Reviewed by Dave Massey

A trip to your record store will reveal pretty quickly that Domenico Scarlatti recordings are pretty hard to come by - you'll do well to locate two, but his church music is some of the most memorable and moving that has been written. On this recording the Ensemble Currende perform his Stabat Mater for voices and basso continuo with period instruments - unusually for me I found the organ particularly beautiful especially on the opening Dolorosa. The voices are well balanced and Elizabeth Hermans and Jan Van Elsacker (Soprano and Tenor) both show an intimate understanding of the music and ornamentation without going over the top. Also on this disc is a Mass by Joao Rodrigues Esteves, a composer who followed Domenico's musical footsteps both before and after he went to Spain, and is presumably included for comparison. There is more rhythmic variety I think in Esteves' music - influenced no doubt, by the folk tradition in Spain. A good recording that gives the old grey matter a bit of a tickle to boot - not a bad idea.

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