GABRIELI: Sacrae symphoniae a 8–Sonata pian’ e forte; Canzon septimi toni; GEMINIANI: Concerto Grosso in G Minor, Op. 3, No. 2; ROSSINI: Stabat Mater – Soloists/ Berlin Philharmonic/Carlo Maria Giulini – Testament

by | Apr 18, 2010 | Classical Reissue Reviews | 0 comments

GABRIELI: Sacrae symphoniae a 8–Sonata pian’ e forte; Canzon septimi toni; GEMINIANI: Concerto Grosso in G Minor, Op. 3, No. 2; ROSSINI: Stabat Mater – Nadia Stefan-Savova, soprano/Julia Hamari, mezzo-soprano/Veriano Luchetti, tenor/Ruggero Raimondi, bass/Kammerchor Ernst-Senff/ Ernst-Senff-Chor/Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Carlo Maria Giulini

Testament SBT2 1435 (2CDs) 19:52; 63:46 [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] ****:


Testament restores in vivid sound the Berlin Philharmonic concert of 13 September 1978 of Italian music led by Carlo Maria Giulini (1914-2005) at the Philharmonie. The lusciously old-world sonorities of the Gabrieli pieces display the antiphonal power of the BPO brass, layered, plangent and hortatory. The rhythmic thrust alternates, striding forth then retiring into a meditatively brazen mist. The little Canzon froths with a “nativity” sense of energy, equally demonstrative of the brass choir’s ability to blaze outward or to subdue its dynamic range, as required.

For immediate contrast, Giulini offers up an anguished string sound in the opening Largo e Staccato movement of Geminiani’s G Minor Concerto Grosso. The one Allegro movement barely traverses the dance medium, its darkly measured grace marked by a violin solo and dotted ripieno rhythms of demure power somewhat reminiscent of Bach’s Fifth Brandenburg. Ensues an adagio to continue the sadly plaintive work, a transparent veil of tears. The concluding Allegro enjoys what it can of its muscular polyphony, the rhythms strongly indebted to Corelli. Giulini keeps the texture light, the harpsichord tripping daintily through the dolorous and sweet harmonies.

It was the poet Heine who called the theater in which he heard Rossini’s 1842 Stabat Mater “a vestibule of heaven.” A lyrically dramatic and complex work, the Stabat Mater opens with an extended movement for quartet and chorus, in which tenor Veriano Luchetti makes a splendid impression. Luchetti continues to make points in the following Cuius animam gementem, with its soft martial rhythm and bravura high D-flat, its ariosi redolent with Italian bel canto, Mozart, and Gluck. Soprano Stefan-Savova and mezzo Hamari combine for the piously gentle Quis est homo, a true coloratura-duet piece that belies the religious context by lingering in the operatic stratosphere. Basso Ruggero Raimondi demonstrates his depth and his lyrical facilities at once in the Pro peccatis suae gentis, followed by the (a cappella) complexities of the Eia, mater fons amoris’ use of the bass and high chorus to converse on Mary’s suffering.

A turning point occurs–and a singular change in dramatic tone–in the Sancta Mater istud agas, in which the persona partakes of Mary’s personal anguish, although the rhythms of the vocal quartet suggest a ballata in an extended operatic scena. “Then let me weep with you” sentiment finds a kindred spirit in Hamari’s poignant rendition of Fac, ut portem Christi mortem, a plaintive cavatina whose long-held notes tax both the flesh and the spirit. Giulini balances tragedy and triumph in the Inflammatus et accensus for soprano and chorus, an Apocalyptic vision in brass and nervous string figures that transforms into a vision of salvation. Giulini bestows a note of fervent piety into the second a cappella choral episode, the Quando corpus morietur. Rossini wished to indulge in some ferocious counterpoint for his grand finale, In sempiternity saecula; and his double fugue testifies to his grand skills–the rather nostalgic Amen invoking the opening materials–a paradoxical tranquility in the midst of spiritual fury. Giulini has lent a sweetly streamlined dignity to the whole, and the Berlin audience erupts with grateful rapture. At two CDs for the price of one, this is a concert to own.

–Gary Lemco

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