Giovanni LEGRENZI (1626 - 1690)
Il Sedecia - oratorio in 2 parts
Sonata La Torriana, op. 2,15 [4:29]
Il Sedecia, Parte prima [24:30]
Sonata La Strasolda, op. 2,4 [3:27]
Il Sedecia, Parte seconda [25:43]
Sonata La Frangipana, op. 2,3 [3:28]
Francesca Lombardi (First son [Figlio primo]), Lisa Serafini (Second son [Figlio
secondo]) (soprano), Andrea Arrivabene (Narrator [Testo]) (alto), Raffaele
Giordani (Zedekiah [Sedecia]) (tenor), Walter Testolin (Nebuchadnezzar [Nabucco])
(bass)
Oficina Musicum/Riccardo Favero
rec. October 2010, Chiesa di Sant'Alessandro Martire, Massanzago (PD), Italy.
DDD
Texts included; translation to be downloaded from here
DYNAMIC CDS 711 [61:39]
Riccardo Favero seems to have a special interest in the oeuvre of Giovanni
Legrenzi. At about the same time this disc was recorded he also produced a
disc with instrumental and vocal works.This was released under the title Testamentum.
In 2008 he recorded a disc with two
sacred pieces.
Legrenzi is a quite important figure in Italian music history, albeit mainly
in the instrumental field. That was especially the case after his move to
Venice. This took place by 1670 at the latest. Before that he had held several
positions in Bergamo and Ferrara. In Venice he acted as maestro di musica
in various ospedali. During the 1680s he was appointed first as vice-maestro
and then maestro de cappella at San Marco. He composed a number of
operas and a considerable corpus of sacred music. In his instrumental works
he is the link between the 17th century and the canzonas of Merula and Cazzati
on the one hand and the late baroque style of composers like Vivaldi and Torelli
on the other.
The work-list in New Grove mentions seven oratorios; four of these
are lost. They all belong to the category of the oratorio volgare,
the oratorio in the vernacular. Il Sedecia dates from 1676; from that
same year comes La vendita del core humano which was recorded by the
Ensemble Legrenzi (Brilliant
Classics). An oratorio which is not mentioned in New Grove was
released by Tactus:
Il Cuor umano all'incanto, probably also from the 1670s. Lastly, there
is La morte del cor penitente, which probably dates from 1671. This
was recorded by the Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca (Divox).
Il Sedecia is set during the last stages of Judah as a political entity.
The last three kings were puppets of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar who
was the main political force in the region. Zedekiah, the third and last king,
revolted against the Babylonians, ignoring the messages of God’s prophet,
Jeremiah. Jerusalem was besieged and destroyed, Zedekiah was captured, his
sons were killed before his eyes and then he was blinded and sent to Babylon
in captivity.
The oratorio is divided into two parts. The first begins with a chorus of
the Jews: "Let us flee prompt and swift". The Testo then begins to
report about the events which unfold in the rest of this part. Zedekiah expresses
his sorrow about having to leave his kingdom and urges his two sons to take
courage. They express their admiration for their father's courage and they
wish to follow him. A choir of soldiers sings the praises of Nebuchadnezzar
who is sure that Zedekiah will not escape: "My thundering arm shall reach
him no matter where he wanders". As was common practice in all oratorios of
the time the first part ends with a five-part madrigale, expressing
a moral: "How mad you are, foolish absconder! You think you can run away,
but Heaven's wrath cannot be escaped". This reflects the messages of the prophet
Jeremiah that the fate of Judah and its King were God's punishment for their
sins.
In the second part we meet Zedekiah and his two sons, resting on the banks
of the Jordan river, near Jericho. The peace and quiet is disrupted by the
Baylonian armies which chase them. They are captured, and Nebuchadnezzar announces
the punishment. Zedekiah urges him to kill him and spare his sons, but these
then challenge Nebuchadnezzar to kill them. So it happens: they are killed
and Zedekiah is blinded. Zedekiah laments his fate and takes the blame for
what has happened. The oratorio ends with another madrigale: "Mortals,
learn the law of God; first he corrects, then he turns a deaf ear."
The performance raises some questions. First of all, the liner-notes tell
us that the oratorio is scored for voices and continuo. It is then stated
that the various characters have their own instruments: the two sons, for
instance, are accompanied by a violin. The question then is: what exactly
do they play? It seems that they mostly follow the bass line. I wonder whether
this practice has any historical justification. Apparently Legrenzi didn't
see the need to add instrumental parts to the score. The second issue is the
scoring of the choruses. These are in five parts which was common in oratorios
of the time. The very fact that there are also five soloists in the same scoring
- SSATB - strongly suggests that these choruses were to be sung by the soloists.
That is confirmed by the chorus of Nebuchadnezzar's soldiers (track 36) which
is in three parts: ATB. One has to assume that oratorios like this were mostly
performed with very small forces. Many oratorios don't have an overture; that
is the case here. In modern performances and recordings this is usually compensated
for by selecting a sinfonia by the same composer or a contemporary of his.
Here the first and second parts are preceded by sonatas from Legrenzi's op.
2; the closing chorus is followed by a third sonata. The fact that the oratorio
is scored for voices and bc, without other instruments, raises questions in
regard to the historical justification of this practice. It is not very logical
to play a sinfonia for two violins and bc when no violins are needed in the
oratorio itself. Several of these sonatas, which were originally scored for
two violins and bc, are played by cornett and violin.
The singers all have very nice voices which are excellently suited to this
kind of repertoire. The interpretations are different, though. The two sopranos
stand out in their accounts of the roles of Zedekiah's sons. The duet in which
they say farewell to their father as they are killed is very moving and impressively
performed. Andrea Arrivabene does well as the Testo, avoiding too much
involvement which would be at odds with his role as narrator. Raffaele Giordani
fails fully to explore the role of Zedekiah. He is too bland by half. You
can hear this especially in the closing scene when he faces Nebuchadnezzar
and hears what is going to be his and his sons' fate. The same goes for Walter
Testolin in the role of Nebuchadnezzar. He boasts about his power: "Let those
who see my glory and do not worship it suffer perpetual horror". He doesn't
make enough of that; his singing is far too neat.
This recording should be given a warm welcome as it is the last of Legrenzi's
extant oratorios to make its way to disc. That said, the interpretation could
have done more to express the work’s dramatic character.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanveen
A welcome release although the interpretation falls short of fully exploring
the oratorio's dramatic character.
|
Support
us financially by purchasing this disc from:
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|