Mercadante was prolific
and famous in his lifetime (the 9th
edition of the Oxford Companion to
Music states that he was known as
the "Italian Beethoven") but
history has not been kind to him. Principally
known as a composer of operas, of which
there were about sixty, he tended to
be overshadowed by Rossini in his youth
and, after his successes of the 1840s,
by Verdi. He also had to compete with
Donizetti and Bellini. During his later
years he went blind but still composed
by dictation. At present there seem
to be only about twenty discs devoted
to his music that are readily available.
These include a few of the operas and
several recordings of the three flute
concertos presented here. There are
versions played by James Galway and
Marzio Conti – see link below to a review
of the latter.
The flute concertos
are relatively early works and each
is in conventional three movement form.
I have been unable to find out for whom
or why they were written. If not profound
or particularly original, they are attractive
and gracious, with lyricism generally
winning over virtuosity. Only the E
major concerto seems to slightly outlast
its material. Each work has a sparkling
finale, particularly the jaunty rondo
of the E minor work. Jean-Pierre Rampal
plays these concertos with obvious affection
and without affectation. He makes a
most pleasing sound and is well-supported
by both orchestras under Claudio Scimone.
The later Sinfonia
on themes from Rossini’s Stabat Mater
is a worthwhile bonus. Various themes
are included and the work is cleverly
built around the (once heard never forgotten)
tenor aria Cuius animam gementem.
There is a dramatic opening and
long lead-in to the big tune which is
given by the strings and returns in
different guises before the rousing
conclusion.
The documentation is
a bit scrappy, mainly consisting of
a short essay on the composer which
tells us little about this music. Movement
headings do not seem to be trustworthy
– I am fairly sure that they are switched
for the first two movements of the D
major concerto and was struggling to
accept that the opening movement of
the E major was (or should have been)
played adagio maestoso. Twice
the composer’s year of birth is incorrectly
given as 1797. Recording details of
the last two works are omitted - the
copyright dates suggest they come from
earlier in the 1970s. The sound quality
does not vary greatly between locations
and is generally well-balanced with
just one or two moments of roughness.
Overall, the merits
of this disc are considerable and, at
bargain price, I am inclined to forgive
the vagaries of the documentation and
give a positive recommendation.
Patrick C Waller
Link to review
of Conti recording
Jean-Pierre Rampal (flute)*† 
