ALESSANDRO SCARLATTI’S ORATORIO ‘LA MADDALENA’ OPENS MADELEINE FESTIVAL’S 25TH SEASON

MADELEINE FESTIVAL, Cathedral of the Madeleine, April 7

Alessandro Scarlatti

Alessandro Scarlatti is probably best remembered today – if he is remembered at all – as the father of Domenico Scarlatti, who laid the groundwork for the keyboard sonata, writing some 700 sonatas in all.

But in his day, Alessandro was a respected composer who mainly wrote operas, but also a large number of cantatas for solo voice as well as a few Masses and oratorios.

One of his oratorios, La Maddalena, opened this year’s Madeleine Festival of the Arts and Humanities Sunday. First performed in 1685 in Rome, the work was subsequently neglected and forgotten. But thanks to Cathedral of the Madeleine organist Douglas O’Neill’s research, the work was brought out of obscurity. O’Neill reconstructed the oratorio and made a performance copy of the score. This was the version that was performed Sunday, in what ostensibly is its United States premiere.

La Maddalena recounts the story of Mary Magdalene and her struggle between choosing to continue living a life of pleasure, personified by the role of Youth, or changing her ways and devoting herself to a life of piety, represented by the character of Penitence. Mary eventually chooses the latter.

The roles Sunday were taken by three exceptional singers: soprano Stefanie Moore (Mary); soprano Emily Nelson (Youth); and mezzo soprano Valerie Hart Nelson (Penitence). The three are wonderful singers with fluid, expressive voices who sang their parts with conviction and feeling.

Accompanying them was a string quartet made up of local musicians led by O’Neill at the harpsichord: Monte Belknap and Julie Wunderle, violin; Leslie Harlow, viola; and Nicole Pinnelle, cello. They played with lyricism and expressiveness.

Bookending the oratorio were two concertos by Francesco Scarlatti, the younger brother of Alessandro. The two works, the Concerto No. 1 in E major, and the two-movement Concerto No. 2 in G minor, were well chosen to serve as a prelude and postlude respectively to the oratorio.

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About Edward Reichel

Edward Reichel, author, writer and composer, has been covering the classical music scene in Utah since 1997. For many years he served as the primary music critic for the Deseret News. He has also written for a number of publications, including Chamber Music Magazine, OPERA Magazine, 15 Bytes, Park City Magazine and Salt Lake Magazine. He holds a Ph.D. in composition from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He can be reached at ed.reichel@gmail.com. Reichel Recommends is also on Twitter @ReichelArts.

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