Three other great recordings
Rinaldo Alessandrini
(conductor) Alessandrini illuminates the relationship between words and music in this acclaimed Concerto Italiano recording from 2007. Single strings sketch a stark backdrop – throwing the text into high relief – and tempos veer from the ponderous opening to the breathless Quae moerebat, reflecting the work’s emotional extremes. Gemma Bertagnolli’s silvery soprano lightens the burnished tones of Sara Mingardo’s contralto; the two voices creating a chiaroscuro to rival the Neapolitan Caravaggisti. Though Alessandrini occasionally sacrifices line to focus on detail, the account never lacks drama. (Naïve OP 30441)
Philippe Pierlot
(conductor)
The Ricercar Consort’s sound is at once lustrous and intimate in this 2005 recording, wrapping the listener in a velvet shroud. The voices of Núria Rial and Carlos Mena have real fervour, and they’re so beautifully paired that at times they seem to melt into one. Both, too, paint the words and articulate phrases with great sensitivity. Pierlot carries the work’s gravitas and piety without ever being heavy handed,
and he lightens the shades where necessary. (Mirare MIR006)
Christophe Rousset
(conductor)
For sheer beauty of sound, Barbara Bonney and Andreas Scholl are matchless, and Rousset’s Les Talens Lyriques instrumentalists play with a suave – rather Mozartian – style. Of the two singers on this 1999 recording, Scholl comes closer to the sacred heart of the piece; Bonney’s approach is more operatic and extrovert. Musically, this is a glorious performance, but – with the exception of the transcendently beautiful duet Quando corpus morietur, where the two singers reach a shared, spiritual vision – it sounds more like a concert piece than a religious lament. (Decca 466 1342)
And one to avoid…
The starry names of soprano Anna Netrebko and mezzo Marianna Pizzolato certainly make conductor Antonio Pappano’s recording from 2011 stand out, and the two soloists offer voluptuous, full-bodied singing and some sensuous intertwining in their duets. But intonation and ensemble are far from flawless. DG’S balance enhances the stylistic mis-match by placing the soloists up-front while the ensemble hovers in the distance.