Belfry Messa

The fiftieth anniversary of Toscanini’s death in 2007 was celebrated with gala concerts around the world, one of the most glamorous events being this benefit concert at the basilica of St Mark’s in Venice. The 11-year-old child prodigy Lorin Maazel once met the Italian maestro in New York, and Toscanini’s legacy left a permanent mark on Maazel as a musician. His tour with the Symphonica Toscanini, called “In the Footsteps of Toscanini”, culminated in two concerts in Venice featuring Verdi’s Requiem, a showpiece of Toscanini’s, and St Mark’s, the birthplace of stereophonic and quadraphonic sound, proved to be an ideal venue for this eloquent and musically impressive confessional work.

This release is dedicated to some of the most famous settings of the Stabat mater, revealing the genre's varying treatment by composers over the centuries. From Palestrina's effective use of polyphony to Pergolesi's unusually sparse instrumental accompaniment, we move forward in time to contributions by Vivaldi and Haydn. These compositions rank among some of the most famous and affective music ever composed.

Renowned worldwide in his lifetime and remembered today as a double bass virtuoso, Giovanni Bottesini excelled in every branch of musicianship, but his operas and sacred works were overshadowed by those of Verdi and have fallen into neglect. Composed in response to the death of his brother Luigi, Bottesini’s large scale Requiem combines ecclesiastical counterpoint with formal innovation and the expressive lyricism and dramatic orchestration of operatic models.

The world has not yet fully discovered the riches of the impressive music libraries and archives of Portugal. They testify to the often complex trajectories followed all over Europe by a repertoire of splendid pieces, many of them showing the extent to which the Italian style had taken root in eighteenth-century Portugal. The superb mass by Pergolesi recorded here is a highly characteristic example. But the ensemble Turicum wanted to go even further in their exploration of this repertoire, accompanying the mass with performances of works by composers now totally (and unjustly) unknown, such as Antonio Gallassi and David Perez, not to mention Leonardo leo, acknowledged in his own time as a supreme master of sacred music.

Perti's music reveals a young and perceptive musical imagination, especially in the constellation of ever-changing solo-voice combinations and the rousing double fugue with which he brings the Mass to such a glorious conclusion. Lovers of Baroque polychorality will enjoy this.

Porpora was born on August 17, 1686, in Naples. He showed talent early in his childhood, and at the age of ten was placed in the Conservatorio dei Poveri di Gesu Cristo. Not much is known about his teachers there, but upon his departure he was well-grounded in voice and composition. His first opera, Agrippina, came in 1708, though he took three years to produce his next significant work in any genre.

Abbado's Verdi recordings are some of the finest available and this Requiem recording is no expection. Abbado takes a less ferocious approach than say Muti, or Barenboim, balancing the dramatic moments effectively against the more introspective aspects of the score. Ricciarelli is in fine form here, singing with a fine sense of line and intense emotional declamation. Her intonation is perfect. Verrett blends seamlessly with Ricciarelli, making the most of their duet and capturing the intense sadness of much of the writing quite well. Domingo, in his first recording of the part, provides a steady stream of golden tone, effortlessly produced. His emotional temperature runs about right here - not overly dramatic - after all, this is not Aida - but strong feelings kept on a tight rein. Ghiaurov is phenomenal.

Opera composer Puccini was a young man when he crafted this splendid work. Its text is the old-fashioned Roman Catholic Latin Mass. The title of the work derives from its longest component, the "Gloria." Youthful exuberance and optimism underlie the work.