Scarlatti - Magnificat
Scarlatti - Dixit Dominus
Concerto Italiano / Alessandrini
Naïve OP30350

Release date July 2007

With dozens of operas and more than 600 cantatas to his name, it is surprising that Alessandro Scarlatti has not received more attention from recording artists. His charming and melodious Christmas Cantata is probably one of his best-known works; however, the music on Concerto Italiano’s latest disc is of a different order entirely. The Dixit Dominus is a masterpiece of elaborate counterpoint for five voices, here supported by organ and chittarone. The intensity of the music is almost overwhelming, despite the variety provided by constantly changing tempi and style. The Magnificat is quite different in character, with five-part choral sections interspersed with solos, duets and even a trio. I particularly enjoyed the slow, sustained start to the work, the intricate runs of the Et exultavit and the beautiful solo Quia respexit. Scarlatti was not an innovative composer; as times and fashions changed, his polyphonic and contrapuntal style did not. And so, in the closing minutes of the Magnificat we find a double fugue, then a triple fugue. However, there is nothing dry or academic about the way the music sounds: Concerto Italiano’s performances are full of light and shade, flexible but vibrant, and alert to the many cross-rhythms within the music. The five madrigals (with continuo) are again complex in their part-writing but given equally effective performances. The fourth of these, O morte, is especially stunning with its searing dissonances. According to the booklet, this recording was made in 2000. One can only speculate why it has been allowed to languish for seven years before release; performances as good as this deserve to be heard!

Reviewed by Anne McAlister