Since the late 17th century Spain had come under
the influence of the Italian style in musical matters. It is hardly
surprising that during the 18th century various Italian composers played
an important role in the music scene. The most famous of them was Domenico
Scarlatti. Other names to be mentioned are Gaetano Brunetti, Luigi Boccherini
and Francesco Corselli. The present disc is devoted to the oeuvre of
the latter.
He was born in Piacenza of French parents; his original family name
was Courcelle. His father was dance master to the Farnese family. At
an early age he was active in Parma and became
maestro di cappella
of the Chiesa della Madonna della Steccata there. From 1727 to 1733
he was also
maestro di cappella of the Duke of Parma, the future
King Carlos III of Spain. When the Duke’s mother, Isabelle Farnese,
the second wife of King Felipe V, was looking for a music master for
the royal children, she turned to Corselli, who arrived in Madrid in
January 1734.
Corselli was not only active as music teacher at the palace, he also
composed music for the theatre, among them the only two operas from
his pen which have been preserved complete:
Alessandro nell'Indie
(1738) and
Il Farnace (1739). These were among the first specimens
of the
opera seria genre which were performed in Spain. In the
next decades Corselli would compose mainly sacred music: masses, Offices
of the Dead, sequences, responsories, Vespers, Magnificats, motets and
villancicos. This was the consequence of his appointment in 1738 as
Maestro de la Capilla del Rey; in this capacity he succeeded
José de Torres who had died earlier that year.
In his sacred music he shows that he was looking forward, both in regard
to harmony and to instrumentation. The latter aspect is especially interesting.
On Christmas Eve 1734 a fire had destroyed the old Alcázar and
its entire music archive. It was Corselli's duty to reorganise music
life and build up a new repertoire. He wanted to purchase music by some
of the most prominent Italian and Spanish composers of his time, such
as Galuppi, Porpora and Durante, but that was not allowed. He was more
successful in his reform of the chapel in that he added a viola to the
string corpus. He also added wind instruments, especially bassoons and
horns, to the orchestra. That left its mark on his own compositions
in which he often gave wind instruments a prominent role.
That is also the case in some of the compositions recorded here. Most
remarkable is the
Lectio 2a in Sabato Sancto which is for soprano
with strings, flutes and trumpets. The Latin letters are - as was common
practice - set to long melismas but they are quite different from those
in lamentations of the baroque period. They are mostly fugal. The lessons
are rather concise and have hardly any repeats. The
Lamentación
2a del Jueves Santo is different: the instrumentation is confined
to violins and
violones. The latter term refers to low strings
- here: two cellos and one violone. They play with mutes.
The two cantatas are strongly operatic in character. They begin with
a recitative which is followed by a
da capo aria. In the aria
from
A ti, invisible ruiseñor canoro which is about the
three wise men visiting baby Jesus, the flute plays an important role.
The text refers to Philomena who, according to classical mythology,
was the daughter of Poseidon and was turned into a nightingale. No wonder
the aria begins with the flute imitating birdsong. Then the soprano
enters, also imitating the nightingale; these imitations are then repeated
by the flute. I am not quite sure what the other cantata is about, except
that it has a sacred subject as well and could also be about the wise
men. It is a shame that the booklet omits an English translation of
the lyrics.
The rest of the programme is devoted to instrumental music from various
vocal compositions. The music and the instrumental scoring confirm the
suggestion that Corselli was quite an original composer and that his
oeuvre deserves to be thoroughly explored. I would like to mention here
a recording of two of his masses by vocal soloists and the Orchestra
of New Spain, directed by Grover Wilkins who also wrote the article
on Corselli (under the name 'Courcelle') in
New Grove. It was
released by the Dorian label and I reviewed that disc
here.
This disc was originally released in 2002; apparently I missed it, as
this is the first time I have heard this recording. I am happy that
it is reissued because Corselli is a most interesting composer and the
performers serve him very well. Nuria Rial is a celebrated singer in
the early music scene these days. At the time this recording was made
she was still very young and her voice was lighter and less dramatic
than it is today. Even so, all the qualities for which she is admired
today are already there, including an extremely fine expression of the
text. She matches the orchestra perfectly, and the balance between voice
and instruments is very good. El Concierto Español delivers convincing
interpretations of the orchestral scores; the wind players are especially
admirable.
For those who have a special interest in Spanish music this disc is
not to be missed.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanveen
