Nicola PORPORA (1686 - 1768)
Vespro per la Festività dell'Assunta
Laudate pueri Dominum [19:18]
Salve Regina [15:26]
Laetatus sum [17:46]
Lauda Jerusalem [11:30]
Marilia Vargas, Michiko Takahashi (soprano), Delphine Galou
(contralto)
La Maîtrise de Bretagne, Le Parlement de Musique/Martin Gester
rec. live, 16 September 2011, abbatial church of Ambronay, France.
DDD
Texts and translations included
ÉDITIONS AMBRONAY AMY030 [64:03]
Nicola Porpora seems to enjoy increasing popularity these days. For
many years hardly any disc with his music came my way, but in the last
couple of years I had the opportunity to review several discs with both
secular and sacred music. On this site you can find two reviews of
recordings with cantatas (review; review) and on my own site you can find various reviews of
discs with sacred music (reviews). Porpora
has become mainly known as a composer of operas and secular cantatas, and
historically he is considered one of the most important singing teachers.
One of his pupils was the famous castrato Farinelli. Solfeggi which are
attributed to him were still used in the 19th century.
Part of his sacred oeuvre was written during his time in Venice when
he worked in various ospedali, the famous institutes for girls which
were in fact conservatories. The girls were taught various instruments and
also received singing lessons. The music on this disc was all written for
the Ospedaletto or Ospedale dei Derelitti where Porpora was
appointed as singing teacher in 1744. That is also the date of the Vespers
which Martin Gester has recorded.
The title of this disc is a little misleading, though. We don't get
a Vesper service as one may expect. That is even not possible: we have a
list of the pieces which Porpora had included in his Vespers, but a number
of them have been lost. These are the invocation Deus in adiutorium,
the Psalms Dixit Dominus and Laudate pueri, the Salve
Regina and the Magnificat. The Salve Regina in this
performance has been chosen from another source. From a different source
dating from 1745 two settings of the Psalm Laudate pueri are
available. One of them has been chosen because its scoring is the same as
those of the 1744 Psalms: women's voices, divided over two sopranos and
alto, both in soli and tutti. Part of the live performance which was
recorded for this disc was also a setting of the Dixit Dominus.
Unfortunately it has been omitted because of a lack of space.
As this is no reconstruction of a Vesper service it doesn't really matter
that the Salve Regina has been put at the liturgically wrong spot.
It is a vocal showpiece which is typical for the Italian baroque. The second
verse, 'Ad te clamamus', is treated like an opera aria. The next verse, 'Ad
te suspiramus', is characterised by broad gestures, as one would expect with
words like "suspiramus" (sigh), "gementes" (mourning) and "flentes" (weeping).
In the verse 'Illos tuos' Porpora has included a solo part for the violin.
The programme begins with Laudate pueri Dominum which opens
with a duet of the two sopranos. It becomes immediately clear that the solo
parts are technically demanding, moving up and down through the scale and
including very long coloraturas. It bears witness to the great skills of the
girls at the various ospedali in Venice. The fourth section, 'Qui
habitare', begins with a long instrumental introduction which includes a
part for solo cello.
In the various Psalms cadenzas are sung at the end of several
sections. In 'Quia illuc' (Laetatus sum) we even get two, at the end
of each of the two sections. It only underlines the operatic character of
Porpora's sacred music. This is reflected in the string parts with its vivid
rhythms and often dramatic gestures.
I have nothing but admiration for the performances of the three
singers. They have very fine and agile voices, and are meeting the high
requirements of this music with impressive ease. The two sopranos have
voices which are easy to tell apart, but they blend perfectly. They sing
with a good sense of drama without exaggeration and without using a lot of
vibrato. Delphine Galou is a true contralto, with a strong and clear low
register. Her performance of the Salve Regina is technically assured
and expressive. The orchestra gives ardent support. The role of the choir is
limited, but it sings well, and cooperation with the soloists in those
sections in which they alternate is perfect.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanveen
I have nothing but admiration for the performances of the three singers.