Neri Methodos

Born in Bonn around 1620 to Veronese parents, Massimiliano Neri was choirmaster at the Ospedaletto and organist at St. Mark's in Venice, where he published his first volume of Sonatas and Canzonas. He presented his second collection of Canzonas and Sonatas to the Emperor Ferdinand III in Vienna in 1651, later becoming Kapellmeister to the Prince-Elector of Cologne in Bonn in 1664. His affections, however, remained Italian: he married the Florentine singer and composer Caterina Giani in 1654. Many of Neri's compositions suffered extensive war damage in various periods; important musicological reconstruction has recovered parts of them that would otherwise have been lost forever.

Amor rende sagace è il tipico caso di settecentesca strategia promozionale. L' operina della ditta Bertati/Cimarosa nacque per sfruttare lo storico successo ottenuto qualche mese prima dal Matrimonio segreto (fu bissata per intera la sera della prima), di cui riflette qualche soluzione espressiva ma non l' inimitabile impasto di comicità e patetismo. Di ciò è consapevole il poeta che così si scusa nella premessa al libretto: "dove gioca in principalità la buffoneria, non può aver gran luogo quello che interessa il cuore". In effetti, dal punto di vista strutturale e narrativo Amore rende sagace, titolo di felice sintesi comportamentale, scorre entro binari prevedibili e solerti: non frenato da smancerie sentimentali.

“Il mondo della luna” fu scritto da Paisiello durante il suo soggiorno in Russia, ospite a San Pietroburgo della zarina Caterina II che lo impiegò a corte come maestro di cappella. L’opera, su un testo di Carlo Goldoni, venne rappresentata nel 1783, per l’apertura del nuovo Imperial Teatro di pietra per festeggiare il giorno dell’incoronazione di S.M.I. Caterina II.

Born in Bonn around 1620 to Veronese parents, Massimiliano Neri was choirmaster at the Ospedaletto and organist at St. Mark's in Venice, where he published his first volume of Sonatas and Canzonas. He presented his second collection of Canzonas and Sonatas to the Emperor Ferdinand III in Vienna in 1651, later becoming Kapellmeister to the Prince-Elector of Cologne in Bonn in 1664. His affections, however, remained Italian: he married the Florentine singer and composer Caterina Giani in 1654. Many of Neri's compositions suffered extensive war damage in various periods; important musicological reconstruction has recovered parts of them that would otherwise have been lost forever. Concerto Scirocco offers a comprehensive selection of pieces that range from small groups to polychoral ensembles, all of which have a magnificent and typically Venetian opulence.

Alessandro Scarlatti formed the bridge between the rich vocal style of the Italian Baroque masters of the 17th century and the gallant style of Mozart and his contemporaries. San Filippo Neri is grand and Oratorio in Handelian style, full of dramatic arias and striking instrumental effects. Excellent performance on authentic instruments by the specialist group Alessandro Stradella Consort, conducted by Estevan Velardi.