Beautiful & Unusual from Italy No. 1

In late 19th-century Italy, almost nothing could be more unusual and unexpected than a composer who never wrote one single solitary opera!  A lot of people may think I am making this up, but such a composer does exist.  And his music is so beautiful that it passes my ability to understand why people condemn him to obscurity and fourth-rate status without having heard any of his work.

Giuseppe Martucci lived from 1856 to 1909.  He was a noted and notable teacher and conductor (one of his pupils who later distinguished himself was Ottorino Respighi).  Unlike most musicians north of the Alps, Martucci revered the works of both Brahms and Wagner and introduced many of them in his homeland, including his direction of the Italian premiere of Tristan und Isolde.  If you want to really look hard, you may find traces of both in his own works, but louder than any outside influence is the sunny lyricism that is the unique gift of Italy to the world of music.  That lyric influence usually finds expression in Italy through opera, and an independent orchestral or chamber-music repertoire was virtually non-existent in Martucci's day.  But Martucci was a forward-looking man, and he composed multiple symphonies, concerti, chamber works, and large numbers of piano pieces.

The particular recording at hand features a kind of cantata or song cycle (either term could work) called La Canzone dei Ricordi ("The Song of Remembrance").  It's a setting of poetry by R. E. Pagliara for mezzo-soprano or baritone and small orchestra.  This work bears no opus number of its own, but we know that Martucci was working on it at the same time that Mahler was underway on his early orchestral song-cycle Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen ("Songs of a Wayfarer"). 

The poetry speaks of dreaming, and of regrets for things which have disappeared into the past and can only return in memory.  Martucci spins out a glorious stream of enticing melody throughout the seven songs, and accompanies with subtle orchestral colours, in very light textures.  None of the risk you find in Mahler or Richard Strauss of the poor singer being overwhelmed by the players!  The colouring shifts frequently, adding interest and variety to the sound.  All in all, a masterly composition and a brave one too, considering that Martucci's contemporaries were one and all engaged in composing operas.

In this 1987 Hyperion recording, mezzo-soprano Carol Madalin sings with purity of tone and clarity of text, all while effortlessly spinning out Martucci's soaring, ravishing phrases.  It's a truly winning performance, and certainly captivated me at first hearing. 

After the Canzone dei Ricordi, the CD continues with a Notturno for orchestra, another beautiful lyrical outpouring with the strings leading the way in establishing a truly poetic mood painting.

Throughout these two beautiful works, the English Chamber Orchestra plays radiantly and conductor Alfredo Bonavera makes a splendid case for these neglected pieces.

The CD fills out with another rarity by Martucci's pupil Respighi, and I will go on to discuss that one and other Respighi works little-known in my next post.