Domenico Scarlatti’s early career seems to have taken place in
his father Alessandro’s shadow. In fact Alessandro had taken quite
a strong controlling interest in Domenico’s career. Only in 1717
did Domenico begin to gain some sort of independence. When Domenico
finally escaped his father completely, by moving to Lisbon and
then Madrid, he branched out in entirely new fields with the harpsichord
sonatas. But his early career as a composer was dominated by his
work in secular and sacred vocal music - areas where his father
excelled.
This new disc
from the Immortal Bach Ensemble allows us to hear a selection
of his early sacred music. The Immortal Bach Ensemble was
founded in 2001 by Morten Schuldt-Jensen as the Leipzig based
Gewandhaus Kammerchor. The ensemble changed its name to the
Immortal Bach Ensemble in 2006; the name comes from the title
piece by the Norwegian composer Knut Nystedt.
The first piece
on the disc, the Te Deum in C major for double choir and continuo,
is probably the most recent. It seems to have been written
for Lisbon either in 1721 or for the marriage in 1729 of Domenico’s
pupil Infanta Maria Barbara. It is an attractive, lively work
which, at just under six minutes duration, does not outstay
its welcome.
In 1707 Domenico’s
father, Alessandro, had reluctantly become director of music
at the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. Domenico
is known to have been involved at the church on at least two
occasions and a group of his works have been identified in
the church archives. These include the Missa Brevis ‘La Stella’
and the motet ‘Cibavit nos Dominus’, which are performed on
this disc.
The Missa Brevis
‘La Stella’ is scored for two four-part choirs and continuo,
the second choral group forming a sort of ripieno ensemble.
The setting mixes the stile antico of Palestrina with
more modern continuo-based sections. Scarlatti’s use of two
choirs and the mixing of choral and solo episodes means that
the work has a pleasantly varied texture. The mass is relatively
compact; this is attractively useful music and receives a
lively and committed performance from Schuldt-Jensen and his
ensemble.
The group sings
the motet ‘Cibavit nos Dominus’ unaccompanied, which is entirely
apt given that it is written in stile antico. The Magnificat
is also sung unaccompanied. This work comes from the Santini
collection in Munster and probably dates from Scarlatti’s
period (1714-1719) as maestro di cappella of the Cappella
Giulia at the Vatican. It is a fine and substantial work,
one which is entirely in keeping with the traditional musical
styles which Scarlatti would have learned. It displays his
command of church music rather than showing any tendency to
branch out into pastures new. Perhaps his father’s influence
lay heavy on his composing style as well as his career appointments.
The final work
on the disc is Domenico Scarlatti’s Stabat Mater, a
work which could be seen to rival his father’s famous setting
of the same text. Domenico’s is for two five-part choirs and
continuo, but he rarely uses all voices together choosing
instead to create a series of contrasting textures. The work
also comes from the Santini collection and its dating is a
little unsure.
The choir numbers
just ten singers (four soprano, two alto, two tenor, two bass)
so that in the double choir works we are reduced to one singer
to a part in the lower registers, which possibly reflects
the practice of Scarlatti’s time. This means that we are very
dependent on the quality of the individual singers. By and
large they stand up to this scrutiny, impressing with their
vividness and commitment even if they are not quite as clean
as would be ideal in some of the more elaborate passages.
The music on this
disc provides a fascinating glimpse of the Italian Domenico
Scarlatti, before he commenced his great sequence of harpsichord
sonatas. The music is unfailingly good-natured, enjoyable,
attractive and well put together, whilst missing the element
of greatness which characterises his harpsichord works.
In these performers
he has fine interpreters. I would have preferred a slightly larger
choral group for the double choir works, but the singers cope
admirably and the slips are slight and only occasional. They more
than compensate by their varied and vivid performances, with a
lively attention to the text. This is an attractive disc, highly
recommendable to anyone wanting to find out what Domenico Scarlatti
did before he wrote harpsichord sonatas.
Robert Hugill
see also Review
by Johan van Veen
The Immortal
Bach Ensemble/Morten Schuldt-Jensen 
