The Cardinal King - Music for Henry Benedict Stuart in
Rome, 1740-91
Cappella Fede
Harmonia Sacra/Peter Leech
rec. 2015, Chapel of St Mary’s College, Oscott, Birmingham, UK
Texts and translations included
TOCCATA CLASSICS TOCC0300 [73:07]
"It is my belief that when all the surviving evidence
of his wider cultural patronage is gathered, it will demonstrate not
only that Henry was easily the equal of his illustrious, and more famous,
forebear, Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, but also that Henry Benedict Stuart
deserves to be ranked as one of the foremost patrons of his time in
Europe." Thus Peter Leech concludes his liner-notes to the present
disc with music for the 'Cardinal King'.
Who was he? Henry Benedict Thomas Edward Maria Clement Francis Xavier
Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York, as his full name and title read, was
the grandson of James II of England and VII of Scotland, who was disposed
in 1688 during the Glorious Revolution. In 1715, his father, James Francis
Edward Stuart, had attempted to regain the throne, but failed. He first
went to France, where he lived in Avignon, which was then Papal territory.
Pope Clement XI offered James the Palazzo del Re in Rome as his residence,
which he accepted. He later moved to the Palazzo Muti, and here his
son Henry Benedict was born in 1725. In 1745 the latter went to France
to help his brother Charles Edward, known as 'Bonnie Prince Charles',
to prepare the Jacobite rising of that year. After its defeat he returned
to Italy. In 1747 Pope Benedict XIV created him Cardinal-Deacon, which
was the start of a quick rise in the ecclesiastical hierarchy. In 1748
he was ordained priest, and that same year became Cardinal Priest of
Santa Maria in Campitelli, a district in the centre of Rome. In 1761
he was made Cardinal-Bishop of Frascati. Here he lived for most of his
life.
It seems that from the early 1740s Henry became associated with several
composers, among them Giovanni Battista Costanzi. Little is known about
him. He was born in Rome and worked there all his life as a cellist.
He may have been a pupil of Giovanni Lorenzo Lulier (c.1662-1700), also
a professional cellist with the nickname of Giovannino del Violone.
In 1721 Costanzi entered the service of Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, one
of the most important patrons of the arts in Rome in the first half
of the 18th century. The Cardinal was also responsible for his being
appointed maestro di cappella of several churches in Rome.
He was also active as a teacher; one of his pupils was Luigi Boccherini.
Costanzi also played at the court of the Stuarts. In his capacity as
composer he wrote some music for his own instrument, but the largest
part of his output comprises secular and sacred vocal music, including
operas and oratorios. Among his liturgical music is the Ave Maria
included here, which dates from around 1750, scored for soprano, alto,
tenor and basso continuo. This is still a typically baroque piece, not
unlike the secular duets written in the early 18th century, for instance
by Agostino Steffani. It is dominated by counterpoint.
That is also the case with the four madrigals by Giovanni Zamboni, which
date from around 1755. The form of the madrigal was a relic of the past;
one of the last composers who wrote madrigals was Alessandro Scarlatti
(1660-1725). The identity of the composer is a bit of a mystery. These
four madrigals are part of a collection of 24, which the composer dedicated
to Henry. They are scored for four voices and basso continuo. The composer
makes use of madrigalisms, but in a new look. At the same time, these
pieces show that counterpoint was not only something of the past, but
was still used. That also comes to the fore in the motet Oculi omnium
by Niccolò Jommelli. He has become almost exclusively known as a composer
of music for the stage, but his oeuvre includes a large number of sacred
works, both liturgical and extra-liturgical. In 1749 he had been appointed
maestro coadiutore at St Peter's Basilica, "evidently
with Henry's support", Leech writes. This motet must have
been written at about that time. It is scored for four voices and basso
continuo. Jommelli was often criticized for the theatrical features
of his church music, but nothing of that is evident here.
Sebastiano Bolis is connected to the later stages of Henry's
life. He was appointed maestro di cappella of San Lorenzo in
1778, as successor to Costanzi. In this position he served Henry for
nearly twenty years. He is a completely unknown quantity, who is not
mentioned in any music encyclopedia. His music has survived only in
manuscript in a relatively small number of sources, among them the important
Santini library in Münster (Germany). The pieces recorded here are stylistically
different. Laudate pueri Dominum is probably the latest work,
dating from 1791. It is an almost frivolous piece, which one - without
knowing the text - could easily take for a secular work. The Miserere
is a more substantial work, dating from 1790, and written in alternatim
style, in which verses for soloists and/or tutti alternate with plainchant.
The Letanie della Madonna Santissima is a mixture of polyphony
and homophony, for solo voices and choir, with basso continuo. The disc
opens with three of the five Assoluzzione, "a liturgy
traditionally performed only at the funerals of ecclesiastical persons
of the rank of Bishop or above" (booklet). These are almost entirely
dominated by homophony, and scored for four voices and basso continuo.
The last composer in the programme is Carlo Tessarini. He worked in
various places in Italy, then went abroad and lived for several years
in the Netherlands. Tessarini gave private concerts of his own works
in London, where he lived and worked between 1747 and 1750. In 1740
he was appointed first violin at the Teatro di Valle in Rome, but the
death of Pope Clement XII meant, that the theatre closed on 6 February
of that year. Also in 1740 he published a set of six Allettamenti
da camera as his Op. 3. It was dedicated to Henry, who was just
15 years of age. These pieces are scored for violin and basso continuo,
with a rather prominent role for the cello. The Attenamente III
is in three movements in the order, which became increasingly common
at the time: adagio, allegro, allegro.
These pieces receive an excellent performance from the players of the
Cappella Fede: Hazel Brooks (violin), Jennifer Bullock (cello) and Martin
Knizia (organ). The choir Harmonia Sacra participates only in two of
Bolis's works, the Miserere and the Litanie.
It is a fine ensemble of sixteen voices, which gives a good account
of itself. The other pieces are performed by the four singers of Harmonia
Sacra. They have nice voices, but the performances are a bit uneven
and inconsistent. Sometimes they blend perfectly, but there are also
moments, when the vibrato of some voices spoils the party. That is the
case, for instance, in some of Zamboni's madrigals. In the opening
episodes of the Letanie especially Tim Travers-Brown uses a
rather wide and nervous vibrato, which is not nice to hear.
That said, we should be most thankful for this recording, as it includes
almost exclusively first performances of music by composers, who deserve
more attention. In the booklet Peter Leech writes that "further
research into Bolis and his origins is underway". That is good
news. Let's hope more music by him and from his time, written
in Rome, will come to light.
Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
Previous review:
Brian Wilson
Contents
Sebastiano BOLIS (c.1750-1804)
Cinque Assoluzzione:
Assoluzione Prima [2:34]
Assoluzione Seconda [2:17]
Assoluzione Quinta [3:52]
Jesum quæritis Nazarenum [2:04]
Giovanni ZAMBONI (fl. c.1740-1760)
Splende fredda luna [2:22]
O memorie funeste [2:23]
Giovanni Battista COSTANZI (1704-1778)
Ave Maria [2:14]
Giovanni ZAMBONI
O come se' gentile [3:12]
Sebastiano BOLIS
Laudate pueri [5:44]
Miserere [13:23]
Carlo TESSARINI (1690-1766)
Allettamento Terzo [10:07]
Nicolò JOMMELLI (1714-1774)
Oculi omnium [2:50]
Carlo TESSARINI
Allettamento Secondo: andante[4:34]
Giovanni ZAMBONI
Feritevi, ferite [3:12]
Sebastiano BOLIS
Letanie della Madonna Santissima [4:34]
