Search - Alessandro Scarlatti, Giovanni Pergolesi, Nicola Porpora :: Concertos for the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

Beautiful Concertos

D. A Wend | Buffalo Grove, IL USA | 06/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Neapolitan music during the 17th and 18th centuries was, along with Venetian composers, the most innovative and colorful of the period; and is clearly demonstrated with the CD. Like all Neapolitan composers, Alessandro Scarlatti was famed for his operas and it was in these works that he developed extended melodies that carried over to his instrumental compositions. Recorded here is a Sinfonia di Concerto Grosso that has a lovely flute part that greatly adds to the overall texture of the music and a Concerto in E major where the soloists offer their own interpretation of the themes played by the tutti players and experiments with tonality, ending in a minor key.



The flute concerto is attributed to Pergolesi and like many instrumental works attributed to him, this one sounds like it originated from an opera. The Cello Concerto by Nicloa Porpora and reminded me of those by Vivaldi with excellent passage work for the soloist and nicely developed accompaniment. Porpora was a traveled and lived in Venice, Vienna, Dresden and London.



Francesco Durante was a pupil of Alessandro Scarlatti and the teacher of Pergolesi. His Concerto per quartetto shows the influence of Corelli and his own mastery of setting a mood. The fourth movement is where the solo quartet is used and the marking, Amoroso, truly hits the mark as it is romantic music.



The European Union Chamber Orchestra was unknown to me; they play marvelously. I wish the disc had a bit more music but at the reissue price it is certainly work buying.

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Great Music, Bumptious Performance

Giordano Bruno | Wherever I am, I am. | 04/15/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The 4-movement concerto for cello by Nicola Porpora is an especially thrilling piece of music, but this performance is weirdly unstylish and inelegant. So are the other three selections. There's some vigor and energy but no "affect" in the playing of this odd orchestra. I heard the CD on a classical music radio station in Canada, and I have no intention of buying it. The cellist Giovanni Sollima has a large reputation for his interpretations of modern music; he should stick to that repertoire and leave the Baroque to performers who 'feel' it more authentically."

Excellent but rarely heard selections from 17th century Napl

C. B Collins Jr. | Atlanta, GA United States | 03/01/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The works on this CD are compositions by four composers working in Naples in the late 17th century and early 18th century. This was a time when both Naples and Venice were producing extremely high quality musicians, composers, and compositions for the courts of Europe. The title of the CD is related to the establishment of an independent kingdom that included Naples and Sicily in 1734.



Alessandro Scarlatti's work is represented in his Sinfonia di Concerto Gross No 12 in C minor and his Concerto No 6 in E major. Alessandro, father of the composer Domenico, was initially a court musician in Naples but wish to try his luck in Rome, where he moved only to find that the Pope had outlawed opera. This was certainly poor luck as Alessandro Scarlatti was an outstanding composer in the early development of this art form and some music historians indicate that his operatic works influenced Mozart.



Giovanni Battista Pergolesi is the second composer by inclusion of his Flute Concerto in G major. Pergolesi was a student of Francesco Durante and when he died young, his contemporaries believed that a genius had been lost. There is some debate as to whether the Flute Concerto is actually the work of Pergolesi.



Nicola Porpora's Cello Concerto in G major is the fourth selection, a celebrated teacher of singing recognized in Venice, Vienna, Dresden, and London for his teaching theory and style. His expansive style was appreciated in Dresden and he directed an opera house in London that competed with another opera house directed by Handel.



Francesco Durante's Concerto per quartetto No 1 n F minor completes the selections. Durante was the student of Alessandro Scarlatti and the teacher of Pergolesi, thus inter-relating all the composers on this CD by historical or instructional influence.



The works are ornamental and expressive in keeping with the theories of the time and setting. Many of the selections are brief but dramatic. Many of the selections are influenced by operatic style and theory, with single instruments taking the part of the `voice' in the concertos. Overall this is a highly enjoyable selection of music and musicians.



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