In first absolute recording are here presented two pieces performed formerly in the Cathedral of Siena, both on the Sunday of the Palms. Their paternity is not certain; the only source is a trascription dated back to the end of the XVIII century. The Christus, which has a more elaborate and articolate polifonic writing, point out an alternation of homophonic and imitative sections and express the grief of Crocifission contained in the text thanks to an accurate tratment of the dissonances. The Miserere, instead, is presented in the characteristic form of farbuden, heritage of a common practice mostly in the Sixteenth-Seventeenth century in big Cathedrals.
In first absolute recording is also the small motet of Ettore Romagnoli, based on one of the most popular Marian texts in the Civitas Virgin tradition, that is to say the Maria Mater Gratiae.
Romagnoli, famous art historian, writer and studious of Italian history,was also master of chapel in the church of Provenzano, but in his youth he had astudied at the flourishing music school belonging to the Cathedral.
Josquin des Près is one of the greater composer of the Fifteenth century. Born in the present Northern France, in Piccardia, he studied in accordance with those contrapuntal solid basis which made big the so called flemish school. As other musicians of his time, he travelled a lot, especially in Italy, even then country of reference for cultural production, thanks to the mecenatism favoured by the system of Signorie: Milan, Ferrara, Rome, Paris, were his principal stages before he retired to Condè sur l’Escaut, where he lived his last years as a canonic. The motet Tu Solus Qui Facis Mirabilia can be referred to the milanese period, because it reflects, in its homophony and its hearing of immediate comprehension of the text, the typical style of the Chapel in the time of the Sforzas. Was published in 1503 by Ottaviano Petrucci.
Together with Palestrina and Orlando di Lasso, de Victoria is one of the main polyphonist of the Fifteenth century. From the native Spain he moved to Rome, where he completed his formation and where for some time he worked as master of chapel. Man of profound faith, he left only sacred composition. Among these, the motet Ave Maris Stella stands out because of its structure which provides an execution in alternatim between stanzas drawed directly from the Gregorian Himn and polyphonic stanzas written with a wonderful counterpoint imitative of the same gregorian melody.
Similarly to Josquin des Près, Orlando di Lasso, born in the present Belgium, travelled in many parts of Europe, especially in Italy, France and Germany, assimilating the styles of the vary countries with an evident ability, particualrly in the profane production. Anyway the sacred production as well, although basically unrelated to regional traditions, shows a multiformity of styles that exhausts the compositive possibilities of the epoch. The Adoramus Te, Christe, destined to the Week of the Passion, is conducted on a general homophony that does not exclude thin and refined imitative inserts.
In connection with a huge production that ranges from the monumental Messe a Vespri to pieces of vary liturgic destination, the most famous sacred composition of Mozart is surely the motet Ave Verum. The reason is not to be searched in its moderate proportions which favour a great diffusion of executions, but in the sublimity of the inspiration that nothing takes from the happy impact of the immediate hearing. Belonging to the last compositions in the life of the musician, was written for the Corpus Domini Feast of the 1791 in Baden. Its structure reveals a perfect union between the Lied german style and the motet italian style.
One of the most considerable aspescts of the art of Bach is the treatment he reserves to the Choral (in german Kirchenlied), that is to say the tipical singing of the protestant cult.
Further a large number of harmonizations for chorus, often inserted in the Cantate and the Passioni, the great german musician have left more than hundred elaborations of the melodies for organ, the so called choral-preludes. These pieces were generally supported by the correspondent choral singing during the cult, so that they commented, also by a teologic point of view, the content of music and text. This original version of supporting choral and instrumental parts, is proposed in the herein disc the famous Wachet Auf, reserved to the periods of the Advent, which elaboration for organ is a trascription effected by Bach himself of a piece of the Cantata 140.
The Assunta Feast, celebrated on the 15th of August, is traditionally one of the most felt and participated by people in Siena; obviously is the feast of the Cathedral, dedicated to Her.
The Cantata to Saint Mary of August, conceived specially for this recurrence and performed the first time in 2005, takes shape as an example of contemporary production which is inserted in the tradition of popular sacred singing of Siena.