Goffredo Petrassi - Partita; Quattro inni sacri; Coro di morti (Francesco La Vecchia)

Information

Composer: Goffredo Petrassi

• (01-04) Divertimento in C major
• (05-07) Partita
• (08-11) Quattro inni sacri
• (12) Coro di morti – Madrigale drammatico

Carlo Putelli, tenor (8-11)
Davide Malvestio, bass (8-11)
Nuovo Coro Lirico Sinfonico Romano
Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma
Francesco La Vecchia, conductor

Date: 2013
Label: Naxos
https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.572411

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Review

First the bad news: the sound quality on this release is highly variable. In the Divertimento and Partita the engineering is rich and full but raw, with the brass in your face and edgy. It’s exciting, to be sure, but also a bit crude. The two vocal soloists in the Four Sacred Hymns sing well enough, but they seem to be placed well back in a huge, empty room with loads of reverberation. The Coro di morti, dubbed a “dramatic madrigal” for chorus and orchestra comes off best, with good balances and a warm ambience.

Now for the music. Petrassi is best known for his later, avant-garde works, and especially for his series of eight concertos for orchestra, which actually begin here, in his neoclassical period of the 30s, and go on to cover the balance of his long career (he lived from 1904 to 2003). The Italian neoclassicists, including Casella and Malipiero, wrote in a winning style that was notable for its rhythmic élan and sunny lyricism–sort of a warmer Stravinsky, or Hindemith with better tunes. Petrassi was, briefly, one of the crew, but you can plainly hear in bits of the Divertimento, and especially in the concluding Giga of the Partita (sound clip), that a new musical language was about to emerge.

The Four Sacred Hymns represent Petrassi’s attempt to write church music that was listenable and serious but not sappy and anodyne. There is no question that he succeeded, and also no question that the result sounds a bit grey and perhaps not worth the effort. The Coro di morti, on the other hand, is a wartime piece, full of gloom, doom, and angst. In other words, it’s terrific, and it’s well sung and played here. Francesco La Vecchia has quite a series going for Naxos, with many important discoveries. Despite the iffy sonics and sometimes rough edges to the playing, this disc is certainly worth a listen.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2013/June13/Petrassi_8572411.htm
http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/n/nxs72411a.php
https://www.naxos.com/reviews/reviewslist.asp?catalogueid=8.572411&languageid=EN
https://www.amazon.com/Petrassi-Partita-Divertimento-Quattro-sacri/dp/B00B5UBGHA

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Goffredo Petrassi (16 July 1904 – 3 March 2003) was an Italian composer of modern classical music, conductor, and teacher. He is considered one of the most influential Italian composers of the twentieth century. Petrassi studied organ and composition at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome. His early works were characteristically neoclassical in style. In later years, Petrassi's open musical mind and acute personality led him to experiment with a wide range of influences and materials. Petrassi taught composition at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory and at the Salzburg Mozarteum, and had many famous students.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goffredo_Petrassi

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Francesco La Vecchia (born September 10, 1954 in Rome) is an Italian classical conductor. La Vecchia's first instrument was the classical guitar. In 1972, he founded the Boccherini Quintet, and played hundreds of concerts with this ensemble in Europe, America and Asia. He began his career as conductor in 1982, and since then has conducted more than one hundred orchestras around the world. La Vecchia was named artistic and musical director of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma in 2002. Specializing in Italian music, he has made dozens of recordings, mostly for the Naxos label.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_La_Vecchia

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