Rinaldo Alessandrini - Stradella:Mottetti - Import CD Digipack

Credits:

Rinaldo Alessandrini

Description:

Stradella is so much more! The fascinating world of the genius composer depicted by Alessandrini! Rinaldo Alessandrini and Concerto Italiano present a new recording of Alessandro Stradella (1643-1682)! Stradella was one of the most famous Italian composers of the 17th century, famous for his checkered life in which he had affairs with a number of noble ladies and was eventually killed for them. He was asked by Queen Christina of Sweden, a renowned patron of music, to compose a piece when he was just 20 years old. Although his tumultuous personal life tends to be the focus of most people's attention, he also played an important role in music history by practically founding the concerto grosso, a musical style representative of the Baroque period, and by introducing instrumental ensembles to the recitative in operas and oratorios. His music, full of genius and inspiration, is fresh and appealing even today, and a number of his dramatic works have been revived and restored to the modern age.Stradella is also attracting attention in Japan, where his masterpiece "St. John the Baptist" will be performed in November 2023. This time, Alessandrini featured five motets sung on feasts related to the Virgin Mary. Alessandrini himself made the corrections for this recording from Stradella scores in the Estense Library in Modena, and four of the five motets are world premiere recordings. The content is rich in variety, with solo singing, polyphonic singing, choral singing, and instrumental ensemble singing. The works are full of Stradella's genius and his ideas can be heard in many places, such as the technical skill of the sung parts and the violin that accompanies the singing. The oratorio-like dramatic writing of the motet (tracks 29-38), in which the demon Lucifer (Lucifer) and the souls of the damned sing, is particularly remarkable. The instrumental ensemble Sinfonia is placed at the beginning like an overture, alternating with a multi-voice motet and a solo motet, and ending with a dramatic motet, so that the whole album seems to be an oratorio.Alessandrini's skill is probably responsible for the high degree of perfection of the program. The performances by Alessandrini and his well-known singers and instrumentalists bring Stradella's music vividly to life in the modern age. The beautiful baroque singing of Monica Piccinini, a soprano who has worked with Alessandrini for many years, is impressive, but the expressive singing of Gabriele Lombardi, the bass who sings Lucifero, is also a highlight. The instrumental lineup is also superb, including Mara Galassi, a leading historical harpist, Alessandrini's own bass continuo, and a violin that sings with great feeling. This is a wonderful recording that will further establish the name of Stradella as a composer of genius who is enjoying a remarkable reappraisal in the contemporary music scene. King International