Gaetano Veneziano : Passio del Venerdì Santo

PROGRAM

Antonio Nola (1642 -1715)
Stabat Mater dolorosa for 4 voices
In Manus tuas for 4 voices

Gaetano Veneziano (1656-1716)
Passio per il Venerdi Santo  

Valer Sabadus, Counter-tenor, Evangelist
Makoto Sakurada Tenor, Christ
Philippe Favette Bass, Pilates

Chœur de Chambre de Namur
Millenium Orchestra                                                                                                         
Leonardo García Alarcón Conductor

Saint John’s Passion in its 1685 Neapolitan version magnificently illustrates the profound differences between the protestant vision of the drama (well-known in Bach) and the remarkably sensuous approach of Italian style. 

Gaetano Veneziano (1665-1716) belongs to the first generation of great Neapolitan composers and became Master of the Naples Royal Chapel in 1704. His career was exclusively dedicated to sacred music; it was however strongly influenced by the style of Neapolitan operas. His Passion for Holy Friday is based on a continuously theatrical composition; the Evangelist’s breathless narrative, the guiding thread in the work, is interrupted by interventions from characters from the Passion, including the crowd. The depth of German passions is replaced here by skin deep expressivity. Few grand chorales with which the faithful can identify, but rather a drama with protagonists, strongly influenced by the tradition of opera, turns this passion into a true sacred drama! Leonardo Garcia Alarcon revives this magnificent score, sister to Scarlatti’s Passion of which he gave a magnificent performance with Cappella Mediterranea in 2017, gathering passionate soloists who will give this Italian drama its inflexion from the South…