Orazio Benevoli (1605-1672)
Orazio Benevoli was one of the most important Roman Baroque composers.
Born in Rome in 1605, as a twelve-year-old he joined the pueri cantores (choirboys) of the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, where he remained until 1623.
The following year, he assumed the post of maestro di cappella at Santa Maria in Trastevere; then at Santo Spirito in Saxia and later on at San Luigi dei Francesi. In 1644 he moved to Vienna to serve at the court of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Hapsburg.
Upon his return to Rome, he briefly served as maestro di cappella at Santa Maria Maggiore before becoming the choirmaster of the Cappella Giulia at the Vatican on November 7, 1646, where he remained for over 25 years until his death on June 17, 1672.
Vincenzo di Betta leads the Cappella Musicale di Santa Maria in Campitelli to the rediscovery of his “Missa In angustia Pestilentiæ” (in the distress of the plague), composed and performed in 1656 in the Basilica of San Pietro behind closed doors, given the severity of the contagion of the plague spread in Rome in the same year, which induced Pope Alessandro VII to issue provisions that would minimize the moments of aggregation in the city, such as solemn celebrations.
The work was probably commissioned by the Capitolo of the Basilica for an important occasion, which invoked the divine mercy so that the contagion would cease.
Tracklist
2. Orazio Benevoli, Kyrie (Missa «In angustia pestilentiae») 6:28
3. Orazio Benevoli, Gloria (Missa «In angustia pestilentiae») 5:15
4. Colletta. Deus qui nobis (cantus planus) 1:01
5. Epistola. Apocalisse, 21: 2-5 (cantus planus) 1:16
6. Girolamo Frescobaldi (1585-1643) Canzon dopo la pistola 2:20
(dai Fiori musicali, Messa della Domenica)
7. Vangelo. Luca, 19: 1-10 (cantus planus) 2:22
8. Orazio Benevoli, Credo (Missa «In angustia pestilentiae») 11:05
9. Off ertorio. Domine Deus in simplicitate (cantus planus) 1:24
10. Girolamo Frescobaldi, Capriccio sopra la Girolmeta (Fiori musicali) 2:43
11. Prefazio festivo (cantus planus) 2:23
12. Orazio Benevoli, Sanctus (Missa «In angustia pestilentiae») 2:05
13. Tarquinio Merula (1595-1665), Intonazione cromatica del IV tono 4:11
14. Pater noster (cantus planus) 1:32
15. Pax Domini (cantus planus) 0:29
16. Orazio Benevoli, Agnus Dei (Missa «In angustia pestilentiae») 2:45
17. Communio. Domus mea (cantus planus) 1:10
18. Johann Jakob Froberger (1616-1667), Ricercare XIV 4:20
19. Ite missa est (cantus planus) 0:46
- Composer: Orazio Benevoli (1605-1672)
- Performers: Cappella Musicale S. Maria in Campitelli
Franco Vito Gaiezza, organ
Vincenzo Di Betta, conductor - Musicological Text: Paola Ronchetti, Massimo Bisson
- Historical Period: Early Baroque
- Code: TC 600201
- Edition: April 2018
- Barcode: 8007194106633
- Set: 1
- Notes: World Premiere Recording · Historical Instruments
Organ Pellegrino Pollicolli, 1635