Description
One of the most talented singers of the new generation brings to light four gems for soprano and orchestra belonging to the great 18th-century tradition of Neapolitan sacred music. The three composers are representative of as many generations of an industrious dynasty: Francesco Feo (1691-1761) was the uncle of Gennaro Manna (1715-79), in turn the uncle of Gaetano (1751-1804). A comparison of their scores allows us to observe the extraordinary development from the austerity of the late Baroque to the elegance of the Alant style.The Lamentations of the two Manna composers were part of the Holy Thursday liturgy (Officium Tenebrarum), while Feo’s La sinderesi, a sorrowful meditation on sin and contrition, belongs to the form of the spiritual cantata and points to a private devotional setting. Gennaro Manna’s brief, luminous Gloria crowns the programme, symbolising the final attainment of a dimension of redemption and eternal salvation. All pieces are characterised by the typically Neapolitan taste for purity of voice, with sober virtuosity and radiant expressiveness.
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