IL GIARDINO ARMONICO

Il Pianto di Maria, The Virgin's Lament

 

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) - Sonata “Al Santo Sepolcro” (for strings) RV130

Giovanni Battista Ferrandini (1710 ca-1791) - “Il Pianto di Maria”

[wrongly attributed to G.F.Handel (HWV 234)]

Biagio Marini (1587-1665) - Passacalio (for strings and continuo)

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) - Pianto della Madonna sopra il Lamento d’Arianna

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) - Concerto “Madrigalesco” in D minor (for strings) RV129

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) - Sinfonia “Al Santo Sepolcro” in B minor (for strings) RV169

Francesco Conti (1681-1732) - “Sento già mancar la vita”, aria from “Il Martirio di S. Lorenzo” (for mezzo soprano, chalumeau and strings)

Johann Georg Pisendel (1687-1755) - Sonata in C minor (for strings and continuo)

 

Bernarda Fink

Il Giardino Armonico / Giovanni Antonini

 

Rare recordings of two settings of Mary’s passionate Easter lament. For their second L’Oiseau Lyre disc, Il Giardino Armonico, again under their director Giovanni Antonini, are joined by celebrated mezzo-soprano Bernarda Fink, for a project exploring the Passion of Christ as seen through the eyes of the Virgin Mary. The two central works are both vocal settings of the Virgin’s lament. The first, Il Pianto di Maria, was long thought to be by Handel – a clear reflection of its outstanding musical quality. It was not until the 1990s that handwriting experts established it as the work of the little-known Venetian composer Giovanni Ferrandini.  The other key vocal work will be the World Premiere recording of an aria by Francesco Conti – composer to the Habsburg court of Vienna - in which the martyr Lorenzo, threatened with being burnt alive, refuses to deny his Christian faith. This deeply touching aria features a rarely heard ancestor of the modern clarinet, frequently used in ‘pathetic’ arias of the period – the soprano chalumeau. Short instrumental pieces form a musical setting around these vocal jewels, and include music by Caldara, Marini, Pisendel, Weiss and Vivaldi.

 

Decca 4781466