Search - Galuppi :: Vivaldi/Galuppi: Motets

Whose Shoulders are YOU Standing on?

Giordano Bruno | Wherever I am, I am. | 10/31/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In his book Capitalism and Freedom, neo-liberal/conservative economist Milton Friedman wrote that all the great accomplishments in history "were the product of individual genius." He continued to say that " the specially talented are always few." Presumably, Friedman included himself among those few, but he of all people might have had the modesty to acknowledge his co-workers, particularly since most of his books are co-authored. But Friedman suffered from "Ayn Rand Syndrome," one of the leading causes of incurable egomania in the modern world. Friedman was dead wrong, and in this case Tolstoy was right. The 'great men' of history have not be so much self-made as made despite themselves. Made by their communities, in the broadest sense. All great accomplishments are communal, and the individual genius is just the burning focal point of the community sunlight. Isaac Newton, among others, declared that if he could see farther than others, it was because he stood on the shoulders of giants. He could just as easily have said that he stood shoulder to shoulder with giants, but his ego blinded him to his peers. Johan Sebastian Bach might have said, 'If I compose a little better than most, it's because I stand in the company of the elder Bachs, Buxtehude, Pachelbel, Schmelzer, Telemann, Tunder... and Vivaldi.



Bach was more than merely aware of Vivaldi and the great "school" of composers centered in Venice. Bach wrote keyboard imitations of Vivaldi and Marcello concerti. Bach did a lot of what we now call "distance learning" from the Venetians. One of the reasons why Bach's music is indeed so sublime is that he wrote in the midst of the richest community of musical geniuses perhaps in all history. All good music, like all good science in our times, is the product of a school, a community of musicians- performers, co-workers, listeners.



Baldassare Galuppi (1706-1985) was identified by the famed musical tourist Charles Burney as the best late product of the Venetian school. Forgotten for two centuries, Galuppi was extremely well known in his own era. He served for years in the prestigious position of choirmaster of St. Mark's. Catherine II of Russia knew of him and invited him to St. Petersburg. When he declined the invitation, the politicos of Venice commanded him to go, for the communal prestige, and promised to maintain his position and pay his salary while he was away. Galuppi's concerti, operas, and motets do indeed sound Venetian, though he lived long enough to pick up some influences from the Austrians of the Mannheim School. The two motets recorded here by Il Seminario Musicale are very sophisticated works, clearly of the Venetian School yet imaginative and distinctive, with a harmonic subtlety that surpasses most of Vilvaldi's works. The first motet - Confitebor tibi - is expressively sung by three of the finest voices on the Baroque scene: alto Gerard Lesne, soprano Veronique Gens, and bass Peter Harvey. The trio sections are luscious in blended timbres and faultess tuning. The second motet - Arripe alpestri - features the singing of Gerard Lesne at his utmost expressive virtuosity. The instrumentalists of Il Seminario, especially violonists Johannes Leertouwer and Therese Kipfer, match the inflections and timbres of the singers superbly. Baldassare Galuppi was a great composer, who stood shoulder to shoulder with other geniuses of the "greatest generation".



This two-CD package is a re-release of two previous CDs with somewhat different personnel. On the Vivaldi CD, the first violinist is the astonishing Fabio Biondi. The Violin Concerto in C major RV 581 is performed here as a concerto for two orchestras with full strings sections plus oboes and recorders. It's an ample conception and a subtle rendition, something that might change your impression of Vivaldi's depth as a composer. Even more impressive, however, are the four vocal works sung by Gerard Lesne. The first salve Regina is often performed; if you're a Vivaldi fan, you may already have it on a CD, but I guarantee that Lesne's performance will supplant whatever you have. The second Salve Regina is a subtler, more serene composition, more muiscally satisfying than its famous companion. The big surprise for me on this CD is the inclusion of two pieces of the genre called "introductions" - pieces inserted in the liturgy before the standard elements, in this case the Gloria and the Miserere. "Non in Pratis aut in hortis", the introduction to the Miserere, is seventeen minutes of a kind of music you might little expect from the Red Priest -- not the usual flamboyance but rather a spiritually serene aria of blessedness, as fine as anything even Bach ever wrote. The smaller Introduction "Cur sagittas cur tela cur faces" is not far behind in beauty.



Let me say it again: all great music is made by a community. You are part of that community to the degree that you hear the performance through the "memes' of your musical culture; without your ability to hear the music with understanding, it's all just noise. Friedman and Rand and such worshipers of "the Great Man" have denigrated you and me. We all have some share of the greatness in us, more than most of our lives give us the opportunity to reveal."