Alessandro Scarlatti, Magnificat; Herbert Howells: Requiem
The Requiem of Herbert Howells, written in 1936, has complex musical textures, shifting between simple psalm settings and much more musically adventurous sections that combine chromaticism, ambiguous harmonies and tone clusters. It is reminiscent of another English a cappella choral work, Vaughan Williams's G Minor Mass of 1923. Both works explicitly look back to 16th century polyphonic music, but they add a brightly coloured modern surface sheen that reminds me of the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Mirko Guadagnini put together this programme to highlight the "dialogue between the antique and the modern", and the Howells work certainly fills that bill.
As does Alessandro Scarlatti's Magnificat a 5, written in the early 18th century but also looking back to the music of the 16th, specifically to Palestrina. Alessandro is of the generation before Bach and Handel - his son Domenico was born in the same year as both - so he's working within a tradition that's closer to the masters of Renaissance polyphony. Since he was as at home in the opera pit as a cathedral choir, his sacred music is more organically dramatic and theatrical, so even if he's taking Palestrina as his model here, this music sounds as much like Monteverdi and Giovanni Gabrieli as the older Roman master.
The Intende Voci Ensemble comprises 14 voices, with a theorbo and organ for the basso continuo. This is magnificent singing, recorded directly and simply in the wonderful acoustic of the Canonica Lateranense di S. Giorgio M., Bernate Ticino, in Milan. With shorter works by Scarlatti father and son, this is a completely satisfying disc, with gorgeous singing and many, many felicities to appreciate.
I have a special interest in album cover photography, so I perked up when I saw this disc. The wonderful photo here is "La Corallina’s Sunrise" by Gianmario Masala. Here's the full picture, from his website:
This album will be released on June 4, 2021.
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