On this delightful disc, Catalan soprano Nuria Rial and the Bell'Arte
Salzburg ensemble explore the wealth of 17th century
devotional material dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The music comes
mainly from the South German, Hapsburg and Italian Courts. Musicians
moved freely between these areas so that though there is a remarkable
diversity in the music, there is also quite a degree of stylistic
coherence.
In order o give structure
to the programme, director Annegret Siedel has divided the music
into four sections, each based around one of the four Marian festivals
and concluding with one of the four major Marian antiphons (Alma
Redemptoris Mater, Ave regina coelorum, Regina coeli,
Salve Regina).
The ensemble Bell'Arte
Salzburg was formed in 1995 and takes a particular interest in
17th and 18th century Austrian and German
music. On this disc the basic ensemble consists of two violins,
three gambas and basso continuo, though the exact make-up varies
from item to item. The ensemble also punctuate the recital with
non-vocal items.
They open with a liturgical
sonata by Bernadi, which was presumably performed during the mass.
Bernadi held posts in Verona before becoming kapellmeister at
the Salzburg court. This is followed by an Ave Maria setting
by Alberich Mazak. Mazak sets the well known text in a simple
concertato style for soprano and two violins. Mazak lived and
worked at the Cistercian Hailkigkreuz Monastery near Vienna. Mayr's
Sancta Maria, mater Dei introduces variety by treating
the vocal part as arioso and recitative, as well as adding some
coloratura passages. Mayr worked at the court in Munich before
becoming kapellmeister to the Archbishop in Freising. This group
finishes with Caldara's Alma Redemptoris Mater. Caldara
worked in Venice, Mantua and Rome before becoming deputy kapellmeister
in Vienna.
The second group opens
with Grandi's Ave mundi spes Maria, in which Grandi structures
the piece by using striking ritornellos for two violins. Grandi
worked under Monteverdi in Venice before moving to Bergamo. The
sonata by Biber that follows is from a collection called Sonatae,
tam Aris, quam Aulis servientes, which suggests that
Biber intended them for chamber and sacred use. Biber was also
kapellmeister at the Salzburg court. Merula's motet Gaudeamus
omnes comes from a set which was published in Venice in 1641.
He worked mainly in his native Cremona, but spent a periods at
the court in Warsaw and in Bergamo. Finally Poglietti's Ave
Regina coelorum sets the Marian antiphon for soprano and 4
string voices plus basso continuo. The work is characterised by
some quite striking modulations. Poglietti was a leading musician
at the Viennese court. He was strongly associated with the Prince-Bishop
of Olmütz (now Olomouc) and the major portion of his manuscripts
are preserved there today.
Fra Arcangelo Crotti
was a musician monk, Crotti's Sonata sopra Sancta Maria
sets the litany-like supplication to the virgin against a lively
background of two violins and basso continuo. It is faintly reminiscent
of the better known Monteverdi sonata in the 1610 vespers. Cavalli's
O quam suavis et decora uses a text assembled from a variety
of sources including the Song of Solomon. Cavalli was choirmaster-organist
at St. Mark's in Venice and was evidently a gifted singer himself.
Pal Esterhazy was a Hungarian Prince and Count Palatine. He assembled
a collection called Harmonia Caelestis in 1711 and his
own simple strophic setting of Ave Maris Stella comes from
this. The group alternate the verses of Ave Maris Stella
with viol duos from Caresana's set of duos based on the verses
of Ave Maris Stella. Caresana worked as organist and conductor
of the court orchestra in Naples.
The final group opens
with another work by Poglietti - this time a setting of an otherwise
unknown text Ad matrem venite, which Poglietti gives in
a highly coloured setting. The anonymous three voice canzona Surge
propera amica mea comes from a manuscript in the Hungarian
National Library. The Marian antiphon Sub tuum praesidium
is probably the oldest Marian prayer from the Coptic Church. Here
it is given in a setting by Pater Adalbert Grunde who was probably
a pupil of another Salzburt court kapellmeister, Johann Stadlmayr.
Finally the group finish with the Salve Regina by Leuttner,
taken from a collection published in Munich in 1689. Leuttner
was the kapellmeister at the Stiftskirche in Altötting and seems
to have published numerous other works which are lost.
This is a delightful
recital and one of its major charms is the way you can simply
ignore the structure of the disc and the provenance of all the
pieces and simply sit back and enjoy the music-making. Annegret
Siedel and her musicians have provided us with a remarkable variety
of pieces, from composers of various backgrounds. But they all
partook of the same musical culture so that the disc hangs together
beautifully, providing both variety and interconnecting links.
Nurial Rial has a
lovely focused soprano voice. Her voice is of the school of Emma
Kirkby, but with slightly more of an overtone of richness. Some
of these pieces call for significant vocal virtuosity and Rial
provides this effortlessly. She is a complete joy to listen to.
But this disc is not just about the soprano soloist; Rial also
functions nicely as a member of the whole ensemble. The disc comes
over as a civilised exercise in vocal and instrumental chamber
music. The musicians of Bell'Arte Salzburg prove equally as accomplished.
They accompany Rial, dialogue with her and show off nicely when
the composers give them the opportunity. What I keep coming back
to is the sense of dialogue between the musicians - this is real
chamber music.
The CD booklet includes
an informative article along with full texts and translations.
I have nothing but
praise for this disc, and such is its quality that I can safely
commend it to anyone interested in good music-making. You don't
have to be interested in 17th century German sacred
music to find the performances on this disc entrancing.
Robert Hugill
Nurial Rial
(soprano) 
