Stradella Motetti - rinaldo Alessandrini Concerto Italiano - Audio CD (Arrives in 50 days)

The Bibliotheque Estense in Modene offers no information regarding the date or place of composition of these motets. Some clues relating to the origin of another motet (Pugna certamen) may imply that this series of seventeen motets was written in the context of Roman music. The ambitious vocal parts, some characteristics of the writing tend to confirm this hypothesis. Performances of this music, at the time, were very likely of a very high standard, and probably part of the Roman choral tradition. In these compositions, Alessandro Stradella deploys lines of great suppleness, a strikingly modern virtuosic energy, which frequently merge with the instrumental accompaniment. The composer, originally from Bologna, probably employed professional singers who used to split their time between the church and the theatre. The vast Convocamini congregamini, with its characters drawn from religious imagery (Lucifer, the spirits of Hell, the Virgin Mary) and its various dramatic devices, clearly calls for the stage. Included in this album, Rinaldo Alessandrini also presents some major instrumental pages, such as a deeply moving Symphonia in D major.

Label: Naive | Origin: Holland