Le Grazie Veneziane. Musica degli Ospedali

Various Artists, Dresdner Instrumental-Concert, Vocal Concert Dresden, Peter Kopp

Released on 01/07/2008 by Carus
Main artists: Dresdner Instrumental Concert Vocal Concert Dresden Peter Kopp
Genre: Classical

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Music lovers with a general understanding of Antonio Vivaldi's life are aware that he worked most of his career as a music master at the Ospedali in Venice, an institution that was part hospital and part school for orphaned (or wayward) girls. However, few might know that the term "Ospedali" refers to four Venetian institutions of that kind, the Ospedale della Pietà (where Vivaldi worked), the Ospedale dei Mendicanti, the Ospedale degli Incurabili, and finally the Ospedali dei Derelitti, this last-named facility also referred to the "Ospedaletto." All four of these hospitals provided extensive musical training to young women and provided shelter until they married or entered a convent; some simply never left the Ospedali. Founded in the early sixteenth century, the Venetian Ospedali system went broke and shut down around 1780, but along the way they employed scores of the best musicians and composers; manuscripts of some 1300 works written for use by the Ospedali have been cataloged. Carus-Verlag's La Grazie Veneziane: Music from the Ospedali, featuring sopranos Maria Grazia Schiavo and Emanuela Galli, alto José Maria Lo Monaco (a woman), a Dresden-based female choir, and period band under the direction of Peter Kopp, only presents three works from among this sizable bequest, but the recording is among the very best yet made based in this particular historic subgenre, which is so important to the history of women in Western music.
Although the Ospedali did have women who composed in addition to performing, the three composers represented here all had strong, long-lasting ties to these institutions. Nicola Porpora was employed by the Ospedali over a span of some 30 years; Johann Adolf Hasse -- though better known as a prominent opera composer for the Habsburg court -- held posts at three of the Ospedali, whereas Galuppi held down at least two. In some cases these composers recycled their Ospedali compositions for standard forces and/or recast them into other works; Porpora was once the subject of scorn for transforming an existing work for use at the Ospedali, a charge he denied. All three of the works heard here are cast in their Ospedali incarnations with their high-lying, SSAA voice parts intact. All three motets are equally enchanting, with Galuppi's being perhaps the most immediate but the others no less ravishing; with Hasse, his operatic music can be monotonous and shallow sometimes, but he is not so here. The Galuppi Dixit Dominus is the most often recorded of these works, but among previous entries there are no serious contenders to this one, as the singing and orchestral playing are transparent, enthusiastic, and enlivening throughout. The Hasse has had one previous recording, also on Carus-Verlag, but the Porpora is completely new to disc. Carus-Verlag's recording is mildly reverberant, but crystal clear, and the performances are solid. Combined with the tasteful, attractive choice of cover image, La Grazie Veneziane is a glorious outing that practically recommends itself.

© TiVo

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Le Grazie Veneziane. Musica degli Ospedali

Various Artists

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De profundis (Nicola Porpora)

I. De profundis clamavi

Dresdner Instrumental Concert