Bruno de Sá male soprano
Cecilia Molinari mezzo-soprano
Marie-Nicole Lemieux contralto
Les Accents
Thibault Noally direction
Three exceptional voices perform two rare pieces by Corelli and Scarlatti.
Dates
Corelli Christmas Concerto Op. 6 No. 8
Scarlatti Christmas Cantata
About
Bach and traditional carols do not have the monopoly on celebrating Christmas. Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713), often regarded as the inventor of the sonata and the concerto genres – traces of which can be found in the works of Legrenzi, Bononcini and Stradella – established his credentials by defining a more precise form. His Christmas Concerto, one of his best-known works, was composed in 1690 for his patron and protector, Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni. His contemporary, the Neapolitan composer Alessandro Scarlatti (1660–1725), was equally prolific in the genre, with nearly 600 known works. As in Corelli’s ‘Christmas’ concerto, Scarlatti introduces into his cantata a sophisticated evocation of the bagpipes and reed pipes played by the shepherds of the Roman countryside as they made their way to Rome to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Two pieces of the utmost delicacy to commemorate the Nativity.
Production Les Grandes Voix