Ensemble Festina Lente - Mazzocchi: Psalmi vespertini a 8 voci (2020)

After the disc dedicated by the famous ensemble of original instruments L'Arte dell'Arco to the figure of Giuseppe Tartini - composer whose 250th anniversary of his death is celebrated this year (ELECLA18064) - the Elegia continues its collaboration with the Roma Festival Baroque with a title entirely dedicated to Virgilio Mazzocchi, younger brother of the more famous Domenico. After receiving the tonsure, Mazzocchi began a brilliant musical career, which in 1629 saw him land, just over thirty, in the Giulia Chapel of St. Peter's Basilica, where he would remain until his untimely death, which took him in 1646. This unstoppable rise was based on a solid compositional mastery, which appears evident in the Psalmi Vespertini presented in this record, which were published posthumously by his brother Domenico. Conceived in a very personal style, these works reveal a very expressive writing, based on an effective alternation of majestic choral passages and more intimate solo sections, which together guarantee a truly exciting listening, thanks to the brilliant interpretation of the Festina ensemble. Lente, guided with sensitivity and profound stylistic mastery by its director Michele Gasbarro. An unpublished author of the Roman Baroque, who will captivate you.