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Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger: I Pastori De Bettelemme

Kapsberger / Baldano / Backes / Okamura / Dietz Release Date: 11/30/2010
Label: Accent Catalog #: 24231 Spars Code: DDD
Composer:  Giovanni Kapsberger Performer:  Markus Flaig ,  Chiyuki Okamura ,  Franz Vitzthum ,  Constanze Backes  ...  Orchestra/Ensemble:  Ensemble Echo du Danube Number of Discs: 1
Recorded in: Stereo



KAPSPERGER I Pastori di Bettelemme. Laudate dominum . Toccata seconda. Sinfonia prima. Corrente quinta. Hodie Christus natus est. In die natalem Iesu Christi. Dormi Figlio. Piva. BALDANO Paso e mezzo. Gagliarda. La Bergamasca. Fantasia pastorale • Constanze Backes, Chiyuki Okamura, Clementine Jesdinsky (sop); Franz Vitzthum (ct); Christian Dietz (ten); Markus Flaig (bs); Echo du Danube (period instruments) • Read more class="ARIAL12"> ACCENT 24231 (74: 17 Text and Translation)


If there was anyone who had an in with a pope, it was Giovanni Kapsperger (1580–1651), who was not only born to a noble Venetian family, Austrian or Tyrolean no less, but was also a favorite of luxury-loving Pope Urban VIII. Granted, this Barberini pope eventually bankrupted the Vatican during his reign, but he did it in support of the arts, gathering around him in Rome intellectuals, artists, and musicians such as Kapsperger. Always the progressive, Kapsperger leaped boldly into the new monadic style, crafting modern works for the time to accompany discussions of science and philosophy at the so-called Academia degli Umoristi, which the Pope supported. To top it off, he was acclaimed as one of the most talented lute virtuosos of the age. We tend to ignore this age in Rome, preferring the new developments by such composers as Caccini and Monteverdi in the world of opera. Kapsperger, however, was recognized by his contemporaries as a front-runner in the music of the early Baroque, whose works were certainly predecessors of the later Roman oratorio. This is evident in the several recordings of his lute music, as well as his Jesuit opera in an excellent performance on Dorian by the Ensemble Abendmusik.


This disc is a bit of a compendium. One presumes the purpose was to record the entire sacred dialogue madrigal that Kapsperger published in 1630 for Cardinal Francesco Barberini, brother of the Pope. To be sure, it is a nice self-contained work, beginning with a brief sinfonia and flanking two sections of monadic dialogue by as many as five shepherds (and an angel) with pastoral choruses wherein he varies the texture from two to five voices in madrigal format. The subject ranges from the annunciation to the birth of Christ, with a narrator (Testo) filling in the gaps and a final lullaby, “Dormi figlio,” to sing the Child to sleep. This in and of itself is too short, however, and it seems to have been necessary to augment the work with extra pieces, such as two passamezzos and two gagliardas by Kapsperger’s friend and contemporary Giovanni Lorenzo Baldano (1576–1660), a composer who is all but unknown. Indeed, Baldano is represented by two other instrumental pieces, as well, giving him a significant presence on the disc, more so than the paltry offering of a couple of instrumental works on the only other disc to contain his music that I’ve found, called Lirum li Tronc, on the Stradivarius label. Other works by Kapsperger here include a nice early sinfonia (with two basses, which he contended were to be performed by the usual continuo and theorbo groups), and several small sacred hymns, such as the “Hodie Christus natus est.” This rather topical arrangement may be found odd by purists, but in my opinion it makes a delightful compendium. Both Baldano and Kapsperger seem in tune with each other in terms of their musical styles, and the choice and order of the works are both logical and reasonable.


I had never really heard of the Echo du Danube ensemble before. It appears to have been invented by gambist Christian Zincke, and it has an impressive list of early Baroque works on disc, including one Naxos (works of Jacob Ludwig) and several on Accent. I’m not sure what to make of the picture of them with their pet sheep in the booklet, but their playing is universally excellent on this disc. The tempos are flowing (as they should be for the pastoral nature of the text), particularly in the various instrumental dance movements, and the use of the psaltery lends it a particular Austrian folk sound that is equally pleasant and appropriate. When coupled with the spot-on vocal talents of Constanze Backes, Clementine Jesdinsky, Franz Vitzthum, and Markus Flaig, as well as newcomer (to me) Chiyuki Okamura, one has not only a recording of a work that ought not to have been forgotten, but a superb rendition that is musical, sparkling, and enjoyable. If you are a fan of early Baroque lyrical monody, or simply want to have a wonderful alternative to the usual Christmas works, you really should get this superb disc.


FANFARE: Bertil van Boer
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