Rome Archive
“Viva Italia: Sacred Music in 17th Century Rome” – Duke Vespers Ens., Mallarmé Ch. Players, Washington Cornett & Sackbut Ens./ Brian Schmidt – MSR Classics
“Viva Italia: Sacred Music in 17th Century Rome” – GIOVANNI FELICE SANCES: Missa Sancta Maria Magdalenae and music by CARISSIMI, CHARPENTIER, PALESTRINA & VICTORIA – Duke Vespers Ens., Mallarmé Ch. Players, Washington Cornett & Sackbut Ens./ Brian Schmidt – MSR Classics MS 1580, 58:28 (4/13/16) *****: A terrific concert of vocal music from Rome. Recorded live in concert in April 2015, Durham’s excellent Duke Vespers Ensemble, with the help of equally accomplished colleagues, show a healthy bright-eyed enthusiasm and vocal splendor in music by Carissimi, Charpentier, Palestrina, Victoria and the always intriguing Giovanni Felice Sances, whose Missa Sancta Maria Magdalenae provides a thrilling world premiere. Born in Rome and subsequently a composer and tenor, Sances moved to the Hapsburg court in Austria where he served for more than 40 years, eventually rising to Master of the Imperial Chapel. His large-scale Mass, with its seven voices, six strings, two cornetti and four trombones, is a grand affair appropriate to only the second North American performance and the first recording. The easy expertise and wide knowledge of the musicians plus their roots in the Duke and Triangle communities, allows them to respond authentically for their listeners, as Sances did for his, and […]
LALO: 3 Piano Trios – Leonore Piano Trio – Hyperion
Why these brilliant, melodically rich Lalo trios do not appear more often in concert remains the Sphinx’s own riddle. LALO: Piano Trio No. 1 in c minor, Op. 7; Piano Trio No. 2 in b minor; Piano Trio No. 3 in a minor, Op. 26 – Leonore Piano Trio – Hyperion CDA68113, 79:16 (12/31/15) [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] ****: Edouard Lalo (1823-1892), despite a prolific creative output, still survives in the popular mind via his Symphonie espagnole. While he never received the coveted Prix de Rome, he joined an association of composers – Duparc, Messager, Faure, D’Indy, and Chabrier – who supported each other in their musical efforts. Their musical credo urged against “academicism” in artistic expression, and the 1850 Piano Trio No. 1 came about directly as a result of Lalo’s friendship with violinist Jules Armingaud and singer Edmond Membree, the latter of whom received the dedication of Op. 7. Lalo consistently claimed Robert Schumann and the German tradition as his spiritual ancestors, and the c minor Trio bears witness to those influences. Elegant melodic lines pour forth from the cello (Gemma Rosefield) out the outset, and the two strings combine for lush harmony, with the keyboard part (Tim […]
I Knew Her Well, Blu-ray (1965/2016)
A 1965 classic which helped define Italy in the ‘60s. I Knew Her Well, Blu-ray (1965/2016) Director: Antonio Pietrangeli Cast: Stefania Sandrelli, Mario Adorf, Jean-Claude Brialy Video: 1.85:1 for 16:9 screens, 1080p HD black & white Audio: Italian PCM mono Studio: RAI Cinema/ The Criterion Collection 801 (2/23/16) Subtitles: English Extras: New interview with Stefania Sandrelli, New interview with film scholar Luca Barattoni on director Pietrtangeli, Archival footage of Sandrelli’s audition, Essay in printed booklet by journalist and author Alexander Stille Length: 115 min. Rating: **** Italy was having a crucial transformation at this time, with things moving toward more of an urban and moneyed environment and away from the neo-realist films which their filmmakers had been doing earlier. Basically, this is an intimate portrait of a party girl in 1960s Rome, making it a woman at its center rather than the male of La dolce vita. The beautiful and seemingly liberated Adriana has a wide variety of men, and goes to parties, modeling jobs, and circulating among the rich and famous. This ends up being a character study of Adriana, as we move with her thru scenes that are funny and also tragic in some ways. The well-known actor […]
SAINT-SAENS: Chamber Music = Akane Makita, p./ Soloists of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia Rome – Brilliant Classics
Saint-Saens’ chamber works provide the Accademia soloists and Akane Makita with alluring, charming vehicles for their talents.
TCHAIKOVSKY: Violin Concerto in D Major; BRUCH: Violin Concerto No. 1 in g minor – Tibor Varga, v./ Festival Orch./ J.M. Auberson – Claves
Volume 3 of the Tibor Varga Collection features this great violinist’s work in two Romantic staples, incisively played and recorded.
PETRASSI: Coro di morti; Quattro inni sacri; Partita for orchestra; Noche oscura – Giorgio Berrugi, tenor/ Vasily Ladyuk, bar./ Orch. and Chorus of the Teatro Regio Torino/ Gianandrea Noseda – Chandos
The second go round for Petrassi and Noseda, and time well spent.
GIOVANNI SGAMBATI: Piano Concerto; Cola di Rienzo overture; Berceuse-Rêverie – Francesco Caramiello, p. /Nuremberg Philharmonic / Fabrizio Ventura – Tactus
Fascinating, but at times tedious, examples from the Romantic era.
“Sacrifices” = CHARPENTIER: Peter’s denial of Christ; Abraham’s Sacrifice; CARISSIMI: Jephtha; DE BROSSARD: Symphonies pour le Graduel; Sonate en trio – La Nuova Musica/ David Bates – Harmonia mundi
A tribute to two composers often overlooked, with some seasoning from a copyist!
![RESPIGHI: Belkis, Queen of Sheba Suite; The Pines of Rome [TrackList follows] – Minnesota Orch./ Oue – Reference Recordings Mastercuts vinyl](https://www.audaud.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/RespighiLP.jpg)
RESPIGHI: Belkis, Queen of Sheba Suite; The Pines of Rome [TrackList follows] – Minnesota Orch./ Oue – Reference Recordings Mastercuts vinyl
A Respighi chestnut and a Respighi sort-of premiere, both on an audiophile vinyl pressing.
The Great Beauty, Blu-ray (2013)
One of the best foreign films of the year.
“American Piano Concertos” = GERSHWIN: Concerto in F; COPLAND: Concerto for Piano and Orch.; BARBER: Concerto for Piano and Orch. – Xiayin Wang, p./ Royal Scottish Nat. Orch./ Peter Oundjian – Chandos
An excellent choice of three American piano concertos in superb performances and sonics.
BERNARDO PASQUINI: 14 Sonatas for Two Organs (Nos. 1 – 14) – Luca Scandali, organ/ Hadrien Jourdan, organ & harpsichord – Brilliant Classics
Pasquini was influenced by Frescobaldi and Scarlatti in these works for two organs or organ and harpsichord.
TOMAS LUIS DE VICTORIA: Salve regina; Missa De Beata Maria Virgine; Missa Surge propera; PALESTRINA: Surge, propera amica mea, et veni – Westminster Cath. Choir/ Martin Baker – Hyperion
A real barn burner of Renaissance music, performed to perfection by the Westminster Choir.
The Eagle, Blu-ray (2011)
Quite an adventure in an environment not often seen in films, and plenty of sword-and-shield action for those who appreciate that sort of blood and thunder.
Allegri’s Miserere & Music of Rome = Works of ANERIO; GALLEGRI – Cardinall's Musique/organists/Carwood
All contain hints of Palestrina’s influence to some degree, even when that influence is being avoided.
Images 4 Music (2004) – PHILIP GLASS: 6 Scenes from “Les Enfants Terribles;” STEVE REICH: Piano Phase
Performances by piano Duo Namekawa/Russell plus Images by five video artists
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
