Continue the journey…
We suggest five more works to explore after Vivaldi’s Gloria, RV589
Though RV589 is the best known of Vivaldi’s Gloria settings, it was not the only one. His RV590 is now lost, sadly, but his RV588 is still with us. As with RV589, much of RV588’S music was pinched by Vivaldi from his Venetian near-contemporary Ruggieri, and it is similarly blessed with much of its better known peer’s mix of joie-de-vivre and heartfelt beauty. It certainly deserves to be heard more often. (Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge; Wren Orchestra/ George Guest Argo 483 2466).
Another fellow Venetian was Baldassare Galuppi (1706-85), whose career briefly took him to England where he came to the attention of Handel. Though forging a fine career for himself as an opera composer, Galuppi’s appointment at the Doge’s chapel in St Mark’s then led to a string of sacred works. These included a Gloria and Credo written for the Christmas Mass in 1766. Light-footed ebullience is the order of the day here. (Athestis Chorus, Academia de li Musici/filippo Maria Bressan Chaconne CHAN 0702).
Antonio Lotti (16671740), who worked his way up the ranks at St Mark’s to the post of maestro di cappella, is a name familiar to many choral music enthusiasts thanks to his hauntingly plaintive Crucifixus a 8. But he wasn’t solely about Lenten doom and gloom, and his Missa A Tre Cori is rounded off by a spirit-lifting ‘Cum Sancto Spiritu’ fugue. (Balthasar Neumann Ensemble & Choir/thomas Hengelbrock Deutsche HM 88697594232).
Another Venetian Baroque composer, Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1751) is also largely known for one work, though in his case he didn’t even write ‘his’ famous Adagio. He was, however, very adept at writing for the voice, as is shown by his elegant Op. 4 collection of 12 cantatas for soprano and contralto. (Silvia Frigato, Elena Biscuola; L’arte Dell’arco Brilliant Classics 95600).
Finally, there’s the Estro poeticoarmonico by the Venetian lawyer-cumcomposer Benedetto Marcello (16861739). Admired far beyond Venice itself, Marcello’s monumental work sets the first 50 psalms of the Old Testament, with much of its material being sourced by the composer’s numerous visits to synagogues across his home city. (Psalms 14, 21, 27 & 38: Caroline Pelon, Mélodie Ruvio; L’amoroso/guido Balestracci Arcana A441).
Light-footed ebullience is order of the day in Galuppi’s Gloria and Credo