Mercadante: Messa Solenne
CDS7986 (Dynamic Srl, CD)
DDD
FIRST RELEASE (19 May 2023)
Playing time: 76'12"
Tracks: 12
Booklet pages: 16
℗ 2023 Dynamic Srl
© 2023 Dynamic Srl
Main country of recording: Italy
Country of manufacture: Austria
Reviewer: Geoff Pearce
Review of Mercadante: Messa Solenne published on 15 May 2023
Francesco Meli, tenor
Matteo Lippi, tenor
Mario Cassi, basso cantante (baritone)
Nicola Ulivieri, bass-baritone
Francesco Biraga, cor anglais
Giovanni Battista Fabris, violin
Orchestra e Coro dell'Opera Carlo Felice Genova
Francesco Aliberti, chorus master
Fabrizio Callai, conductor
Saverio Mercadante (1795-1870):
Messa solenne, for soloists, male chorus and orchestra
1 Kyrie
2 Gloria
3 Et in terra pax
4 Laudamus Te
5 Gratias
6 Domine Deus
7 Qui tollis
8 Quoniam
9 Cum Sancto Spiritu
10 Credo
11 Sanctus / Benedictus
12 Agnus Dei
In the last decade, research in the Genoa archives has revealed a series of important manuscripts, one of which is Saverio Mercadante's Messa solenne. This magnificent score requires four vocal soloists, a male choir - women were then forbidden to sing in church - and a large orchestra with extensive concertante roles for cor anglais and violin. It was premiered in January 1868, two years before Mercadante’s death, and shows the composer's artistic maturity at its peak: opulent orchestration, extensive counterpoint, intricate instrumental textures, rich lyricism and fugal mastery. This first recording, using the critical edition by conductor Fabrizio Callai, amplifies the significance of the Genoese musical tradition.
Recorded 2-9 March 2021 at Teatro Carlo Fenice Genoa, Italy.