Search - Alessandro Scarlatti, Gérard Lesne, Sandrine Piau :: A. Scarlatti - Stabat Mater · Salve Regina · Quae est ista / Lesne · Piau · Novelli · Il Seminario musicale · Lesne

Another Sublime CD from Lesne and Piau

Giordano Bruno | Wherever I am, I am. | 02/26/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Chances are, if you're a screaming Scarlatti groupie like me, you already have a recording of his glorious Stabat Mater, hopefully the performance by Emma Kirkby and Daniel Taylor (Theatre of Early Music) that I reviewed some time ago. This performance by Gerard Lesne and Sandrine Piau (Il Seminario Musicale) is on a par with that one... exquisite, in short ... and just different enough to justify having both, as you might have two CDs of any immortal masterwork.



The antiphon "Salve Regina" is one of four antiphons traditionally sung at Compline as part of the monastic recital of all the psalms according to the liturgical calendar. Obviously Scarlatti wasn't writing for monks, at his historical moment, but he did write at least 6 settings of the Salve Regina text. Chances are, therefore, that you don't have a duplicate performance of this music, which here is sung with meditative serenity (for Baroque, that is) by alto Gerard Lesne, with obbligatos by two violins. Such alto parts were usually sung in Alessandro Scarlatti's era by 'intact' males rather than by castrati. It's annoying to read bugbears decrying the preference these days for male altos,derided as "falsettists." There's nothing false about using all the possibilities of a voice, and there's absolutely nothing false-sounding about Gerard Lesne's singing. Lesne occasionally descends in his alto range to pitches that are clearly "tenor" in timbre, without exposing a break.



The ultimate reason why "Scarlatti nuts" will need this CD is the motet "Quae est ista" for three voices (SAT). Motets as such were out of fashion in the very early 18th Century, but this one was published in Amsterdam in 1707. It's a showcase of Scarlatti's mastery of the intricate polyphony of the older musical "wisdom." It's also a showcase for the athletic vocal gyrations of the three singers -- show-stopper fiery passage-work. Don't listen to it when you're trying to fall asleep!



Let's call this one the Giordano Bruno must-buy CD for February."