Album

Those surprised by the existence of a Vespro della beata vergine (Vespers of the Blessed Virgin) by Alessandro Scarlatti can take comfort in the fact that there is actually no such thing; what's on offer here is a collection of psalm settings along with a hymn and Magnificat that could have been used for the Vespers service during Scarlatti's time. But, noted Susanne Fontaine, the same is true of Claudio Monteverdi's famous set of Vespers of 1610, which was a compilation rather than a unified work. Whatever the origins of Scarlatti's pieces, they do seem to fit together nicely as a set, evincing a mixture of Baroque Catholic traditionalism and operatic thinking. Several of the psalms work chant material into contrapuntal choral sections, contrasting it with more florid solo passages. It's a simple concept, and one very much of its Roman time and place, but it's also quite unusual within the Baroque as a whole, and Frank Markowitsch and his Vokalakademie Berlin (a small, young, adult mixed-gender choir) deliver performances that are both natural and musical, catching the dynamics of the style. The capstone is a 23-minute setting of the Magnificat that exploits the sacred-secular contrasts beautifully, building up a long sequence of subtly contrasting sections. It is a superbly sensitive rendering of the Magnificat text, and it belongs in the repertories of choirs great and small. This is a triumph for Germany's early music scene and Leipzig's Rondeau Productions label.

© James Manheim, Rovi

CD 1
Alessandro Scarlatti Composer Dixit Dominus (No.1; Psalm 109), for chorus and organ Work Vokalakademie Berlin Chorus/Choir, Magnus Andersson Theorbo, Frank Markowitsch Conductor, Vokalquintett Berlin Vocal Ensemble, Mirjam Wittulski Double Bass, James Bush Cello, Sabine Erdmann Organ
1	Dixit Dominus (No.1; Psalm 109), for chorus and organ	10:23			$1.99
Alessandro Scarlatti Composer Laudate pueri Dominum (No.2; Psalm 112), for soprano, chorus, 2 violins, viola and continuo (incomplete) Work Vokalakademie Berlin Chorus/Choir, Magnus Andersson Theorbo, Frank Markowitsch Conductor, Mirjam Wittulski Double Bass, James Bush Cello, Sabine Erdmann Organ
2	Laudate pueri Dominum (No.2; Psalm 112), for soprano, chorus, 2 violins, viola and continuo (incomplete)	13:37			$2.49
Alessandro Scarlatti Composer Laetatus sum (No.1; Psalm 121), for chorus Work Vokalakademie Berlin Chorus/Choir, Magnus Andersson Theorbo, Frank Markowitsch Conductor, Mirjam Wittulski Double Bass, James Bush Cello, Sabine Erdmann Organ
3	Laetatus sum (No.1; Psalm 121), for chorus	2:23			$0.99
Alessandro Scarlatti Composer Nisi Dominus aedificaverit (No.1; Psalm 126), for soprano, alto, chorus, 2 violins and continuo Work Vokalakademie Berlin Chorus/Choir, Magnus Andersson Theorbo, Frank Markowitsch Conductor, Mirjam Wittulski Double Bass, James Bush Cello, Sabine Erdmann Organ
4	1.Nisi Dominus	2:12			$0.99
Alessandro Scarlatti Composer Lauda Jerusalem Dominum, offertory for chorus and organ Work Vokalakademie Berlin Chorus/Choir, Magnus Andersson Theorbo, Frank Markowitsch Conductor, Mirjam Wittulski Double Bass, James Bush Cello, Sabine Erdmann Organ
5	Lauda Jerusalem Dominum, offertory for chorus and organ	2:53			$0.99
Alessandro Scarlatti Composer Ave maris stella, hymn for chorus and continuo Work Vokalakademie Berlin Chorus/Choir, Magnus Andersson Theorbo, Frank Markowitsch Conductor, Mirjam Wittulski Double Bass, James Bush Cello, Sabine Erdmann Organ
6	Ave maris stella, hymn for chorus and continuo	5:39			$0.99
Alessandro Scarlatti Composer Magnificat, for soloists, chorus, 2 violins, viola, and continuo in D Work Vokalakademie Berlin Chorus/Choir, Magnus Andersson Theorbo, Frank Markowitsch Conductor, Vokalquintett Berlin Vocal Ensemble, Mirjam Wittulski Double Bass, James Bush Cello, Sabine Erdmann Organ
7	Magnificat, for soloists, chorus, 2 violins, viola, and continuo in D	22:32			$3.99