"Mayr's Masses were in demand across Europe, and their composition is rooted in the Italian tradition of the messa concertata which demands division into separate vocal numbers. The Mass in E minor has long been recognised as an outstanding example of Mayr's late style, with its polyphonic mastery and dialogues between singers and concertante solo instruments being exceptionally convincing. The Mass in F minor evokes both joy and deep melancholy, though accompanied, as always, by Mayr's notable gift for melodic beauty."
It is only in the last few years, largely as a result of the pioneering performances of the Simon Mayr Chorus and Ensemble conducted by Franz Hauk, that Mayr has come to be valued as one of the most significant composers of operatic and sacred music of his time. Il sagrifizio di Jefte (The Sacrifice of Jephtha), first performed in 1795, is a dramatic oratorio with a wealth of variety in both the vocal and instrumental writing, which foreshadows the operas to come.
Franz Hauk and the Simon Mayr Chorus and Ensemble have spearheaded the revival of the music of Johann Simon Mayr who was born in Bavaria but lived in Italy. In the latest instalment of their critically acclaimed recordings they turn to Il sogno di Partenope, an allegorical staged cantata composed to mark the rebuilding of the Teatro San Carlo in Naples following a fire in February 1816. Mayr’s significance as an intermediary between the opera seria of the late eighteenth-century and the melodrama of the early-nineteenth is reflected in this important work, a unique kind of ‘cantata opera’ of which only the second act survives.
Smaller concertos for piano and modest orchestral forces were a feature of British composition in the first half of the 20th century. Often they were written for a special occasion, and typically vanished into oblivion thereafter. During the COVID period we were looking for things to record with small numbers of players, and stumbled across this treasury: short concertos written for entertainment that don't outstay their welcome.
Mayr's Telemaco was a product of turbulent political times in the Republic of Venice, which had been occupied by Napoleon's troops in late 1796. Military elements, with incorporated marches, feature strongly in a score that brought to contemporary Venetian theatre many of the innovative elements that were in vogue on the operatic stages of Paris. Taking classical Greek mythological material, Mayr fashioned an opera full of colour, interweaving instrumental interludes and dances into his arias, cavatinas and choruses, and crafting his own very personal vision of the nwe Italian opera seria.
Parma’s Boccanegra is Leo Nucci…The handsome voice, which once seemed on the light side for Verdi’s heavier, darker title roles, now has the apposite color and weight, and it remains surprisingly firm and focused…he’s honest, commanding and deeply moving. Honest commitment distinguishes his colleagues, too. Tamar Iveri…[has] a lovely, full lyric voice with a welcome authority at bottom, steered by fine musicianship…and a lively, sympathetic temperament and presence. Francesco Meli…sings handsomely and looks properly romantic…Roberto Scandiuzzi…makes a fine, idiomatic Fiesco; and Simone Piazzola…gives promise of a major-league Boccanegra to come. Daniele Callegari, in Parma’s pit, lets the score unfold naturally and compellingly. (Opera News)