Treasures from Baroque Malta

Review Let me begin by paraphrasing the final two sentences of the programme note for this charming CD of anonymous sacred music from 17th-century Malta 'How could the composers of these pieces not be known? How is it possible that these pieces haven t been performed in hundreds of years?' It is perhaps unsurprising that the music in Malta s great religious establishments in Mdina run by the wealthy Knights of St John should be of a superlative standard, clearly influenced by musical developments in Venice, Rome and other Mediterranean centres of excellence, but the question of who composed it and why we should have no hint as to their identity is more puzzling. Surely there must at least be lists somewhere of performers and people who help prominent church posts or perhaps not. The excellent American Rose Ensemble under the direction of Jordan Sramek provide simply radiant performances of this long-neglected repertoire, with superb vocalists singing equally effectively as soloists and in consort, while ably supported by a small but beautifully effective instrumental ensemble. The rich acoustic of St Mary's Catholic Church, New Trier, Minnesota is used to perfect effect, giving this multi-textured music a lovely glow vividly captured by sound engineer Peter Nothnagel. I cannot praise too much this excellent project, researched and brought to performance by the group s director, executed to such a high standard by the musicians of the Rose Ensemble and released on their own label. So often with this sort of well-intentioned championing of neglected music either the standard of the music itself or the quality of the performances can be disappointing this production is very much the opposite, with superlative performances of richly rewarding music. Let us hope that some time composers names can be matched to this extraordinary repertoire. Somewhat out of place in almost every respect except that it is setting a text in Maltese is a concluding piece by contemporary American composer Timothy C Takach it does show the choir's versatility and is a thoroughly competent piece of writing, and might work well as a concert encore alongside this repertoire, but to my mind doesn t really add anything to this CD. At just under five minutes of a seventy-six minute programme, though, we can easily overlook this. --Early Music Review Located at the very center of the Mediterranean, the island of Malta has a fascinating history about which I knew little before sampling this disc. The crossroads of many cultures, Greek, Arab, Italian, Norman, it was one of the first countries of Europe to become Christian and for two and a half centuries was ruled by the Knights of Malta. As the music on this disc shows, it is a strongly Catholic country with close ties to Sicily and mainland Italy, and presents a rich Mediterranean mix of cultural influences. The pieces are drawn from the Cathedral archives at Mdina, one of Malta s ancient cities. They are mostly by anonymous composers and feature between one and eight voice parts with violins and basso continuo (here variously rendered on organ, Baroque harp, theorbo and Baroque guitar). Their manner is that of the early Italian Baroque, Monteverdi-style, with multiple sections, imitative polyphony, and antiphonal effects between groups of voices. The feast of the Nativity was very important to the Maltese people, and there is a strong flavor of Christmas in the selections here. We have a series of eight Responsorii Pastorale for Christmas Night, a Messa Pastorale, and a Magnificat. The Lectio (reading) from the Mass for Christmas Night is a piece of monody for solo tenor and theorbo, with a messianic text from Isaiah; it is sung with sweetness and strength by tenor Bradley King. The only piece on the program with an Italian text is Dormi, dormi o gran bambino by Don Giuseppe Balzano (1616-1700), the earliest known Maltese composer. It is a lullaby for the Christ Child, of extraordinary sentiment and depth despite its simplicity. This should become a standard piece in early music Christmas programs. I should say a word about the Maltese language. It is a Semitic tongue with an overlay of Italian vocabulary and written with the Roman alphabet. The recording features one piece in Maltese, the only non-Baroque work, Il-Presepju tal- milied (The Christmas Cradle) by the American composer Timothy Takach (b.1978). It is set to a striking poem by Alfred Cachia that pictures the nativity scene in fresh imagery. Takach s music is harmonically pungent and well written for the voices, bringing this mostly Baroque program to an unexpected close. The Rose Ensemble is based in St. Paul, Minnesota and specializes in intelligent programs that, as the liner notes have it, connect each individual to compelling stories of human culture and spirituality. Previous recordings have ranged from Russian 17th-century choral music to American popular songs of the Prohibition Era. Judging from the picture in the book
ASIN: B07894WX6W
VSKU: DBV.B07894WX6W.G
Condition: Good
Author/Artist:The Rose Ensemble|Anonymous|Giuseppe Balzano|Timothy Takach|Jordan Sramek
Binding: Audio cd