Antonio Caldara, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Fabio Biondi - Morte e Sepoltura di Christo

Published Thursday 26th March 2015
Antonio Caldara, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Fabio Biondi - Morte e Sepoltura di Christo
Antonio Caldara, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Fabio Biondi  - Morte e Sepoltura di Christo

STYLE: Classical
RATING 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 156271-
LABEL: Glossa GCD923403
FORMAT: CD Album
ITEMS: 1

Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

Antonio Caldara (c. 1671-1724) was born in Venice and made his career in Mantua, Rome and Vienna, serving in the last of these from 1716 as vice-Kapellmeister at the imperial court. As a composer he was both versatile and prolific, with some 90 stage works to his credit. His 'Morte e Sepoltura di Christo' is operatic and although Caldara and that other Antonio, Vivaldi, may have been contemporaries their career paths led them in different directions, both professionally and artistically. For the last 20 years of his life Caldara produced copious quantities of oratorios and operas, adding a rich sense of counterpoint and making use of the broad orchestral colouring offered by the varied instruments available to him at court. Composed for Lent 1724, 'Morte e Sepoltura' follows the typical two-part scheme of the time, to a text comprising a series of reflections from those involved in some way in the events of the Passion of the Christ. Notable is the profusion of solo arias with obligato instrumental parts. Fabio Biondi's recording, with a team of soloists led by sopranos Maria Grazia Schiavo (Mary Magdalene) and Silvia Frigato (Mary the mother of Jesus), also includes other echoes of Caldara's Italian past in a pair of motets and instrumental music (a Vivaldi Sonata also makes an appearance). Without the text open in front of me there were points where I struggled to deduce which Mary was singing but ultimately this matters not much at all: both women loved Jesus, both were devastated by his death, both tended to his broken body, and Caldara's heart-breakingly beautiful music speaks equally eloquently whoever actually sings the words. Caldara's style is baroque, the performances are all excellent, as is the sound quality, and there is a most informative essay by Brian W Pritchard in the CD booklet. Listeners who enjoy Italian baroque music or who want to explore the roots of Italian opera will find much to enjoy in the double CD but general listeners may find this too specialised. The final chorus, "The Fullness Of Time" is recommended for a listen before purchase.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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