judex est venturus when the judge shall come Thomas Martin cuncta stricte discussurus! dealing strictly with everything.

Thomas Martin is well known internationally as a double bassist. He studied with Roger Scott Tuba mirum spargens sonum, The trumpet scattering wonderful sound in Philadelphia and has held front desk positions with major orchestras in the United States per sepulchra regionum, through earthʼs sepulchres and in . As a soloist he has travelled the globe giving concertos, recitals and master- coget omnes ante thronum, shall bring all before the throne. classes. His five CD Naxos series of the virtuoso music of Giovanni Bottesini has met with great critical acclaim including Gramophone magazineʼs Record of the Year and The Sunday Mors stupebit et natura, Death will stand stupefied and nature Times Record of the Year. He is professor at the in London and cum resurget creatura, when the creature shall rise International Fellow at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow. As a conductor, judicanti responsura. to meet the one that judges. Thomas Martin studied in London with Sian Edwards and in Oxford with Stephen Darlington in Oxford. Liber scriptus proferetur, The book written shall be brought out, in quo totum continetur, in which all is contained unde mundus judicetur. by which the world shall be judged.

Photograph: Tudor Photgraphers Judex ergo cum sedebit, When the judge, then, takes his seat quidquid latet apparebit, whatever was hidden shall be revealed, nil inultum remanebit. nothing shall remain unavenged. flammis acribus addictis, committed to harsh flames, voca me cum benedictis. call me among the blessed. 3 Quid sum miser Quid sum miser Quid sum miser tunc dicturus, What am I, wretched man, to say Oro supplex et acclinis, I beg you, suppliant, bowing down, quem patronum rogaturus, whom seek to intercede, cor contritum quasi cinis my contrite heart like ashes, cum vix justus sit securus? when the just are scarcely safe? gere curam mei finis. care for me at my ending. Rex tremendae majestatis, King of fearful majesty qui salvandos salvas gratis who grants salvation to those to be saved, 7 Lacrymosa Lacrymosa salva me, fons pietatis. save me, fount of mercy. Lacrymosa dies illa, Tearful, that day, qua resurget ex favilla on which shall rise from the ash Recordare Jesu pie, Remember, merciful Jesus, judicandus homo reus. guilty man, to be judged. quod sum causa tuae viae; that I am the reason for your life ne me perdas illa die. do not destroy me on that day. Huic ergo parce Deus, Therefore, O God, spare this man, pie Jesu Domine, O merciful Lord Jesus, 4 Quaerens me Quaerens me dona eis requiem. grant them rest. Quaerens me sedisti lassus, Seeking me, you lived in weariness, redemisti crucem passus; suffered the cross and redeemed me. 8 Offertory: Domine Jesu Christe Offertory: Domine Jesu tantus labor non sit cassus. Let such labour not be in vain. Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae, Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory, libera animas omnium fidelium defunctorum set free the souls of all the faithful departed Juste judex ultionis, O just judge of vengeance de poenis inferni, et de profundo lacu: from the pains of hell, and from the deep pit: donum fac remissionis, grant me remission libera eas de ore leonis, set them free from the lionʼs mouth, ante diem rationis. before the day of accounting. ne absorbeat eas tartarus, lest hell swallow them up, ne cadant in obscurum. lest they fall into darkness. 5 Ingemisco Ingemisco sed signifer sanctus Michael But let the holy standard-bearer Michael Ingemisco tanquam reus, I groan as an offender, repraesentet eas in lucem sanctam: bring them into holy light, culpa rubet vultus meus; my face blushes with guilt, Quam olim Abrahae promisisti, as you once promised to Abraham, supplicanti parce, Deus. spare the suppliant, O God. et semini ejus. and to his seed. Hostias et preces tibi, Victims and prayers of praise Qui Mariam absolvisti, You who absolved Mary Domine, laudis offerimus: we offer you, O Lord; et latronem exaudisti; and heard the thief; tu suscipe pro animabus illis, accept them for those souls mihi quoque spem dedisti. you gave hope too to me. quarum hodie memoriam facimus: whom we commemorate today; fac eas, Domine, make them, O Lord, Preces meae non sunt dignae, My prayers are unworthy, de morte transire ad vitam. pass from death to life. sed tu, bonus, fac benigne, but you, in goodness, act kindly, Quam olim Abrahae promisisti, as you once promised to Abraham, ne perenni cremer igne. so that I do not burn in eternal fire. et semini ejus. and to his seed.

Inter oves locum praesta, Grant me a place among the sheep 9 Sanctus Sanctus et ab hoedis me sequestra, and separate me from the goats, Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Holy, holy, holy statuens in parte dextra. putting me on your right hand. Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Lord God of Sabaoth. Pleni sunt caeli et terra Heaven and earth are full 6 Confutatis Confutatis gloria tua. of your glory. Confutatis maledictis, Let the cursed ones be confounded, Hosanna in excelsis. Hosanna in the highest. 0 Benedictus Benedictus Renowned worldwide in his lifetime and remembered today as a double bass virtuoso, Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Giovanni Bottesini excelled in every branch of musicianship, but his operas and sacred (Hosanna in excelsis.) (Hosanna in the highest.) works were overshadowed by those of Verdi and have fallen into neglect. Composed in response to the death of his brother Luigi, Bottesini’s large scale Requiem combines ! Agnus Dei Agnus Dei ecclesiastical counterpoint with formal innovation and the expressive lyricism and Agnus Dei, Lamb of God, qui tollis peccata mundi: who takes away the sins of the world, dramatic orchestration of operatic models. dona eis requiem, grant them rest, Agnus Dei, Lamb of God, qui tollis peccata mundi: who takes away the sins of the world, Giovanni dona eis requiem sempiternam. grant them eternal rest. BOTTESINI @ Requiem aeternam Communion: Requiem aeternam (1821–1889) Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord, et lux perpetua luceat eis. and let eternal light shine on them Messa da Requiem cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, with your saints for ever, quia pius es. because you are merciful. (Edited by Thomas Martin, Josep Prats and Peter Broadbent) Introit and Kyrie Offertory # Libera me Libera me 1 Requiem aeternam: Adagio 1, 2, 3, 4 9:20 8 Domine Jesu: Andantino 1 4:41 Libera me, Domine, Set me free, O Lord, de morte aeterna, from eternal death, Sequence Sanctus and Benedictus in die illa tremenda: in that terrible day, 2 Dies irae: Allegro 6:25 9 Sanctus: Allegro 1:38 quando caeli movendi sunt et terra: when the heavens and earth are to be moved: 3 Quid sum miser: 5:12 0 Benedictus: dum veneris judicare when you shall come to judge 3 1, 2, 3, 4 saeculum per ignem. the world through fire. Andante sostenuto Andantino con moto 2:56 Tremens factus sum ego et timeo, I tremble and am afraid 4 Quaerens me: Maestoso 4:07 Agnus Dei 4 dum discussio venerit when I think of the judgement 5 Ingemisco: Andantino 4:52 ! Agnus Dei: Andante 1, 2 3:40 atque ventura ira. and the anger to come. 1, 2, 3, 4 6 Confutatis: Moderato 4:23 @ Requiem aeternam: Grave 5:01 7 1, 2, 3, 4 2 $ Dies illa Dies illa Lacrymosa: Adagio 5:08 # Libera me: Andante 4:47 Dies illa, dies irae, That day, day of anger, $ Dies illa: Allegro 1, 2, 3, 4 4:14 calamitatis et miseriae, of calamity and wretchedness, dies magna et amara valde. the great and very bitter day. Marta Mathéu, Soprano 1 • Gemma Coma-Alabert, Mezzo-Soprano 2 Requiem aeternam, dona eis, Domine, Eternal rest grant them, O Lord, Agustín Prunell-Friend, Tenor 3 • Enric Martínez-Castignani, Baritone 4 et lux perpetua luceat eis. and let perpetual light shine upon them. Joyful Company of Singers (Director: Peter Broadbent) Libera me, Domine, Set me free, O Lord, de morte aeterna, from eternal death, London Philarmonic Orchestra • Thomas Martin in die illa tremenda: in that terrible day, quando caeli movendi sunt et terra: when the heavens and earth are to be moved: Recorded at Henry Wood Hall, London, UK, from 15th to 16th February, 2012 dum veneris judicare when you shall come to judge Producer: Michael Ponder • Engineer and Editor: Eleanor Walton (K&A Productions Ltd.) saeculum per ignem. the world through fire. Sung texts and translations are included in the booklet and can also be accessed at www.naxos.com/libretti/572994.htm • Edition: Scores Reformed (www.ScoresReformed.com) Booklet notes: Gaspare Nello Vetro • Cover photo: Calvary cross on a rock (© Thinkart / Dreamstime.com)