Vivaldi: Sinfonia in B minor, RV169 'Al Santo Sepolcro'

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.

Vivaldi left behind a multitude of concertos for cello which, although performed less often than the concertos for violin and for flute, stand out as veritable jewels of the composer’s concerto style. This release demonstrates admirably the three lead instruments, Christian Mendoze(flute), Pablo Valetti(violin), Philippe Foulon(cello) in a passionate performance from the ensemble.

Christian Mendoze founded Musica Antiqua in 1981 in the Provence region. The ensemble performs music from the 17th & 18th centuries on original or copies of early instruments.