Alessandro Stradella (1643-1682): Sinfonias, Sonatas & Concerto Grosso

00:00 Sinfonia avanti Il Barcheggio in D major, for Trumpet, Strings, Trombone & Harpsichord (1681): Spirituosa, e staccata - (Aria) - Canzone - (Aria) 05:59 Sinfonia in A Minor for 2 Violins, Cellos, Double Bass, Lute & Harpsichord: Allegro - Andante - Allegro - Vivace 12:00 Sonata a 4, for 2 Choirs, in D major (1st choir: 2 violins, cello & harpsichord; 2nd choir: 2 cornettos, trombone & organ): Allegro - Andante - Presto 14:27 Sinfonia avanti Il Damone in G minor for 2 Violins & Cello Solos, Strings & Organ: Grave, Andante - Allegro, Grave 18:52 Sonata a Otto Viole con una Tromba, in D Major for Trumpet & Double Orchestra: (Allegro) - Aria - (Canzona) - Aria 26:30 Symphonia in F major for 2 Violins, Cello & Lute: Andante, Allegro, Aria - Allegro - Presto 31:10 Sonata di Viole (Concerto Grosso in D Major for 2 Violins & Cello Solos, Strings, Trombone, Lute & Organ): Adagio, (Allegro), Adagio - Aria - Adagio, Allegro - Allegro Huguette Fernandez & Ginette Carles, violins / Edward Tarr, trumpet and 1° cornetto Holger Eichhorn, 2° cornetto / Helmut Schmitt, trombone / Bernard Fonteny, cello Michael Schäffer & Kristian Gerwig, lutes / Olivier Alain, organ Anne-Marie Beckensteiner, organ & harpsichord (Neupert) Jean-François Paillard Chamber Orchestra - J. F. Paillard, conductor Practical edition and realization by Edward Tarr For nearly three centuries, the turbulent life of Alessandro Stradella has been shrouded in darkness. He was killed in Genoa in 1682 by the daggei of a paid assassin. In 1715, a rather apocryphal account appeared in Histoire de la musique et de ses effets by Bourdelot-Bonnet. According to that account, an earlier assassination attempt in Rome had failed because the would-be killers had taken mercy on the composer and warned him of the plan! Since these attacks were the result of romantic intrigue, it is understandable that opera composers (for example Flotow in Alessandro Stradella, 1844) as well as more realistic historians should have been fascinated by the life of this musician. Thanks to studies by Owen Jander, published in 1962, to whom we owe the best catalogue of Stradella’s works, and Remo Giazotto, we are today very well informed about the work and life of Stradella. He was baptized on October 4, 1644, in Rome as the son of an old “Vice Marchese of Vignola.” According to a report by Veracini, he is supposed to have studied with Ercole Bernabei (about 1620-1687). His patrons were among the most illustrious names in Rome of that period: Colonna, Orsini, Panfili. He composed several works for Queen Christina of Sweden and for the Teatro Tor di Nona which she patronized. In the spring of 1677 he had to leave Rome, not only because Pope Innocent XI had closed all the theatres but, above all, because he had profoundly angered one of the most powerful men in Rome, Cardinal Cibo, the pope’s secretary of state. On his way to Turin, where he was going to participate in the opening of the new Teatro Regio, Stradella spent several weeks in Venice. There he gave music lessons to Ortensia Grimani, the mistress of Alvise Contarini. This short stay, however, was sufficient to allow him to abduct the lady to Turin. Contarini, along with a group of fourteen men, followed the two lovers without being able to find them, as the Regent of Turin, Maria Giovanna, had taken them under her protection. The enraged Venetians retired, but later, in the month of September, sent two paid killers to Turin. They gravely wounded Stradella on October 10 during an attack which failed its ultimate purpose; the would-be assassins immediately found refuge with,the French Ambassador. This affair had grave repercussions because the ambassador refused to deliver the killers, alleging his power of diplomatic immunity. As a result, there was a prolonged exchange of letters between France and Italy, and King Louis XIV himself intervened. It is not known exactly what happened to Ortensia Grimani, who had found refuge at this time in a cloister. A little later, Stradella established himself at Genoa; there his fate was fulfilled. On the night of February 25, 1682, he was assassinated on the Piazza Banchi by an Egyptian. The murderer had been engaged by three brothers of the influential Lomellini family, whose sister had taken music lessons from Stradella. The trial that followed produced a jealous actress, who was also involved in the affair. As a composer, Stradella enjoyed the highest reputation. He was called the “Primo Apollo di Musica,” “Orfeo Assassinato”; his younger contemporary, Pitoni, speaks of a “Compositore da camera di eminenza d’arte, e di spirito grande” and praised the “artifizioso talento” of this “uomo grande.” Long after his death, his works were performed all over Italy and even in England. Purcell lamented his premature death, and Handel appropriated a portion of a Serenade of Stradella for his oratorio, Israel in Egypt.