. . . this really is a substantial find and a significant addition to the Vivaldi canon. Happily, it gets a cultured and thoughtful performance to match . . . Conductor Peter Kopp . . . maintains the historical interest throughout with premières of three psalm settings by Vivaldi¿s Venetian colleague and successor Baldassare Galuppi (1706-1785) . . . Performances throughout this recording are elegant and engaging, with beautifully rounded choral singing, agile strings and refined soloists . . . A lot of glorious new music for your money. Strongly recommended.
. . . the Dixit Dominus ¿ inventive, viscerally exciting and full of graphic descriptive touches ¿ reveals its composer's fingerprints on every page. Under Peter Kopp's lively direction, singers and players relish the music's colour and raw energy. Choruses go with an infectious swing, while contralto Sara Mingardo is outstanding among the soloists, gleefully crushing the Lord's enemies underfoot, tenderly supplicatory in the lovely "De torrente"
"The most important Vivaldi discovery in 75 years", proclaims the case. After the absurd hype surrounding the Handel Gloria in 2001, Baroque lovers may well raise an eyebrow. Here, though, the accolade is justified. This Dixit Dominus is vintage Vivaldi . . . inventive, viscerally exciting and full of graphic descriptive touches -- reveals its composer's fingerprints on every page. Under Peter Kopp's lively direction, singers and players relish the music's colour and raw energy. Choruses go with an infectious swing, while contralto Sara Mingardo is outstanding among the soloists, gleefully crushing the Lord's enemies underfoot, tenderly supplicatory in the lovely "De torrente".
It is a splendid piece: with scoring including woodwind and trumpet . . . Galuppi¿s idiom is unfailingly elegant and pleasing to the senses, and as such is a faithful reflection of the galant taste of his time. Its juxtaposition with the Dixit . . . serves to emphasise Vivaldi¿s more sensitive responses, his greater imagination and more striking individuality in the setting of sacred texts. Alert performances all round under Peter Kopp¿s vital direction . . .
Peter Kopp's choral and orchestral forces are excellent. The vocal soloists are also fine. Sara Mingardo is especially winning in her first number (with chorus), her dark-chocolate contralto gorgeously smooth and impressive throughout. The sopranos, Roberta Invernizzi and Lucia Cirillo, make a strong, well-matched pair. The tenor Paul Agnew merits praise . . . There is much to enjoy here from both Galuppi and Vivaldi, and the "Dixit Dominus" is indeed a major find, eminently worthy to stand alongside Vivaldi's Gloria . . . this is Vivaldi through and through, and at his best.
The world premiere recording reveals that the consistent high quality of the score is infused with a variety of moods and textures . . . Körnerscher Sing-Verein has exemplary choral balance, possessing homogenous beauty but with warmly rounded counterpoint. Three genuine Galuppi psalm-settings offer an opportunity to contrast his civilised galant style with the bold, intensely coloured rhetoric of Vivaldi¿s rediscovered masterpiece: one wonders how anybody was fooled by the misattribution . . . it is good to witness his [Kopp¿s] finely crafted debut on DG Archiv presenting what may be justifiably described as the finest non-operatic Vivaldi discovery of the past 75 years.
. . . Archiv have gone to no little trouble in assembling a star-studded lineup of soloists for this premiere recording. They've been justly rewarded with an electrifying performance . . . The thrilling opening has both orchestra and chorus playing and singing as if their lives depended on it. "Donec ponam" brings a spine-tingling unison at the word "scabellum", "Juravit Dominus" swings compellingly between sustained notes and rapid passage work, "Judicabit" brings powerful choral interjections interspersed with a duet for the two sopranos and thrilling dramatic impetus at the words "Implebit ruinas", while the final fugal "Amen" forms a glorious peroration. No less remarkable are the solo contributions, among them Roberta Invernizzi's "Virgam virtutis", a liquidly flowing movement sung with real expression and soaring tonal beauty, the gently evocative "De torrente", with its undulating part for alto (Sara Mingardo) underpinned by rustling strings, and "Tecum principium", a remarkably florid duet for two tenors, superbly negotiated by Paul Agnew and Thomas Cooley . . . The shortlist for my Want List is already overflowing beyond bursting point, but this tremendous disc is going to have to be added to it. The thrill of the discovery of a Vivaldi masterpiece added to first recordings of the fine Galuppi psalm settings, all in such exhilarating and superbly executed performances, certainly makes this one of the musical events of the year.
It's always exciting to discover a previously unknown work by a major composer, especially when the work is of high quality. It's always exciting to discover a previously unknown work by a major composer, especially when the work is of high quality.
These late Vivaldi Concertos are on Giuliano Carmignola's new disc with Andrea Marcon¿s Venice Baroque Orchestra and it¿s a show case of exciting, virtuosic Baroque fiddling and the highly skilled craftsmanship of Vivaldi who churns out one charming tune after another. There is much wonderful and nothing wrong with this disc -- and Vivaldi lovers need not hesitate. . . . Dixit Dominus is so beautiful that it much deserved that public life, whether thought of as by Baldassarre Galuppi or Ignatz Leopold Nepumuk Küchelmeister or some other obscure (or made-up) baroque composer. Of the 24 minutes, the introductory coro alone would justify hearing the entire CD and the gentle reading it receives under Peter Kopp and his Körnerscher Sing-Verein Dresden and the Dresdner Instrumental- Concert does it proud. Roberta Invernizzi and Lucia Cirillo are the sopranos, Sara Mingardo the contralto, Paul Agnew and Thomas Cooley the tenors, Sergio Foresti and Georg Zeppenfeld the basses. As if to make up for neglect hitherto, the rest of the CD is filled with three -- also very beautiful -- Galuppi works: Laetatus sum, Nisi Dominus, and Lauda Jerusalem -- all for strings, bassoon, and basso continuo with choir and vocalists.
Conductor Peter Kopp founded the Körnerscher Sing-Verein . . . With a well-tuned and light choral sound, they make a good impression here, as does the accompanying band, on period instruments . . . The vocal soloists are fluent and bright . . . Paul Agnew displays an excellent coloratura in the Dominus a dextris tuis of the Vivaldi. To sum up, a worthwhile exploration of little-known music, that sheds some light on the styles leading to the creations of the Viennese masters of the close of the century.
. . . this sacred work makes me want to crank up the speakers and sing along. The clean sound and exceptional balance between the orchestra and chorus make this performance with conductor Peter Kopp, the Körnerscher Sing-Verein and Dresdner Instrumental-Concert quite striking.
From every aspect, the performances are superlative, with magnificent choral singing from the highly responsive choir and distinguished contributions from the star-studded line-up of soloists. Many will have bought this for Vivaldi, but will surely have been surprised by "Buranello", for whom this CD represented an exceptionally handsome tribute on the 300th anniversary of his birth.
From every aspect, the performances are superlative, with magnificent choral singing from the highly responsive choir and distinguished contributions from the star-studded line-up of soloists. Many will have bought this for Vivaldi, but will surely have been surprised by ¿Buranello¿, for whom this CD represented an exceptionally handsome tribute on the 300th anniversary of his birth.
Mit den Frauensolisten Roberta Invernizzi und Sara Mingardo ist die erste Garde der italienischen Barockspezialistinnen verpflichtet worden . . . [es] wird wirklich intonationssicher und sehr textverständlich gesungen . . .
Wer Vivaldi wählt, diesen Ehrenpriester der deutsch-italienischen Freundschaft, ist stets gut beraten. Verehrer Antonios! Versäumet den Dresdner Vivaldi-Termin des Jahres nicht! Morgen Abend wird in der Annenkirche unter Peter Kopps Leitung ein prächtiges Spätwerk uraufgeführt, "Dixit Dominus" . . . Gleichzeitig erscheint das Stück auf CD, mit der Venezianerin Sara Mingardo, der schönsten Altstimme der Welt . . .
Nun zu was Schönem. Wer Vivaldi wählt, diesen Ehrenpriester der deutsch-italienischen Freundschaft, ist stets gut beraten. Verehrer Antonios! Versäumet den Dresdner Vivaldi-Termin des Jahres nicht! Morgen Abend wird in der Annenkirche unter Peter Kopps Leitung ein prächtiges Spätwerk uraufgeführt, ¿Dixit Dominus¿, das unlängst die Australierin Janice Stockigt in der Sächsischen Landes-Slubliothek wieder entdeckte . . . Wenn wir gewisse Ausländer nicht hätten! Gleichzeitig erscheint das Stück auf CD, mit der Venezianerin Sara Mingardo, der schönsten Altstimme der Welt, und der in Neapel lebenden Sopranistin Roberta Invemizzi, die im Gegensatz zum exzellenten Körnerschen Sing-Verein morgen leider nicht hier sein werden.
[Es] erscheint nun eine Einspielung mit dem Dresdner Instrumental-Concert und dem Körnerschen Sing-Verein, dem vielleicht besten Vokalensemble zwischen Elbe und Oder . . . Nicht nur den Kirchgängern sei die vorliegende Aufnahme drum anempfohlen. Gloria und Gratia dem Körnerschen Sing-Verein, dem Dresdner Instrumental-Concert und der Finderin der wundervollen Partitur. So sei es . . . Gloria eterna!
Nicht nur den Kirchgängern sei die vorliegende Aufnahme . . . anempfohlen. Gloria und Gratia dem Körnerschen Sing-Verein, dem Dresdner Instrumental-Concert und der Finderin der wundervollen Partitur. So sei es.
Herausgekommen ist eine solide . . . Maßstab setzende Aufnahme . . . Hier zeigt Peter Kopp . . . ein gutes Gefühl für den Zusammenhang von Rhythmus und Tempo.
Kopp verzichtet . . . auf jede affektiert-virtuose Könnerschaft im Rahmen einer peniblen Textausdeutung und entwickelt stattdessen einen disziplinierten Gesamtklang, dem aber nie die nötige Frische und Zielstrebigkeit fehlt. Klug abgemischte Kontraste verdeutlichen die Architektur der Formteile, so erhalten die unbekannten Werke Vivaldis und Galuppis Profil. Die Solisten führen technisch perfekt (Roberta Invernizzi) und zugleich höchst empfindsam (Sara Mingardo) durch ihre zum Teil kaum singbaren Partien. Klanglich geschlossen und gestisch kultiviert schafft sich ebenso der Körnersche Sing-Verein überzeugend Gehör. Selten begegnet man einer derart klar gezeichneten Führung der Bässe. Dadurch entsteht zwischen Chor und Orchester eine schöne Mischung der Register, in der sich der Bass nicht in der Continuo-Gruppe des hervorragend eingespielten Dresdner Instrumental-Concerts verliert. Besonders beim Anhören der hinreißenden Galuppi-Psalmen (ebenfalls Ersteinspielungen) hat man das Gefühl, als hätten die Interpreten nach jahrzehntelanger Beschäftigung mit barocken Repertoire-Stücken die Gunst der Stunde genutzt und die Musik auf ihren zweifellos hohen Eigenwert zurückgeführt.
Hier stimmt . . . spiel- und klangtechnisch alles, und man staunt, wie nahe Galuppi in seinem "Laetatus sum" noch Vivaldi steht, während im "Nisi Dominus" der Tonfall schon eher an die Bach-Söhne erinnert.
Die CD-Früchte des Galuppi-Jahres 2006 sind leider rar, obwohl die vorliegende CD eine hervorragende Einspielung von venezianischer Vespermusik des 18. Jahrhunderts darstellt . . . auf dem Gebiet der Kirchenmusik hat er qualitativ Überragendes geleistet. Dieses erfährt man beim Hören der CD auf faszinierende Weise.
. . . eine hervorragende Einspielung von venezianischer Vespermusik des 18. Jahrhunderts . . . Quantitativ überwiegt die Oper im Schaffen Galuppis. Aber gerade auf dem Gebiet der Kirchenmusik hat er qualitativ Überragendes geleistet. Dieses erfährt man beim Hören der CD auf faszinierende Weise.
Die wichtigste Vivalid-Entdeckung seit 75 Jahren Die jüngst CD des Körnerschen Sing-Vereins ist . . . besonders bemerkenswert . . . Roberta Invernizzi, Sara Mingardo und Paul Agnew ragen besonders heraus . . . Peter Kopp lässt Chor und Dresdner Instrumental-Concert zügig und mit rhythmischer Prägnanz musizieren. In die klare Faktur mischen sich keine falschen Romantizismen. Die Einspielung zeigt erneut, wie frisch alte Musik sein kann.
With a well-tuned and light choral sound, they make a good impression here, as does the accompanying band, on period instruments. Kopp¿s tempi tend to be on the quick side, though rarely sounding rushed . . . The vocal soloists are fluent and bright . . . Paul Agnew displays an excellent coloratura in the "Dominus a dextris tuis" of the Vivaldi. To sum up, a worthwhile exploration of little-known music, that sheds some light on the styles leading to the creations of the Viennese masters of the close of the century.
Le niveau est très honorable . . . Du côté des solistes, Sara Mingardo est parfaite . . . Dans l'ensemble, cette première mondiale est donnée dans de très bonne conditions . . .
Cette partition . . . concilie la fraîcheur lumineuse et la concision solennelle, avec une grâce très sobre parfaitement rendue par la précision des solistes convoqués par Peter Kopp. La gravité frémissante de Sara Mingardo, la puissance rayonnante de Paul Agnew et Thomas Cooley, la légèreté radieuse de Roberta Invernizzi et Lucia Cirillo, la mélancolie prenante de Sergio Foresti et Georg Zeppenfeld et la cohésion des ch¿urs du Körnerscher Sing-Verein Dresden suivent avec une belle humilité, l'énergie mesurée du Dresdner Instrumental-Concert dirigé par Peter Kopp, sans effet de manche superflu. Rien d'étonnant à ce que le programme se complète par trois psaumes inédits au disque de Galuppi, plus volubile que Vivaldi, plus sombre aussi, d'une densité émotionnelle tout aussi riche quoique moins dépouillée. Le choix du répertoire est passionnant, nous livrant la finesse du baroque tardif de Vivaldi, et le style préclassique plus exubérant et opératique de Galuppi.
Peter Kopp ... ha dado forma a una obra exquisita, que llega a nuestros oídos intacta gracias a la pureza vocal de artistas tan conocedores de Vivaldi como Sara Mingardo o Paul Agnew. ... [Galuppi:] La cuidada interpretación, que prefiere recrearse en un intímismo fluido y sereno antes que en la ampulosidad o la ornamentación, brindan una versión ideal para que estas obras se incorporen por derecho propio al mejor repertorio sacro.
... momentos excelsos, como este "Donec ponam inimicos tuos" ...
La direzione e la concertazione è di Peter Kopp che propone un risultato musicale di grande bellezza: i tempi sono sempre staccati con generosità, la frase è scorrevole e pulita, l'agogica assai naturale. Alla riuscita della registrazione concorre poi un cast di voci soliste di eccezionale bravura.
Psalm Settings by Vivaldi and Galuppi
A Major New Discovery from Dresden
At some point in the 1750s or 1760s - the exact date is not known - the Saxon court at Dresden decided to bring its repertoire of sacred vocal music up to date. No longer having a resident Italian composer, it ordered large quantities of music for the Roman rite (the court was Catholic even if most of the Elector's subjects were Lutheran) from Venice's best known copying shop, which was owned by a priest, Don Giuseppe Baldan. The author of such music most in vogue at that time was Baldassarre Galuppi (1706-1785), a versatile and progressive Venetian composer who in 1762 became music director (primo maestro) at the ducal church of S. Marco, having earlier been its deputy director. He had also served as maestro di coro at the Mendicanti, one of Venice's four famous charitable institutions (ospedali), each of which boasted a capable choir and orchestra staffed exclusively by female residents.
Accordingly, most of the new works supplied were by "Buranello", as Galuppi was popularly styled (the island of Burano being his birthplace). However, Baldan, who has long been notorious among musicologists for the readiness with which he falsified attributions to composers, slipped in under Galuppi's name four compositions by Vivaldi (there may actually be more, still undiscovered). Autograph scores of this music probably came into Baldan's hands via one of Vivaldi's nephews, two of whom (Carlo Vivaldi and Daniele Mauro) are known to have worked under him as professional music copyists. The most recent such work to emerge is the present Dixit Dominus (which has acquired the number RV 807 in the standard Vivaldi catalogue), identified in 2005 as a work of Vivaldi by the Australian scholar Janice Stockigt and never recorded before. This composition is the longest and most impressive of the four improperly attributed to Galuppi in the Saxon State Library in Dresden, and is arguably the best non-operatic work from Vivaldi's pen to come to light since the discovery, in the 1920s, of the major part of the composer's personal archive, today preserved in Turin. How ironic that this magnificent Dixit Dominus and its companions should survive only as a result of a copyist's shabby act of forgery!
Vivaldi's authorship of the Dixit Dominus is established by a number of features, both specific and general. Most specific of all is the almost perfect correspondence of the music of its sixth movement, "Dominus a dextris tuis", to the outer ("A") section of the aria "Alma oppressa da sorte crudele" in the first act of Vivaldi's opera La fida ninfa (1732). Then there are some strong reminiscences of the settings of the same verse in Vivaldi's two earlier settings of Psalm 109/110, RV 595 (c.1715) and RV 594 (c. 1730). For instance, the second movement of RV 807, "Donec ponam inimicos tuos", sounds like a "composite" of the equivalent movements in the two earlier settings, while the second section of the fifth movement, "Judicabit in nationibus", has exactly the same character and scoring as its counterpart in RV 595. The surprisingly elaborate fugal finale finds close parallels in RV 594 and certain other Vivaldi sacred works. Beyond that, each movement possesses its quotient of peculiarly "Vivaldian" fingerprints - melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, textural or structural. Baldan's attempt to ward off suspicions by declaring on the title-page that "Galuppi" composed RV 807 for the Mendicanti in 1745 is laughable in view of the markedly Vivaldian (and generally old-fashioned) style of the composition - and the Mendicanti would certainly not have been able to muster the two agile tenor soloists who sing together in the fourth movement. But the deception seems to have held for 250 years.
Like its two predecessors, RV 807 follows the formula of one movement per verse. Choral movements frame the work and provide central pillars, while movements for solo voice or a pair of solo voices provide variety and a touch of quasi-operatic colour. In two movements, the second and the fifth, solo and choral voices interact. This is a little unusual for Vivaldi and attests to the care with which he composed the work. It must belong to the start of his "late" period - c.1732 - but there is no information on the circumstances of its composition. It was certainly not conceived for female voices, and the Ospedale della Pietà, Vivaldi's familiar "stamping ground", can therefore be categorically ruled out. There is no space to dwell here on the beauties and original touches (especially in relation to word-painting) that shine forth from each of its movements. Many Vivaldi works have their weaker moments; this one has none.
Because of the Galuppian connection of this Dixit Dominus and because its first recording is being released in 2006, a year that marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of "Il Buranello", it is highly appropriate to couple it with music from the Dresden repertoire by Galuppi, likewise receiving its first recorded performance. If Vivaldi sounds "late Baroque", Galuppi sounds "early Classical", but he should not on that account be thought shallower or lacking in contrapuntal vigour.
Unlike Dixit Dominus, which is invariably the first psalm sung at Vespers and has a decidedly festive tone (justifying Vivaldi's choice of D major and use of a trumpet), the mood of Nisi Dominus (Psalm 126/127) is dark and predominantly negative. Hence Galuppi's option for C minor in this powerful composition. Since there are only seven verses in the text (including the obligatory two for the Doxology, beginning "Sicut erat"), the composer is able to retain the one-movement-per-verse format, mixing choruses, solos and duets in exactly the same way as Vivaldi. Similarly, the style commutes freely between the "modern", with hints of the operatic aria and the symphony, and the "ancient", with many passages of complex counterpoint, culminating in an impressive fugue. True, there is a galant elegance and garrulity foreign to Vivaldi's more concise style, but Galuppi is clearly a legitimate upholder - the last great representative, in fact - of a Venetian tradition of sacred music stretching back to Adrian Willaert in the early 16th century.
Both the A major Laetatus sum (Psalm 121/122) and the C major Lauda Jerusalem (Psalm 147) have texts running to eleven verses, which encourages the composer to seek means of cutting down length. Galuppi achieves this partly by making certain movements very concise, partly by fitting pairs or whole groups of verses into a single movement. Laetatus sum opens, for instance, with a sprawling, concerto-like movement packing in the words of the first six verses. One observes that Galuppi is much readier than Vivaldi to interchange solo and choral voices within the same movement. This flexibility looks forward to the church music of Joseph Haydn and his contemporaries, who undoubtedly learned a lot from Galuppi, technically and aesthetically.
