Partenope Eterna

Description

The programme is a precious anthology of cantatas from the early eighteenth century chosen with expert taste by musicologist Paologiovanni Maione. These are compositions that in the cantatas repertoire between the 17th and 18th century played a prominent role in private circles with the aim of cheering up conversations in the salons of the time. We thus move from the Neapolitan theme adopted by Alessandro Scarlatti with images of shepherds and sirens to a more dramatic tone and madrigals by Francesco Mancini, to the idle exercise of Domenico Scarlatti whose sonatas were intended for the entertainment of Maria Barbara of Braganza. Supriani’s toccatas, on the other hand, were intended for that milieu of nobles dedicated to the study of the cello of which Supriani represents one of the greatest exponents in the early 18th century. In this repertoire, Naples once again manages to take the stage in a vision that makes it fascinating and consolidates, in the eighteenth-century imagination, its status as a very musical city.

The record’s crowning glory is a piece by maestro Fabio Vacchi, who allowed himself to be inspired and guided by the astral voice of soprano Naomi Rivieccio, by the forward-looking baroque virtuosity of the Talenti Vulcanici and their director Stefano Demicheli, and by the ancient Neapolitan culture preserved and revitalised by the Pietà de’ Turchini. Giuseppe Montesano, on the other hand, interprets Vacchi’s musical thought, writing the verses of Partenope Eterna. The title refers to legends about sirens: half women and half birds – or, later, fish – the Sirens live on an island off Sorrento. Attracted by their bewitching song, sailors turn their ships towards the rocky coast, where they crash. Warned by the sorceress Circe, Ulysses escapes this fate by being tied to the mast. He therefore wins by cunning, because will can do nothing against the primal power of this feminine voice. According to one of the many legends, the defeat suffered by Odysseus humiliates and kills one of the Sirens, Parthenope, pushing her corpse to where Naples will rise.

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Tracklist

Alessandro Scarlatti (1660 – 1725)
Là nel bel sen della regal Sirena
Cantata for solo voice and basso continuo

Francesco Paolo Supriani (1678 – 1753)
Toccata terza in F major for cello solo
Toccata decima in D minor for cello solo

Francesco Mancini (1672 – 1737)
Là dove il bel Sebeto
Cantata for solo voice and basso continuo

Domenico Scarlatti (1685 – 1757)
Sonata K 208 in A major for harpsichord

Sonata K 322 in A major for lute
Arrangement by Juan José Francione from the original for harpsichord

Alessandro Scarlatti (1660 – 1725)
Or che su legno aurato
Cantata for solo voice and basso continuo

Nicola Fago (1677 – 1745)
Toccata in E major for harpsichord

Alessandro Scarlatti (1660 – 1725)
Là dove a Mergellina
Cantata for solo voice and basso continuo

Fabio Vacchi (1949)
Partenope eterna for soprano and harpsichord
Piece composed on commission of Fondazione Pietà de’ Turchini in Naples on a text by Giuseppe Montesano