Scarlatti arrived in Rome in 1672 from Palermo, where he was born in 1660. In 1679, he met the Spanish ambassador to Rome, the Marquis of Carpio, with whom he formed a strong friendship. When the ambassador was appointed Viceroy of Naples, he brought the young Sicilian into his service. As the Royal Chapel Master, serving the Spanish viceroys between 1684 and 1702, Scarlatti had to produce an enormous amount of sacred music, much of which remains largely unknown. In 1697, he published a select book of multi-voice motets with instruments in Naples, the Mottetti Sacri, which had a significant impact. Between 1707 and 1708, it was republished by Estienne Roger’s press in Amsterdam, this time under the title Concerti Sacri, opera seconda.
We have selected a pair of these motets, true gems of Scarlatti’s vocal artistry, which will be performed by the young Andalusian countertenor Bruno Campelo, an emerging figure in the national vocal scene. Al Ayre Español will accompany these motets with sonate da chiesa that emerged in the Roman musical environment just before Alessandro left for Naples. This music undoubtedly had a significant influence on his style and most likely shared space and liturgy with the motets during the nearly twenty years that Scarlatti served as Master of the Royal Chapel in Naples.
Program Notes:
Infirmata, vulnerata
Lelio Colista (1629 – 1680)
Sinfonía en re menor, 32 W-K
Adagio – [Allegro] – Canzona – [Allegro]
Arcangelo Corelli (1653 – 1713)
Sonata nº 11 en re menor (Sonate a tre op. 1, Roma 1681)
Grave – Allegro – Adagio – Allegro
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660 – 1725)
Infirmata, vulnerata mottetto per il Santissimo e per ogni tempo
(Mottetti Sacri, Nápoles 1697)
Sonata para violoncello y bajo en re menor
Largo – Allegro – Largo – A tempo giusto
Lonati, Carlo Ambrogio (c.1645 – c.1715)
Sinfonía en la menor (ca. 1677)
[Largo – Allegro – Adagio – Allegro]
Arcangelo Corelli
Sonata nº 2 en la menor (Sonate à tre op. 1, Roma 1681)
Vivace – Adagio – Allegro – Presto
Alessandro Scarlatti
Totus amore languens mottetto per il Santissimo e per ogni tempo
(Mottetti Sacri, Nápoles 1697)
