Search - Nicolò Jommelli, Christophe Rousset, Gérard Lesne :: Jommelli - Lamentations pour le mercredi saint / Lesne, Gens, Il Seminario musicale, Rousset

Five-Plus Stars for the Two Stars...

Giordano Bruno | Wherever I am, I am. | 09/12/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"... male alto Gerard Lesne and soprano Veronique Gens, who have never been more splendid than in this performance! I've been watching for a copy of the CD at a reasonable price (less than $75!) from various sellers, and yesterday I finally got impatient and downloaded the MP3. You can listen to the samples for yourself, if MP3 is an option for you. Or you can plunge for the scalpers' price. But you ought to hear this music and this performance.



Niccolo Jommelli (1714-1774) was a Neapolitan, another of the many Italian composers who migrated to the Hapsburg Court in Vienna and who worked with the famous librettist Metastasio. He was extremely successful for a while, one of the most popular composers of the first half of the 18th C, penning music for at least 60 operas. It was Jommelli who launched many of the 'reforms' in the staging and composing of opera for which Gluck has received most of the historical credit -- the exclusion of most recitativo from opera seria, for instance. It was said about Jommelli that his music was "all song", even including the notes written for cello and other basso continuo instruments. This setting of the tenebrae music for Mercoledi Santo (Wednesday vespers of Holy week) exhibits Jommelli's melody genius. The first "Lesson" from Jeremiah displays the artistry of Veronique Gens - her full range, her vibrant tone, her virtuosic ornamentation. The second Lesson is given to duets, and the third shows off the expressive power of Gerard Lesne, my choice for the most musical countertenor of our lifetimes. Lesne's instrumental ensemble, Il Seminario Musicale, has been augmented to include horns, reeds and flutes in addition to the normal strings and continuo, and they all play extremely well. This ensemble is one of the most consistent in the "business", ranking with Les Talens Lyriques and Musica Antiqua Köln for professionalism of the highest standard.



Never heard of Jommelli? Don't let that stop you from a major discovery. Settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah for Tenebrae services were the focus of some of the greatest music of the Catholic Church, from the 16th to the end of the 18th Centuries. Jommelli's setting is equal to the best of them."