Although almost forgotten in modern times, and perhaps
described as a 'minor master' in encyclopedias, Foggia was a
famous composer in his own time. Being born in Rome in 1604
he worked at the courts of Munich and Vienna respectively during
the first chapter of his career. After returning to Italy he
at first held posts at some minor churches in Rome before moving
to more important churches like the Santa Maria in Trastavere
and San Giovanni in Laterano. Here he spent the largest part
of his career, from 1636 to 1661. His oeuvre reflects the shifts
in musical style from the 'stile antico' of Palestrina through
the era of monody to the style of Cavalli and Carissimi, when
the exclusive concentration on the text made way for a more
melodious style of composing.
The music on this disc is taken from the collection 'Psalmodia
Vespertina', which was published in 1667. "We have compiled
five psalms and the Magnificat as well as the closing antiphon
'Salve Regina' from the Psalmodia Vespertina and supplemented
them with Gregorian chorales to form a Vespers office of the
type that was performed to celebrate the feast day of a canonized
Confessor Pope", thus the ensemble's director Bernhard
Pfammatter in the booklet. He states that it is open for debate
to what extent churches in Rome had the freedom to replace antiphons
with music on para-liturgical texts. Therefore he has done so
with utmost caution: only in the case of the Magnificat the
repeat of the antiphon is replaced by Foggia's motet 'De valle
lacrimarum' - a decision which makes sense. Far less understandable
is the decision to omit the repeat of all other antiphons, "out
of respect for the length of the recording". I find this
totally unconvincing: with a duration of 68 minutes a repeat
of the antiphons would perhaps take about 6 or 7 minutes. This
poses no technical problems at all, in particular if the circa
one minute of applause at the end had been cut, or if the plainchant
had been sung at a more appropriate - faster - tempo.
The music by Foggia is well worth listening to. Considering
the way composers of that time set texts to music it is a serious
omission that the booklet omits the lyrics, even though they
might be easy to find in the booklets of other recordings of
vesper music. Italian composers of the 17th century hardly ever
missed the opportunity to express specific elements of the texts,
like "conquassabit capita" (he shall wound the heads)
in 'Dixit Dominus', "potentes" (the mighty) in the
Magnificat and words like "clamamus" (we cry), "suspiramus
gementes et flentes" (we sigh, mourning and weeping) in
the Salve Regina. And in 'Laudate pueri' the word "quis"
(who?) is followed by an eloquent pause before ending the question
"(who) is like unto the Lord our God". In some pieces
Foggia makes use of the antiphonal principle by splitting the
ensemble into a high and a low section (Laudate Dominum, Gaudent
in caelis).
The versiculum by De Victoria is performed as if it was
written in Foggia's own time, and that is certainly right. I
wonder, though, whether the plainchant shouldn't be performed
the same way. I personally don't believe that performers in
those days treated plainchant and polyphony differently. The
hymn 'Iste confessor' by Massenzio more reflects the style of
Monteverdi's time, for instance in the passages for two voices
which are very declamatory. It strongly contrasts with Foggia's
solo motet 'De valle lacrimarum', which contains a sequence
of recitative and aria-like passages.
On the whole this music is receiving a good performance
here, with the exception of the plainchant which is too slow
and too solemn. This ensemble from Switzerland consists of beautiful
voices, which have the flexibility this repertoire needs, and
which blend well. The singers are aptly supported by the instrumentalists.
The solo motet is well sung by Maria Schmid, although the diction
and intonation occasionally leave something to be desired. But
considering this is a live recording one can only admire the
effort of the ensemble and its members. And they should be complimented
on the choice of repertoire, which has been unjustly neglected.
Johan
van Veen
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