George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Dixit Dominus, HWV 232
Giovanni Paolo Colonna (1637-1695)
Messa a 5 concertata in E minor
Elizaveta Sveshnikova, Mariana Flores (soprano), Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian (alto), Valerio Contaldo (tenor), André Morsch (bass)
Choeur de Chambre de Namur, Cappella Mediterranea/Leonardo García Alarcón
rec. 2024, Concert Hall, Namur, Belgium
Texts not provided
Reviewed as a download
Ricercar RIC470 [69]

At first sight, the combination of these two composers on one disc may surprise. Giovanni Paolo Colonna died in 1695, when George Frideric Handel was just ten years old. What do they have in common for bringing them together in one programme (which was also performed live in June 2024 in Namur)? Leonardo García Alarcón, in an interview in the booklet, refers to the English composer William Boyce, “who observed that Handel was a direct heir to Colonna in the writing of sacred music (…)”. He also underlines that Colonna was an important composer of sacred music in Italy, “and it was against his music that Handel’s Dixit Dominus was measured and to which it also pays homage.” The musical connection between Colonna and Handel is not mentioned in the articles on either composer in New Grove, and García Alarcón’s remarks may well be the result of research by Marc Vanscheeuwijck, who wrote a book on Colonna.

Colonna was born and died in Bologna. He was the son of an organ builder, and was educated as such. He developed into an expert in organ construction. After initial studies in Bologna he went to Rome where he became a pupil of Orazio Benevoli and Giacomo Carissimi. After his return to Bologna he was active as a composer and became second organist of the Basilica of San Petronio. From 1662 until his death he was maestro di cappella there. He held the same position in two other churches for some years. His extant oeuvre is not that large, compared to the output of some other composers of his time. In our time especially his oratorios have attracted some attention; eight of these have survived. He also composed some secular dramatic works, such as cantatas and a couple of operas. His sacred oeuvre includes masses, motets, psalms, responsories and canticles.

The Messa a 5 concertata in E minor dates from 1684 and was composed for the feast of Saint Petronius, Bishop of Bologna in the fifth century and the city’s patron saint, on 4 October. It comprises the two first sections of the Ordinary, the Kyrie and the Gloria. The Kyrie is preceded by a Sinfonia avanti la Messa. The scoring is for five voices soli and tutti, and an ensemble of strings (two violins, two violas, bass) and basso continuo. This is the typical scoring of 17th-century sacred music. The difference with earlier music – and also a number of works by Colonna himself – is that the string parts are written out, and don’t play colla voce.

What is especially notable in this performance is that in the tutti the voices are supported by cornetts and sackbuts, playing colla voce, and in some sections two recorders. That is rather unusual. It is known that works in the stile antico were performed with these instruments – and strings – but the question is whether the practice of instruments’ playing colla voce was also applied in the case that the string parts were written out. García Alarcón thinks so. He refers to a performance of this mass at the imperial court in Vienna, where this practice is documented. The second reason is more personal: “[In] my opinion, when a composer of that period added independent instrumental parts, this does not automatically entail an absolute and systematic ban on doubling the voices with other instruments. I do believe, however, that it enriches, strengthens and eloquently colours the splendid dialogue between the polyphonic fabric and the concertante instrumental parts.” He is entitled to his opinion, but it seems to me that this practice is based on speculation rather than historical facts. It is to be hoped that research will shed more light on this matter.

The mass has no extended solo parts. In most sections the soli and tutti quickly alternate, which requires a perfect integration of the solo voices into the tutti, and that is the case here. The only sections in which the soloists are on their own, are for three or four voices. There, the solo voices also blend nicely. The Kyrie consists of three sections and has a rather solemn character, as one may expect given the text. The first Kyrie is the longest, the second rather short; the Christe is for solo voices, another common scoring. The Gloria is divided into eleven sections.

The similarity between Colonna’s mass and Handel’s setting of Dixit Dominus is striking: five solo voices, two violins, two violas and basso continuo. It is not known for which occasion Handel composed this work. It has been suggested it was written for a performance of the Vespers as part of the celebrations of the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel by the Carmelite order in Rome, but there seems to be no firm evidence of that. It has also been suggested that Handel started the composition when he was still in Germany. If that is correct he can’t have written it for the Carmelite Vespers. Most of the verses are for the tutti but include solo episodes which in most performances are sung by members of the choir, but here by additional soloists. There are only three solo sections: ‘Virgam virtutis tuae’ is for alto, ‘Tecum principium’ for soprano and the lyrical ‘De torrente’ is a duet for two sopranos. The dramatic setting of some of the verses – especially those about the Lord’s wrath – and the operatic traces in the solo sections point in the direction of the increasingly theatrical treatment of sacred texts in the course of the 18th century. 

Dixit Dominus is a theatrical work by nature, but García Alarcón emphasizes it with some of his interpretational decisions. A striking example is the strong contrast between sections 8 and 9. The former, ‘Conquassabit capita’ ([he shall] shatter the skulls in the land of the many), is sung and played forte and staccato, whereas the next, ‘De torrente in via bibet’ (He shall drink of the brook in the way), is taken at a slow speed and opens pianissimo. The doxology is set for the tutti, but here the opening section is sung by solo voices. There are no indications in the score for such a line-up, but I assume that this is all part of a performer’s freedom.

The solo parts are again very well sung. ‘Dominus a dextris tuis’ opens with a duet of the two sopranos, who are a perfect match here. The Choeur de Chambre de Namur is one of the best in the business, and that guarantees that this work, in which they have most of the music to sing, does not fail to make the impression Handel aimed at. The Cappella Mediterranea is its excellent counterpart.

If I’m not mistaken, this disc includes the first recording of Colonna’s mass, which in itself is reason enough to purchase this disc. Handel’s Dixit Dominus is available in quite a number of recordings, and some of them are very good but this one has to be ranked among the best – providing an additional reason to add this disc to one’s collection.

Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
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