In Haydn’s view Sammartini
was "a scribbler" but he was
clearly an eminent enough one to attract
Gluck as a pupil. He was probably born
in Milan and remains better known for
his orchestral music, some of which
certainly impressed Gluck who recycled
some in his own sinfonias. Both as maestro
di cappella and organist he was held
in the highest esteem. It’s welcome
therefore that examples of his devotional
music are now appearing on disc with
greater frequency.
High amongst those
works is Il pianto degli Angeli della
Pace, a cantata not based on the
Gospel but rather a dialogue on salvation
and its fulfilment through Christ. To
this end there are three soloists, a
long orchestral introduction, extensive
recitative, soaring arias and a choral
melody that returns three times, giving
the piece a rondo-like form – a sort
of leitmotif, as the notes rightly say,
that attempts to link the work in a
huge chain of significance.
The acoustic is good,
the band quite small and with some fine
solo voices there – good oboist for
instance, the winding, introductory
tune of which announces immediately
the contemplative depth of much of the
Cantata. The cello soloist fares well
in Rasserenata il ciglio (reminding
one of those cello solo parts Handel
wrote in his own choral works). The
arias are sometimes devout and sometimes
quasi-operatic with an invitation to
the soloist for florid extensions at
the top. Sammartini occupies a broadly
centre-Baroque stylistic position. He
tended to be more classical in his orchestral
works but there are certainly some indications
of directions to be taken, and the Rondo/leitmotif
devices are effective and cumulatively
impressive.
The solo singing is
on a rather less exalted level. Soprano
Silvia Mapelli is clearly the best of
the trio. Sometimes there’s quite a
lot of air around the voice, which is
a recording characteristic and once
or twice when she opens up the tone
can get a tiny bit squally at the top.
But though this is a youthful voice
there is an odd technical problem inasmuch
as her lower voice is often employed
parlando and her upper register is declamatory
and operatic. Mezzo Ainhoa Soraluze
can be unsteady and her pitch is occasionally
uncertain. I can’t say I enjoyed her
contribution. Giorgio Tiboni’s voice
is far better suited to Neapolitan song
than Sammartini. This isn’t a put-down
because it would be attractive in the
Gigli repertoire or in verismo
but it’s completely incongruous here.
We end with an example
of Sammartini’s purely orchestral writing,
a three movement Symphony lasting less
than nine minutes. There’s nothing really
distinctive about it other than a pomposo
element to the finale. Given the opportunity
I’d probably join with Haydn’s assessment
here. But there are attractive things
in the cantata even if the vocal performances
could have been considerably improved.
Jonathan Woolf
Capriccio Italiano Ensemble/Daniele Ferrari
