ALESSANDRO MELANI: L’Europa; Requiem; Beatus vir; Magnificat – Veronika Winter, soprano/ Cornelia Samuelis, soprano/ Kai Wessel, alto/ Benoit Haller, tenor/ Ekkehard Abele, bass/ Das Kleine Konzert/ Hermann Max, conductor – CPO

by | Mar 25, 2009 | Classical CD Reviews | 0 comments

ALESSANDRO MELANI: L’Europa; Requiem; Beatus vir; Magnificat – Veronika Winter, soprano/ Cornelia Samuelis, soprano/ Kai Wessel, alto/ Benoit Haller, tenor/ Ekkehard Abele, bass/ Das Kleine Konzert/ Hermann Max, conductor – CPO 777 408-2, 75:45 **** [Distr. by Naxos]:

Alessandro Melani (1639-1703) is a composer who was frequently performed during his lifetime, ending up as the music director of St. Mary Major in Rome (1667), the Pope’s own cathedral. However, ostensibly because of political circumstances in his family, Melani was heavily criticized in his life as well as by the few biographers that have taken him into consideration in the modern age. On top of this, his brother Atto has been the subject of a very popular and widespread mystery novel of the last few years, Imprimatur by Rita Monaldi, a book that reportedly incurred the ire of the Vatican itself for its close intrusion into its secret archives. Atto was supposedly a spy put into the international ring by King Louis XIV who took advantage of his superb singing abilities making him notable all over Europe. Who knows what influence these incidents may have had upon the career of Melani.

Examining the music on this disc leads one to the conclusion that Melani’s music is as important and exceptional as any composed by Cavalli or Scarlatti during the same period. This quasi-opera, L’Europa, is a prime example of the innate skills of the composer. The libretto fashions itself after the myth describing the seduction or even rape of Europa, the princess of Phoenicia, who found herself the object of amorous desires of Zeus. He eventually has his way with her, and the legend of the continent of Europe giving birth to fauna and flora, bears fruit and makes life possible, the womb of the continent, is born. The opera, given as a serenata here is wonderfully appropriate to the libretto that Melani has created, and the various arias and recitatives exquisitely nuanced.

But perhaps the greatest time of the composer’s efforts were spent on sacred music. Here we are given three works of varying intensity and wonderfully balanced proportions that use instrumental settings as preludes to the choral activity, and the music is particularly susceptible to the meaning of the words. All in all, with excellent performances by everyone concerned, this is quite a discovery for those interested in music of this period. One hopes that more from Melani might be unearthed, as his is a voice unfairly censured, and a fresh perspective proves the great worth of his oeuvre.

— Steven Ritter   

Related Reviews
Logo Pure Pleasure
Logo Crystal Records Sidebar 300 ms
Logo Jazz Detective Deep Digs Animated 01