Francesco Durante (1684-1755)
Requiem en sol mineur

Francesca Cassinari, soprano
Elena Carzaniga, contre-alto
Roberto Rilievi, ténor
Matteo Bellotto, basse
Astrarium Concerto

Luca Alfonso Rizzello, violon I
Aki Takahashi, violon II
Marlise Goidanich, violoncelle
Cecilia Medi, basson
Elisa La Marca, théorbe
Carlo Centemeri, orgue, direction

Francesco Durante occupe une place centrale dans la musique napolitaine du XVIIIème siècle. Comme son prédécesseur Alessandro Scarlatti, Durante composa plusieurs messes a cappella à la manière de Palestrina en développant des sujets en une suite d'imitations modulées. Synthèse ingénieuse entre le plain chant, le contrepoint ancien, sa musique s'enrichit des tropes du style moderne présents dans ses œuvres instrumentales : nuances dynamiques, contrastes rythmiques, effets de chromatismes et de dissonances. Issu du corpus de six Messes de Requiem préservées, ce Requiem en sol mineur pour huit voix deux violons alto et basse est d'une écriture canonique assez académique. L'Astranium Consort fondé en 2014 et basé à Milan en donne une version madrigaliste, dotée d'un continuo réduit au minimum syndical à six instrumentistes dont un orgue. Ce dernier nous gratifie de deux pages solistes, une fugue assez conventionnelle et une agréable Toccata d'un anonyme du XVIIème siècle. Les quatre chanteurs assurent vaillamment leur partie sans pour autant parvenir à animer l’œuvre de bout en bout. Peut-être entrevoit-on ici les limites d'une interprétation ("authentique ? Idiomatique ?") revendiquée par ces nouveaux ensembles baroques qui fleurissent un peu partout et que Brillant enregistre avec complaisance. Le mélomane se tournera de préférence vers la version plus opulente du Requiem en ut mineur de Stephen Darlington à la tête du Christ Church Choir d'Oxford et des solistes des Sixteen. Imparable. (Jérôme Angouillant)

A polished new recording of a sacred masterpiece from 18th-century Naples. The second of three settings that can firmly be attributed to Durante, the G minor Requiem is dated 27 November 1738, by which time the composer was established as a senior figure in the vibrant and fast-moving culture of 18th-century Naples. Durante was a contemporary of Nicolo Porpora and Leonardo Leo, whose Salve Regina settings have been newly recorded on another recent Brilliant Classics album (96092) but they were better known as operatic composers; Durante’s fame and reputation rested then and now on his music for the church, which is noble without ponderousness, moving without sentimentality, elegant without triviality. Compared with other Neapolitans, Durante was not prolific; he strove instead, within the conventions of his age, to strike a popular tone with intimations of the sublime, and he did so by using startling dissonances, expressive use of dynamics, diminished chords and chromaticism. The G minor Requiem demonstrates all these features. It is scored for two four-part choirs, strings and two hunting horns used exclusively in the ‘Tuba mirum’. Even a casual glance at the score shows why Durante was greatly sought after as a counterpoint teacher and also why composers as different in as Pergolesi and Paisiello can be numbered among his pupils. Previous recordings have used large choirs, but performing the Requiem with small forces highlights the madrigalian qualities of Durante’s style, with an emphasis on solo rather than choral lines, as well as achieving much tighter ensemble and more precise intonation. Several of the soloists on this album also featured on the previous Brilliant Classics recording by the Astrarium Consort with their founder/director Carlo Centemeri, of motets by Giovanni Paolo Colonna (94647). ‘Soprano Francesca Cassinari has a particularly appealing sound (for me). Her clear, pure voice serves the music well… The Astrarium Consort has a good ensemble sound.’ (wtju.fm)