A disc that delivers
decidedly mixed results. This Easter
cantata is an odd amalgam of styles
that just about comes off in this committed
performance. Rendine is something of
a musical sponge. There are many influences
at play in this piece: traditional hymns
and church music, folk song, jazz, pop,
musical theatre and (of course) the
great oratorios and cantatas of the
past. Interestingly, the music does
not really sound Italian, although there
is something of the Respighi of Belkis,
Queen of Sheba about some of the
orchestral colouring.
The first part of the
cantata, Passio Domini Nostri Jesu
Christi, opens somewhere between
Orff's Carmina Burana and the
Dies Irae of Verdi's Requiem,
with a portentous chorus and a foreboding-heavy
orchestra of considerable size. The
chorus builds to a climax and then slumps
and slurs away to be replaced by Nando
Citarella's "voice in Orologio
della Passione". His "voice"
is in fact a high baritone, but is not
billed as one because he does not sing
a classical line. Rather, he belts out
the simple tune of his verses in a style
between musical theatre and rock, and
whoops and groans to colour his performance.
On first hearing, I found this quite
effective. Citarella seemed to capture
the quality of a Roman soldier commenting
on Christ's trudge to Calvary. His song,
with heavy percussion and the flute
doubling the vocal melody, has an eastern
tinge and a fair bit of menace, but
is not really developed, only repeated
and ratcheted up a key a few times to
increase the tension. The short melody
also appears again later in the work
(for example, in track 5), and after
a few listenings I quite wearied of
Citarella and his tune. He is also very
difficult to follow in the text, as
his dialect and delivery make it difficult
to discern which lyric he is singing
at any particular time. This will not
trouble all listeners, but did annoy
me.
There is much here
that is effective, though. The miniature
flute concerto that serves as a Stabat
Mater is quite lovely. For me, it
is these semi-mystical passages that
work best. Track 2 is another case in
point. Here the spare scoring combines
with the resonant acoustic of the church
to create a moving atmosphere that underscores
the speaker's poignant delivery beautifully.
In other places the acoustic lets the
recording down. The soloists (and the
speaker in particular) are spot-lit
by the microphone placement, and the
resonance of the church clouds the orchestral
tuttis.
The second part of
the cantata, Resurrectio Domini Nostri
Jesu Christi, consists of music
harvested from Rendine's earlier Missa
pro pace and Missa de Beatificatione
in onore di Padre Pio. This music
has a celebratory energy, but again
is structurally weak.
The performances are
committed. The orchestra is decent,
if not fabulous, and while the music
does plod a little in places, its simplicity
can be disarming. The saxophonist is
excellent and the singers give what
they have. The soprano, who carries
the finale, sounds like she is in a
Lloyd Webber musical, both in her melodic
line and in her Broadway belt delivery.
Honestly, none of the singers would
be on my short list for any opera production,
but Rendine has deliberately chosen
non-operatic voices and they do what
he wants them to. They give the piece
a common touch.
Overall, this disc
is a curiosity and is well worth hearing.
I really enjoyed my first acquaintance
with it and, as so often, Naxos deserves
the gratitude of music lovers for making
it available. Whether it repays repeated
listening, I am not so sure. I certainly
found that my initial enthusiasm cooled
each time I played the disc, although
I do still admire the quieter passages.
It is also debatable
that Passio et Resurrectio deserves
to be called a "21st
Century Classic". After all, it
was first performed in the last year
of the 20th Century after
a gestation of some twenty years. Whether
or not it is a "classic" will
be for time to decide. The piece has
already received a number of performances
since its premiere and has a potential
advocate on the international stage
in Gianluigi Gelmetti, friend of the
composer and current chief conductor
of both the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
and the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. Whatever
my reservations, Passio et Resurrectio
is certainly infectious and sounds like
it is fun to perform.
Tim Perry
Chorus and orchestra of the Marrucino Theatre,
Chieti/Marzio Conti 
