musica Dei donum
CD reviews
"Maltese sacred music of the 18th century"
Ensemble Auditorium Pacisa; Diego Cannizzaro, organb
Dir: Diego Cannizzaro
rec: March 8, 2014, Cospicua, Oratorio del Crocifissoa; March 9, 2014, Mdina, Cattedraleb
Da Vinci Classics - C00669 (© 2023) (65'35")
Liner-notes: E; no lyrics
Cover, track-list & liner-notes
Spotify
anon (17th C):
Ave regina caeloruma;
Francesco AZOPARDI (1748-1809):
V Sonate Pastorale per Organob;
Michele Angelo FALUSI (c1645-1733):
Messa brevi à quattroa;
Luigi GRECH (?-?):
Sette Sonate per l'organob:
Michelangelo VELLA (1715-1792):
Motetto à tre voci per la processione della Nostra Avocata del Gillioa
Federica Neglia, soprano;
Elisabetta Impallaria, contralto;
Fabrizio Pollicino, tenor;
Davide Sottile, bass;
Diego Cannizzaro, organ (solob
Classical music which is documented on disc is mostly from the larger countries of Europe. Countries like Sweden, Poland or Portugal are at the borders of the musical landscape. That is even more the case with the Mediterranean island of Malta. In the experience of most music lovers it may even not be part of their musical map. The first time a disc with music from Malta crossed my path was a recording of Christmas music by Girolamo Abos, released by CPO (2015).
The article on Malta in New Grove summarizes the history of the island thus: "The Knights of St John gained control of the territory from the Normans in 1530, who had taken it from Arab rulers in 1090. The Knights of St John built the modern capital, Valletta, which gradually took over from Mdina as the centre of government and as a focal point of the islands' cultural activities. Malta was annexed by the British in 1814 and gained full independence in 1964, becoming a republic in 1974."
The background of the recording under review is outlined in the liner-notes. The baroque era was a flourishing period in the sphere of art and music. "This was partly due to the positive effects of competition between the chapel of the Mdina Cathedral and that of the Conventual church of the Knights in Valletta, where both sides tried to surpass each other in terms of musical excellency and quality." As far as music is concerned, the Cathedral's archive is a rich source of documents, thanks to the fact that the chapel was not only active as a musical ensemble but also as a kind of conservatory. It is mentioned that the large repertoire has been extensively studied, as well as what has been found at the Archives of the Wignacourt Museum in Rabat, and at the Cospicua Collegiate Archives. Unless I have missed something, it seems that it has not resulted in recordings. From that angle this disc is a substantial addition to the catelogue. It is probably telling, though, that the recording took place in 2014, and has only been released in 2023. Did recordings appear on Malta which have never made it to the international market?
The programme opens with the Messa brevi à quattro by Michele Angelo Falusi. New Grove includes an article on him, but it comprises just two lines, neither mentions the years of his birth and death nor the fact that he worked in Malta. He was born in Rome, was a Minorite, and studied theology. For some years he was maestro di cappella of the church of the SS Apostoli, Rome. When he moved to Malta, he joined the Minor Conventual Franciscan Friary at the Franciscan University of Valletta. The Missa brevis may well date from before that time, as the manuscript has been preserved in Bologna. As so many sacred works of the late 17th and early 18th centuries from Italy, it is written in the stile antico.
The same goes for the anonymous setting of the Marian antiphon Ave regina coelorum, which is preserved in the archives of Mdina Cathedral. It is followed by a motet for three voices and basso continuo by Michelangelo Vella. He was born at Malta, but moved to Naples in 1730, where he studied at the Conservatorio Pietà dei Turchini with Nicola Fago and Andrea Basso, and from 1734 with Leonardo Leo. He returned to Malta in 1738. The motet performed here was written for the feast of Our Lady of the Lily (Nostra Avocata del Gillio) on 14 May 1761.
The second half of the programme is devoted to organ pieces. Luigi Grech has no entry in New Grove, and there are doubts about his identity. In the liner-notes it is suggested that he may be identical with Luigi Grech Grandolini (1805-1873), who also has no entry in New Grove; he was forty years in the service of the Co-Cathedral of St John in Valletta and for more than 35 years its organist. The seven sonatas performed here are quite interesting. They are very different in complexion and length. The shortest takes '2'08", the longest 5'45". The Sonata 1 opens with an episode on pedal points over which the right hand plays figurations. The thematic material is in the right hand, the left hand has an accompanying role. This piece includes some strong dissonances. In the Sonata 2 the two hands are treated on equal footing. In the Sonata 3 the left hand is accompanying again; there is some imitation between the two hands. The Sonata 4 consists of several movements (not specified in the track-list). It is written in the galant idiom. The Sonata 7 includes several pedal points and marked dissonances; this sonata reminds me of Italian keyboard music of the 17th century.
Francesco Azopardi was a pupil of Vella and also studied at the Sant'Onofrio in Naples. After his return he became organist at the Cathedral of St Paul in Valletta. In 1802 he performed a Passion oratorio on a libretto by Metastasio, which has been lost. The five Sonate pastorale show similarity with the keyboard music of Italian composers from the second half of the 18th century, such as Galuppi and Cimarosa. Even if they had a different title, one would easily recognize them as pastoral music. The first three are quite similar in the material of their second halves. The siciliano rhythm that is so characteristic of pastoral music from Italy makes frequent appearances here. The longest is the Sonata 4, which is divided into several movements. The Sonata 5 includes episodes with repeated notes, another feature of pastoral music.
The organ works are performed on an organ from 1774, whereas Diego Cannizzato plays an instrument of 1777 in the basso continuo of the vocal works. These are two very nice instruments which are well suited for this repertoire. The performances of the organ works and the vocal items are excellent. The four voices blend perfectly. The acoustic is a bit too reverberant. The vocal music is not something that is going to shock the music world, but well worth being performed. I hope that more music from Maltese archives is going to be recorded.
Johan van Veen (© 2024)
Relevant links:
Diego Cannizzaro