The madrigals of Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa belong among the most
fascinating works in music history. They are often performed and are
available in various recordings but it is difficult to get a grip on them
and the personality of Gesualdo remains somewhat enigmatic. In many ways he
was a loner, whose style cannot be compared with that of his contemporaries.
He also composed sacred music but that part of his oeuvre has been more or
less overshadowed by his madrigals. However, his
Responsoria for
Holy Week have found considerable interest among performers, and in recent
years several recordings of these works - complete or parts of them - have
been released.
Last year Mark Sealey reviewed the interpretation of Philippe Herreweghe
with his Collegium Vocale Gent (
review). Not long after the review was published
the present interpretation was released. The main difference between these
two recordings is the size of the ensemble. Herreweghe used 15 singers,
whereas the Compagnia del Madrigale comprises just six.
It is not known for sure if these works were ever performed in
Gesualdo's time and if so, where and under what circumstances. Were
the
Responsoria written with a liturgical purpose in mind? Marco
Bizzarini, in his liner-notes, thinks so. He points out that in these works
Gesualdo "abides by the rules of the genre of sacred music by the
constant use of the time indication (
tempus imperfectum diminutum),
always accompanied in this edition by the
chiavi naturali
(...)." He also points to the inclusion of other pieces which are part
of Holy Week liturgy: the
Benedictus (the Canticle of Zachariah)
and the
Miserere, one of the penitential psalms. That in itself
gives no clue as to how these pieces have to be performed. As long as we
know so little about the circumstances and the number and identity of the
singers of a likely performance in Gesualdo's own lifetime it is
impossible to say which approach is right. Having heard each of these
performances I am impressed by and happy with both of them.
In the present recording the
Responsoria are very close to the
madrigals. That is partly due to the stylistic similarities. Gesualdo does
not go quite as far in his individualistic approach to the text as he does
in his madrigals but his idiom is not fundamentally different. That is
impressively emphasized by La Compagnia del Madrigale. The adopting of one
voice per part allows for a personal colouring of the individual parts, a
maximum transparency and as a result optimum clarity of the text. There is
also more room for a certain amount of freedom in the shaping of the lines
and stronger dynamic accents. There are some striking
fortissimo
passages which would probably sound exaggerated and would even be
counter-productive in a performance by a larger ensemble. Herreweghe wisely
shows some restraint in this department.
Apart from a different approach to the
Responsoria this recording
has some nice extras to offer. Every Nocturn is followed by a piece which
doesn't belong to the collection and sometimes these are by other
composers, as indicated in the track-list. Most of these pieces are
spiritual madrigals, an important genre at the time which today is not often
performed. The composers belong among those who Gesualdo specifically
admired. De Macque, of Flemish origin, was a highly skilled keyboard player
who for some time was in the service of the Gesualdo family and was one of
those musicians who influenced Gesualdo's development as a composer.
Luzzasco Luzzaschi was the composer he admired most of all. In many ways he
saw him as a model for his own madrigals as Luzzaschi was very interested in
a close connection between text and music but did not fully embrace the
stile nuovo which emerged towards the end of his life. Another
representative of the
stile antico but also an advocate of
expression was Luca Marenzio. One of the spiritual madrigals is from
Gesualdo's own pen, and included in his fourth book of madrigals.
Also included are some pieces which were neither part of the
Responsoria nor of one of the two collections of
Cantiones
Sacrae (both from 1603).
Ne reminiscaris, Domine is taken from
a collection published in 1585 whereas
In te Domine speravi is from
an edition which appeared in Naples in 1620. These are hardly ever performed
and that makes their inclusion in this album of major importance.
As I have indicated I am very happy with the recordings by Herreweghe and
La Compagnia del Madrigale. Fortunately I don't have to choose, and
if you can afford to purchase both recordings, don't hesitate. If
not, it is probably a matter of taste. This review and Mark Sealey's
assessment of Herreweghe's recording will probably help you to get a
good impression of what to expect. The additional music in this production
could be a factor in its favour, but in regard to interpretation you
can't go wrong with either of them.
Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
Contents
Feria Quinta
In I. Nocturno [18:06]
(Giovanni DE MACQUE (1548/50-1614))
I'vo piangendo i miei passati tempi, madrigale spirituale
a 5 [5:00]
In II.Nocturno [12:27]
(Luzzasco LUZZASCHI (c1545-1607))
S'homai d'ogni su' errore, madrigale
spirituale a 5 [3:37]
In III. Nocturno [15:23]
In te Domine speravi, motet a 4 [3:51]
Feria Sexta
In I. Nocturno [14:42]
(Luzzasco LUZZASCHI)
Quivi sospiri, pianti e alti guai, madrigale spirituale a 5
[3:05]
In II.Nocturno [17:04]
(Luca MARENZIO (1535/54-1599))
È questo il legno che del sacro sangue, madrigale spirituale a 5
[7:01]
In III. Nocturno [15:27]
Benedictus [6:56]
Sabbato Sancto
In I. Nocturno [13:58]
Sparge la morte al mio, madrigale spirituale a 5 [5:23]
In II. Nocturno [13:22]
(Pietro VINCI (c1525-after 1584))
Le braccia aprendo in croce, madrigale spirituale a 5 [4:22]
In III. Nocturno [13:00]
Miserere mei, Deus [10:38]
Ne reminiscaris, Domine, motet a 5
