95721 Alessandro Scarlatti Cantatas & Recorder Concertos Roberta Invernizzi soprano Collegium Pro Musica Stefano Bagliano recorder and concert master Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) Baroque Naples and Alessandro Scarlatti Cantatas & Recorder Concertos «Naples is the musical capital of Europe, which means of the whole world», declared Cantata “Bella dama di nome santa” 12. Aria 5’49 Charles de Brosses, the French magistrate, scholar and politician, in a letter he wrote for soprano, recorder, two violins 13. Recitativo 1’20 to his family while staying in Naples between 1739 and 1740. and b.c. 14. Aria 3’31 Somewhat later, another letter bore witness to the quality and quantity of music 1. Introduzione adagio 0’55 produced in Naples during the classical age. Written by Leopold Mozart to his son 2. Lento alla francese 1’39 Cantata “Quella pace gradita” Wolfgang Amadeus on 23 February 1778, the missive meditated on where best to 3. Recitativo 1’00 for soprano, violin, recorder and b.c. live for a musician: «At this point the question is simply: where am I most likely to 4. Aria andante 2’52 15. Andante 4’12 make a name for myself? Perhaps in Italy, where along there are at least 300 Masters 5. Recitativo 1’22 16. Recitativo 1’03 in Naples [...] or in Paris, where around two or three people write for the theatre 6. Aria vivace 4’33 17. Aria Adagio 4’53 and other composers can be counted on the fingers of one hand?» So Naples was on 18. Recitativo 0’41 the crest of the wave, and had been since the early 1500s. Moreover, the importance Concerto (Sonata) No.22 in A 19. Aria Andante 2’30 and influence of Neapolitan music lasted for five centuries, through to the early 20th for recorder, two violins and b.c. 20. Recitativo 1’03 century, making it the most long-lived school of its sort in Italy. Neapolitan musical 7. Allegro 0’59 21. Aria Adagio 3’28 circles not only became a point of academic reference for musicians throughout 8. Fuga 2’11 Europe in the 18th century, but also gave rise to comic opera and opera buffa. 9. Adagio 1’27 Concerto (Sonata) No.23 in C The history of the Neapolitan school revolves around the creation of four 10. Andante – Allegro 1’30 for recorder, two violins and b.c. conservatoires, which began their existence as children’s homes for orphans and the 22. Adagio 1’23 poor in the 16th century: Santa Maria di Loreto (1537); Pietà dei Turchini (1573); Cantata “Ardo è ver per te d’amore” 23. Fuga 2’44 Poveri di Gesù Cristo (1589); Sant’Onofrio a Porta Capuana (1598). By the end of the for soprano, recorder and b.c. 24. Largo 1’21 17th century, all of these institutions also taught their young inmates music, and since 11. Recitativo 0’48 25. Allegro 1’49 some of the teachers were exceptional musicians of the calibre of Francesco Durante, the results were also remarkably good. The children were not only trained to sing, in Roberta Invernizzi soprano keeping with their obligations as choristers in church services, but also to compose, play various instruments and be skilled in harmony. Once the Conservatoires had Collegium Pro Musica made a name for themselves, they became proper music schools that were also open Stefano Bagliano recorder and concert master to students who did not come from poor backgrounds, and who thus paid fees for the Federico Guglielmo · Alessia Pazzaglia violins I & II Leonardo Massa cello · Andrea Coen harpsichord 2 3 training they received. Under Durante’s direction, the seeds were sown for some of the Diözesanbibliothek in Münster, Germany. There is evidence to suggest that the most significant composers of the 18th century, including Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Cantatas were commissioned by members of Arcadian circles: the fact that the Santini Niccolò Jommelli, Tommaso Traetta, Niccolò Piccinni, Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi, collection was originally compiled in Rome; the nature of the texts; and the presence Giovanni Paisiello and Antonio Sacchini. of the recorder, an instrument typical of the bucolic idyll. In writing them Scarlatti The late 17th and early 18th centuries coincided not only with the zenith of was certainly ahead of his time in introducing situations and rhythms that were later the Neapolitan music school, but also with the achievements of one of the most to bring fame and fortune to other eminent composers working in Naples. Yet he was important musicians of the period: Alessandro Scarlatti, father of Domenico, the disinclined to accentuate extraordinary effects, despite the considerable difficulties famous harpsichordist. Born in Palermo, Scarlatti senior probably studied under his scores implied for the singer. The two Cantatas “Bella dama di nome Santa” and Carissimi and Provenzale before going to Rome, where his first opera was staged. “Ardo è ver per te d’amore” included in this CD are particularly brilliant, with a Following a certain amount of travel from one city to another in Italy, he settled in recorder part that is considerably more virtuosic than the average Scarlatti Cantatas Naples where he remained for the rest of his life. Alessandro Scarlatti was one of the with an obbligato instrument. In the third Cantata, the intensely musical “Quella most prolific composers of all time, writing over 100 operas, around 20 oratorios, pace gradita”, the most important role is played by the violin, which in this case does more than 400 cantatas, 200 masses, motets and numerous instrumental works. He not vie with the soprano – as it does with the flute in the previous two Cantatas – but also contributed innumerable innovations to the world of opera: the introduction rather accompanies the voice. Here the recorder is often used in developments a third of accompanied recitative, involving not only the harpsichord but also various below the violin, which is rare in the baroque repertoire for ensembles of this sort. instruments, or indeed the entire orchestra; the introduction in the arias of the aria col The two Sonatas or Concertos are both in four parts: recorder, two violins and basso da capo; the use of concertati to conclude each act. continuo. They come from a collection of twenty-four Sonate o Concerti written for Alessandro Scarlatti soon acquired considerable fame throughout Europe, and the the same combination of instruments, kept in the Naples Conservatoire library. The novelties he introduced became a feature of dramatic opera during the centuries to collection also includes works by other composers of the Neapolitan school, such as follow. Naples thus played an essential role in musical education, providing young Mancini, Barbella, Valentini and Mele. Characteristic of the second movement is the European composers, including Handel and Gluck, with fundamental experience in fugue-like development, han dled with intense counterpoint and equal distribution musical technique. In the wake of such achievements came renown and wealth. of importance among the parts. The Sonata in A major features a brilliant opening allegro, while the Sonata in C major begins with a highly expressive adagio. In the Cantatas and Sonatas with recorder third and fourth movements the recorder part comes into its own, revealing the This recording bears eloquent witness to the quality and beauty of Scarlatti’s music. direction in which the concertante style was to develop. Written between the late 1600s and the early 1700s, the three Cantatas and two © Stefano Bagliano Sonatas or Concertos for recorder and strings come from the Naples Conservatoire Translated by Kate Singleton library and the Abate Fortunato Santini collection that is currently housed in the 4 5 La Napoli barocca e Alessandro Scarlatti nacquero alcuni tra i più rilevanti compositori del XVIII secolo, quali Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Niccolò Jommelli, Tommaso Traetta, Niccolò Piccinni, Pietro « Napoli è la capitale musicale d'Europa, che vale a dire, del mondo intero », ebbe Alessandro Guglielmi, Giovanni Paisiello, Antonio Sacchini. a dire Charles de Brosses, magistrato, filosofo, linguista e politico francese, in una La fine del XVII secolo e l'inizio del XVIII fu il periodo del più alto rappresentante lettera inviata alla famiglia durante un suo soggiorno a Napoli tra il 1739 e il 1740. della scuola napoletana nonché uno dei più importanti musicisti dell'epoca: Altra testimonianza della qualità nonché della quantità della musica prodotta Alessandro Scarlatti. Nato a Palermo, probabilmente allievo del Carissimi e del a Napoli durante un altro periodo, quello Classico,si evince da una lettera del 23 Provenzale, dopo aver debuttato con la sua prima opera a Roma e dopo un viaggio in febbraio del 1778 che il padre di Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Leopold, scrisse al diverse città in Italia, si stabilì a Napoli dove rimase fino alla sua morte. Alessandro figlio: « Adesso la questione è solo: dove posso avere più speranza di emergere? Scarlatti - padre di Domenico, famoso clavicembalista - è uno dei compositori più forse in Italia, dove solo a Napoli ci sono sicuramente 300 Maestri [...] o a Parigi, prolifici che siano esistiti; ha scritto più di 100 opere, circa 20 oratori, più di 400 dove circa due o tre persone scrivono per il teatro e gli altri compositori si possono cantate, 200 messe, mottetti e numerose composizioni strumentali. A Scarlatti sono contare sulle punte delle dita? ». Napoli fa dunque storia, e soprattutto fa scuola, dovute innumerevoli innovazioni in campo operistico: l'acquisizione nei melodrammi lungo un arco di cinque secoli e cioè dalla prima metà del Cinquecento fino al primo della forma tripartita detta proprio scarlattiana; l'introduzione del “recitativo Novecento. La più longeva tra le scuole musicali italiane che si consolida ed assume accompagnato”, cioè accompagnato non solo dal clavicembalo ma bensì da più un ruolo di riferimento accademico in tutto il mondo nel XVIII secolo, con il merito strumenti o dall'intera orchestra; l'introduzione nelle arie dello schema aria col da di aver dato vita all’opera comica e all’opera buffa.