album booklet - bottesini g messa da requiem (math

GIOVANNIGIOVANNI

BOTTESINIBOTTESINI

MMESSAESSA DADARREQUIEMEQUIEM

Marta Mathu Gemma Coma-AlabertAgustn Prunell-Friend Enric Martnez-Castignani

Joyful Company of Singers London Philharmonic OrchestraThomas Martin

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0 BenedictusBenedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.(Hosanna in excelsis.)

! Agnus DeiAgnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi:dona eis requiem, Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi:dona eis requiem sempiternam.

@ Requiem aeternamRequiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es.

# Libera meLibera me, Domine, de morte aeterna, in die illa tremenda:quando caeli movendi sunt et terra:dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem.Tremens factus sum ego et timeo,dum discussio venerit atque ventura ira.

$ Dies illaDies illa, dies irae, calamitatis et miseriae, dies magna et amara valde. Requiem aeternam, dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna, in die illa tremenda:quando caeli movendi sunt et terra:dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem.

BenedictusBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.(Hosanna in the highest.)

Agnus DeiLamb of God,who takes away the sins of the world,grant them rest,Lamb of God,who takes away the sins of the world,grant them eternal rest.

Communion: Requiem aeternam Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord,and let eternal light shine on themwith your saints for ever,because you are merciful.

Libera meSet me free, O Lord,from eternal death,in that terrible day,when the heavens and earth are to be moved:when you shall come to judgethe world through fire.I tremble and am afraidwhen I think of the judgementand the anger to come.

Dies illaThat day, day of anger,of calamity and wretchedness,the great and very bitter day.Eternal rest grant them, O Lord,and let perpetual light shine upon them.

Set me free, O Lord,from eternal death,in that terrible day,when the heavens and earth are to be moved:when you shall come to judgethe world through fire.

572994bk Bottesini EU_572994bk Bottesini 21/11/2012 11:44 Page 12

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voca me cum benedictis.

Oro supplex et acclinis,cor contritum quasi cinisgere curam mei finis.

7 LacrymosaLacrymosa dies illa,qua resurget ex favillajudicandus homo reus.

Huic ergo parce Deus,pie Jesu Domine,dona eis requiem.

8 Offertory: Domine Jesu Christe Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae, libera animas omnium fidelium defunctorumde poenis inferni, et de profundo lacu:libera eas de ore leonis, ne absorbeat eas tartarus, ne cadant in obscurum.sed signifer sanctus Michael repraesentet eas in lucem sanctam:Quam olim Abrahae promisisti, et semini ejus.Hostias et preces tibi,Domine, laudis offerimus: tu suscipe pro animabus illis, quarum hodie memoriam facimus:fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam.Quam olim Abrahae promisisti, et semini ejus.

9 SanctusSanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis.

call me among the blessed.

I beg you, suppliant, bowing down,my contrite heart like ashes,care for me at my ending.

LacrymosaTearful, that day,on which shall rise from the ashguilty man, to be judged.

Therefore, O God, spare this man,O merciful Lord Jesus,grant them rest.

Offertory: Domine JesuLord Jesus Christ, King of glory,set free the souls of all the faithful departedfrom the pains of hell, and from the deep pit:set them free from the lions mouth,lest hell swallow them up,lest they fall into darkness.But let the holy standard-bearer Michaelbring them into holy light,as you once promised to Abraham,and to his seed.Victims and prayers of praisewe offer you, O Lord;accept them for those soulswhom we commemorate today;make them, O Lord,pass from death to life.as you once promised to Abraham,and to his seed.

SanctusHoly, holy, holyLord God of Sabaoth.Heaven and earth are fullof your glory.Hosanna in the highest.

He was one of the greatest musicians of the centurydominated by Verdi, and the most prodigious of virtuosoperformers. Beneath his bow, the double bass would sigh,lament, sing, croon, tremble and roar, an orchestra in itself,capable of both powerful outbursts and the softest ofnuances... (Giovanni Depanis). Giovanni Bottesini (1821-89) travelled the globe as a double bass player andconductor, earning worldwide fame and continuing to touruntil a few months before his death. Given the time it tookin his day to journey from place to place, his appearancesat so many far-flung concert halls are almost beyond belief:he performed right across Europe, from Portugal toRussia, and throughout the Americas, then almost a monthaway from Italy by sea, and won great acclaim whereverhe went.

Dubbed the Paganini of the double bass, Bottesiniwas a warm-hearted and generous man. He earned afortune during his lifetime yet his funeral expenses had tobe met by Parmas city council after he died penniless,having spent or given away much of his money and lost therest at gambling.

Though he is principally remembered today as adouble bass virtuoso, Bottesini was a complete musician inthe sense that he excelled in every branch of his art. Hewas a pioneer in Italy in combining the rles of soloist andconductor, gaining praise on an international level for theprecision and accuracy of his conducting, as well as for hisfidelity to composers intentions, although the formality ofhis interpretations came in for occasional criticism.Bottesini directed many orchestral concerts, working withall kinds of instrumental soloists, unlike many of hiscompatriots, whose focus was still firmly fixed on the operahouse.

His work in the chamber music world was equallyinnovative. One of the founding members of the first ItalianQuartet Society, established in Florence in 1861, and ofanother in Naples in 1862, just five years earlier (in August

1856) he, along with Antonio Bazzini, Luigi Arditi andAlfredo Piatti, had given a historic concert in Londonfeaturing five unpublished string quartets composed by anineteen-year-old Donizetti. Bottesini himself also wrotestring quartets and quintets, as well as other chamberworks, many salon songs (seventy or more), orchestralmusic and a theoretical publication, the Complete Methodfor Double Bass. Nor should his operas go unmentioned:while he did not achieve huge success in this field at a timewhen Italian opera was entirely dominated by Verdi, henonetheless created some gems of well-crafted andexpressive melodic beauty (in, for example, Ero e Leandroand Al Bab).

Like other Italian musicians of the time, Bottesini alsowrote a number of sacred works, the most significant ofwhich is his Requiem, the form of the Catholic Mass whichhad recently inspired masterworks from Mozart, Berlioz,Cherubini, Cimarosa and Verdi. While over the centuriesthere had been many settings of the Requiem, or Mass forthe Dead, in the Romantic era the genre moved away fromits liturgical roots somewhat to reflect instead thesymphonic and operatic trends of the day, resulting inversions written on a grand scale for large forces.

Bottesinis Requiem was composed in early 1877 inresponse to the death of his brother Luigi. It was firstperformed (in adapted form, because women were notallowed to sing in church at this time) in the Capuchinchapel in Cairo, Bottesini then being musical director of thecitys Italian opera company. A large audience thronged tohear it and gave the performance a warm reception; it alsoearned an enthusiastic review from the correspondent ofthe Gazzetta Musicale di Milano. The first completeperformance took place at Turins Teatro Regio on 24thMarch 1880, but was not well attended not only was itHoly Week, but the theatre was not known for stagingsacred works. One year later, however, the Requiem wona silver medal at the National Music Expo in Milan.

Giovanni Bottesini (18211889)Messa da Requiem

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nil inultum remanebit.

3 Quid sum miserQuid sum miser tunc dicturus,quem patronum rogaturus,cum vix justus sit securus?Rex tremendae majestatis,qui salvandos salvas gratissalva me, fons pietatis.

Recordare Jesu pie,quod sum causa tuae viae;ne me perdas illa die.

4 Quaerens meQuaerens me sedisti lassus,redemisti crucem passus;tantus labor non sit cassus.

Juste judex ultionis,donum fac remissionis,ante diem rationis.

5 IngemiscoIngemisco tanquam reus,culpa rubet vultus meus;supplicanti parce, Deus.

Qui Mariam absolvisti,et latronem exaudisti;mihi quoque spem dedisti.

Preces meae non sunt dignae,sed tu, bonus, fac benigne,ne perenni cremer igne.

Inter oves locum praesta,et ab hoedis me sequestra,statuens in parte dextra.

6 ConfutatisConfutatis maledictis,flammis acribus addictis,

nothing shall remain unavenged.

Quid sum miserWhat am I, wretched man, to saywhom seek to intercede,when the just are scarcely safe?King of fearful majestywho grants salvation to those to be saved,save me, fount of mercy.

Remember, merciful Jesus,that I am the reason for your lifedo not destroy me on that day.

Quaerens meSeeking me, you lived in weariness,suffered the cross and redeemed me.Let such labour not be in vain.

O just judge of vengeancegrant me remissionbefore the day of accounting.

IngemiscoI groan as an offender,my face blushes with guilt,spare the suppliant, O God.

You who absolved Maryand heard the thief;you gave hope too to me.

My prayers are unworthy,but you, in goodness, act kindly,so that I do not burn in eternal fire.

Grant me a place among the sheepand separate me from the goats,putting me on your right hand.

ConfutatisLet the cursed ones be confounded,committed to harsh flames,

The critics of the day were, for the most part, fairlynegative about the work, largely perhaps because they feltobliged to compare it with Verdis Requiem of three yearsearlier. Their views have also undoubtedly influencedsome of those who have written about the work in our time(Sergio Martinotti, Giovanni Carli Ballola, UmbertoScarpetta). Bottesinis Requiem fell into neglect almostimmediately and was only revived a century later, in 1979,when it was performed in Crema cathedral in an editionused again the following year at St Marks in Venice.

In his setting of the Mass, Bottesini interprets theliturgical text with apt and colourful accents. His use ofcounterpoint gives the work a conventional ecclesiasticalstamp, while his melodies attest to the key influence of

opera, from which his linguistic and stylistic models areclearly drawn.

As far as the instrumentation is concerned, he givesthe leading rle not to the strings, but to the woodwind,often entrusting them with the works principal theme. Histreatment of the four solo singers and the chorus,meanwhile, demonstrates his skill for contrapuntal writing.All in all, the Requiem is a work rich in harmonic interestand is beautifully constructed both in terms of counterpointand the overall quality of its choral and orchestral writing(Umberto Scarpetta).

Gaspare Nello VetroEnglish translation by Susannah Howe

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1 Introit and Kyrie: Requiem aeternamRequiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Te decet hymnus Deus in Sion, et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem:exaudi orationem meam, ad te omnis caro veniet.Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Kyrie eleison.Christe eleison.Kyrie eleison.

Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

2 Dies iraeDies irae, dies illa,solvet saeclum in favilla,teste David cum Sybilla.

Quantus tremor est futurus,quando judex est venturuscuncta stricte discussurus!

Tuba mirum spargens sonum,per sepulchra regionum,coget omnes ante thronum,

Mors stupebit et natura,cum resurget creatura,judicanti responsura.

Liber scriptus proferetur,in quo totum continetur,unde mundus judicetur.

Judex ergo cum sedebit,quidquid latet apparebit,

Fu uno dei pi geniali fra gli artisti del secolo verdiano, efra i virtuosi il pi fantastico. Sotto il suo archetto ilcontrabbasso gemeva, sospirava, tubava, cantava,fremeva, ruggiva, unorchestra completa, con impetiterribili e con sfumature dolcissime (Giovanni Depanis).La fama di Bottesini fu mondiale e la sua vita, fino a pochimesi prima della morte, tutto un viaggio: la sua presenzanei teatri pi lontani tra loro, considerati i tempi impiegatidai mezzi di trasporto del tempo, ha dellincredibile:percorse infatti lEuropa dal Portogallo alla Russia, e leAmeriche, lontane quasi un mese di navigazione,suscitando ovunque un indescrivibile successo.

Battezzato il Paganini del contrabbasso, luomoBottesini era una persona generosa, di buon cuore:guadagn cifre incredibili per trovarsi, alla morte, aricevere i funerali a spese del Comune di Parma, in quantonon possedeva nulla: aveva dilapidato tutto con le speseincontrollate, la beneficenza, mentre il gioco dazzardoaveva fatto il resto.

Anche se oggi ricordato soltanto comecontrabbassista, Bottesini fu un musicista completo, nelsenso che brill in ogni ramo della sua arte. Fu uno deiprimi, se non il primo, a unificare tra gli Italiani le figure delconcertatore e del direttore dorchestra e, anche comedirettore dorchestra lavor in ogni parte del mondo, dovefu stimato per la precisione, laccuratezza, laderenza agliintenti dellautore, anche se, talvolta, gli vennerimproverata una certa formalit di interpretazione. Tra gliItaliani si rilev uno dei primi direttori con una concezioneinnovativa di questo ruolo, dirigendo anche un grandenumero di concerti sinfonici e con solisti di vari strumenti.

Altrettanto innovativa fu la posizione nella musica dacamera: la prima Societ del Quartetto nacque a Firenzenel 1861, e lui fu tra i fondatori; lo stesso a Napoli lannoseguente. Gi pochi anni prima, nellagosto 1856, era statouno degli interpreti di una serata storica: Bazzini, Arditi,Piatti e Bottesini avevano eseguito a Londra cinque deiquartetti inediti che Donizetti aveva scritto diciannovenne.

Oltre che come esecutore, fu attivo come autore di quintettie quartetti per archi, di composizioni cameristiche, di arieda salotto (se ne conoscono pi di settanta), di musicasinfonica e di un testo di didattica (Metodo percontrabbasso). Non si possono dimenticare le opereliriche: anche se non ebbero un successo straordinario inunepoca in cui il teatro lirico italiano era schiacciato dallapresenza di Verdi, si deve riconoscere che in esse vi sonopagine che rappresentano dei veri gioielli di melodiaespressiva e appropriata (tra queste, Ero e Leandro, AlBab).

Come altri musicisti italiani del tempo, Bottesini halasciato anche alcune composizioni di musica religiosa. Lapi significativa il Requiem, utilizzando quella particolareforma del messale romano che gi in tempi recenti avevavisto i capolavori di Mozart, Berlioz, Cherubini, Cimarosa eVerdi. Anche se nei secoli della Messa pro defunctis o darequiem si contano un grande numero di esemplari, inperiodo romantico questo genere, pi che allo spiritoliturgico, fu particolarmente legato alle tendenze sinfonichee operistiche ricorrendo a orchestrazioni di grandidimensioni.

La Messa di Bottesini fu composta ai primi del 1877 insuffragio del fratello Luigi da poco deceduto, e venneeseguita, anche se non integralmente, alle donne nonera concesso di cantare in chiesa nel tempio dei fraticappuccini del Cairo, citt dove il maestro dirigeva lastagione lirica. Lesecuzione fu accolta con successo dalpubblico che affollava il luogo sacro ed ebbe unarecensione favorevole dal corrispondente della GazzettaMusicale di Milano. La prima esecuzione completa si ebbeal Teatro Regio di Torino il 24 marzo 1880, con scarsapresenza di un pubblico che non era abituato a frequentarei teatri durante la settimana santa n ad udirvi musicasacra. Lanno dopo, infine, vinse la medaglia dargentoallEsposizione Nazionale di Musica di Milano.

I giudizi dei critici del tempo probabilmente portati afare un confronto con il Requiem di Verdi di tre anni prima


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Introit and KyrieEternal rest grant to them O Lord,and let perpetual light shine upon them.A hymn, O God, is fitting for you in Sionand a vow shall be paid to you in Jerusalem:hear my prayer,to you all flesh shall come.Eternal rest grant to them O Lord,and let perpetual light shine upon them.

Lord have mercy.Christ have mercy.Lord have mercy.

Eternal rest grant to them O Lord,and let perpetual light shine upon them.

Dies iraeDay of wrath, that dreadful day,the world will melt in ashesas David and the Sybil foretold.

What trembling there will bewhen the judge shall comedealing strictly with everything.

The trumpet scattering wonderful soundthrough earths sepulchresshall bring all before the throne.

Death will stand stupefied and naturewhen the creature shall riseto meet the one that judges.

The book written shall be brought out,in which all is containedby which the world shall be judged.

When the judge, then, takes his seatwhatever was hidden shall be revealed,



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London Philharmonic OrchestraThe London Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1932 by Sir Thomas Beecham. Since then its Principal Conductorshave included Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. In 2007 Vladimir Jurowski became theOrchestras Principal Conductor.The London Philharmonic Orchestra has been performing at Southbank Centres RoyalFestival Hall since it opened in 1951, becoming Resident Orchestra in 1992. It also has residencies in Brighton andEastbourne, and performs regularly around Britain and abroad. The Orchestra broadcasts regularly on television andradio, and has recorded soundtracks for numerous films including The Lord of the Rings. In 2005 it began releasing live,studio and archive recordings on its own CD label.

Photograph: Patrick Harrison

Thomas MartinThomas Martin is well known internationally as a double bassist. He studied with Roger Scottin Philadelphia and has held front desk positions with major orchestras in the United Statesand in England. As a soloist he has travelled the globe giving concertos, recitals and master-classes. His five CD Naxos series (8.570397-400 and 8.572284) of the virtuoso music ofGiovanni Bottesini has met with great critical acclaim including Gramophone magazinesRecord of the Year and The Sunday Times Record of the Year. He is a professor at the RoyalCollege of Music in London and an International Fellow at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotlandin Glasgow. As a conductor, Thomas Martin studied in London with Sian Edwards in Londonand with Stephen Darlington in Oxford.

Photograph: Tudor Photgraphers

furono per lo pi negativi e non escluso che ebbero unacerta qual influenza anche sugli autori contemporanei chehanno scritto su questo lavoro (Sergio Martinotti, GiovanniCarli Ballola, Umberto Scarpetta). Dopo queste esecuzionila Messa cadde nel dimenticatoio e venne riesumatasoltanto un secolo dopo, nel 1979, quando venne eseguitanel duomo di Crema in una edizione ripresa lanno doponella basilica di S. Marco di Venezia.

In questa composizione Bottesini interpreta il testoliturgico con accenti vivi e appropriati: pur non mancandobrani di stile contrappuntistico che danno al pezzo unaconvenzionale impronta ecclesiastica, mentre si rileva, conla presenza della melodia, il notevole influsso del

melodramma, da cui risultano attinti i modelli linguistici estilistici.

Dal punto di vista strumentale, se minor cura vienededicata agli archi, ruolo predominante riservato ai fiati,cui spesso viene affidato il tema principale dellinteropezzo, mentre il trattamento del coro e dei quattro solistirileva una notevole maestria contrappuntistica.

Per concludere il Requiem un lavoro ricco di risorsearmoniche e di ottima fattura per quanto riguarda ilcontrappunto e, in generale, la scrittura corale eorchestrale (Umberto Scarpetta).

Gaspare Nello Vetro

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Enric Martnez-CastignaniThe Italian-Spanish baritone Enric Martnez-Castignani studied at the Barcelona MunicipalConservatory, at the Musikhochschule Heidelberg-Mannheim and with eminent mastersincluding Grard Souzay, Dalton Baldwin, Gerd Trk, Ulrich Eisenlohr, Paul Schilhawsky, CarlosChausson and Wolfram Rieger. Since his dbut in La Bohme at the Budapest Opera he hassung in several of the leading international opera houses. His concert activity has broughtappearances in major festivals, and with distinguished orchestras and conductors. Consideredone of the best Spanish Lieder singers, he has given many recitals.

Joyful Company of SingersOne of Europes most prominent chamber choirs, the Joyful Company of Singers has a repertoire ranging from thesixteenth century to the present day, including first performances of works by many leading contemporary composers.Formed by conductor Peter Broadbent, the choir regularly appears at major music festivals throughout Britain andEurope, broadcasting in many countries. The choir has released 22 CDs, and recording continues to be an importantpart of its activity, as does its work with orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic, the Bournemouth Symphony andthe Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Photograph: Benjamin Ealovega

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Marta MathuMarta Mathu was born in Tarragona, where she studied at the Conservatory, with futher trainingin Valencia. She has been taught by Montserrat Caball, Helena Obratzova, Nelly Miricioiu, AnaMara Snchez, Enedina Lloris, Isabel Penagos, Carmen Bustamante, Miguel Zanetti, RobertExpert, Franois Le Roux and Wolfram Rieger. She has sung in leading national andinternational concert halls with distinguished conductors as well as in chamber groups and withwell known colleagues. She has won awards in several international competitions and has madeseveral recordings for the Klassicat label.

Gemma Coma-AlabertThe young Catalan mezzo-soprano Gemma Coma-Alabert made her American dbut at theAspen Opera Theater Center as Medea in Cavallis Giasone in 2005. She is a frequent guest atthe Gran Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona and has appeared frequently in France and elsewhere inEurope, taking important rles at the Thtre des Champs-Elyses, the opera houses of Toulon,Nantes, Rennes and Lausanne, Bilbao Opera and at the festivals of Bergen and Lugo. She alsoappears frequently in recital and in concert. Her radio and television productions include work forArte, Mezzo, France Musique, Radio Nacional de Espaa and Catalunya Msica.

Agustn Prunell-FriendBorn in Tenerife, the tenor Agustn Prunell-Friend trained at the Guildhall School of Music andDrama in London. Since his 1996 dbut in La Cenerentola in Madrid, he has made Rossini animportant part of his wide repertoire, covering the baroque and classical periods, Britten, oratorioand Lied. He has performed in prestigious festivals and concert halls in Europe and America andcollaborated with distinguished European and American orchestras and conductors. He hasrecorded for the RTVE, Mondo Musica, Dynamic, Naxos, Glossa and Harmonia Mundi labels.


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London Philharmonic OrchestraThe London Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1932 by Sir Thomas Beecham. Since then its Principal Conductorshave included Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. In 2007 Vladimir Jurowski became theOrchestras Principal Conductor.The London Philharmonic Orchestra has been performing at Southbank Centres RoyalFestival Hall since it opened in 1951, becoming Resident Orchestra in 1992. It also has residencies in Brighton andEastbourne, and performs regularly around Britain and abroad. The Orchestra broadcasts regularly on television andradio, and has recorded soundtracks for numerous films including The Lord of the Rings. In 2005 it began releasing live,studio and archive recordings on its own CD label.

Photograph: Patrick Harrison

Thomas MartinThomas Martin is well known internationally as a double bassist. He studied with Roger Scottin Philadelphia and has held front desk positions with major orchestras in the United Statesand in England. As a soloist he has travelled the globe giving concertos, recitals and master-classes. His five CD Naxos series (8.570397-400 and 8.572284) of the virtuoso music ofGiovanni Bottesini has met with great critical acclaim including Gramophone magazinesRecord of the Year and The Sunday Times Record of the Year. He is a professor at the RoyalCollege of Music in London and an International Fellow at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotlandin Glasgow. As a conductor, Thomas Martin studied in London with Sian Edwards in Londonand with Stephen Darlington in Oxford.

Photograph: Tudor Photgraphers

furono per lo pi negativi e non escluso che ebbero unacerta qual influenza anche sugli autori contemporanei chehanno scritto su questo lavoro (Sergio Martinotti, GiovanniCarli Ballola, Umberto Scarpetta). Dopo queste esecuzionila Messa cadde nel dimenticatoio e venne riesumatasoltanto un secolo dopo, nel 1979, quando venne eseguitanel duomo di Crema in una edizione ripresa lanno doponella basilica di S. Marco di Venezia.

In questa composizione Bottesini interpreta il testoliturgico con accenti vivi e appropriati: pur non mancandobrani di stile contrappuntistico che danno al pezzo unaconvenzionale impronta ecclesiastica, mentre si rileva, conla presenza della melodia, il notevole influsso del

melodramma, da cui risultano attinti i modelli linguistici estilistici.

Dal punto di vista strumentale, se minor cura vienededicata agli archi, ruolo predominante riservato ai fiati,cui spesso viene affidato il tema principale dellinteropezzo, mentre il trattamento del coro e dei quattro solistirileva una notevole maestria contrappuntistica.

Per concludere il Requiem un lavoro ricco di risorsearmoniche e di ottima fattura per quanto riguarda ilcontrappunto e, in generale, la scrittura corale eorchestrale (Umberto Scarpetta).

Gaspare Nello Vetro

5 8.572994


8.5729949

1 Introit and Kyrie: Requiem aeternamRequiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Te decet hymnus Deus in Sion, et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem:exaudi orationem meam, ad te omnis caro veniet.Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Kyrie eleison.Christe eleison.Kyrie eleison.

Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

2 Dies iraeDies irae, dies illa,solvet saeclum in favilla,teste David cum Sybilla.

Quantus tremor est futurus,quando judex est venturuscuncta stricte discussurus!

Tuba mirum spargens sonum,per sepulchra regionum,coget omnes ante thronum,

Mors stupebit et natura,cum resurget creatura,judicanti responsura.

Liber scriptus proferetur,in quo totum continetur,unde mundus judicetur.

Judex ergo cum sedebit,quidquid latet apparebit,

Fu uno dei pi geniali fra gli artisti del secolo verdiano, efra i virtuosi il pi fantastico. Sotto il suo archetto ilcontrabbasso gemeva, sospirava, tubava, cantava,fremeva, ruggiva, unorchestra completa, con impetiterribili e con sfumature dolcissime (Giovanni Depanis).La fama di Bottesini fu mondiale e la sua vita, fino a pochimesi prima della morte, tutto un viaggio: la sua presenzanei teatri pi lontani tra loro, considerati i tempi impiegatidai mezzi di trasporto del tempo, ha dellincredibile:percorse infatti lEuropa dal Portogallo alla Russia, e leAmeriche, lontane quasi un mese di navigazione,suscitando ovunque un indescrivibile successo.

Battezzato il Paganini del contrabbasso, luomoBottesini era una persona generosa, di buon cuore:guadagn cifre incredibili per trovarsi, alla morte, aricevere i funerali a spese del Comune di Parma, in quantonon possedeva nulla: aveva dilapidato tutto con le speseincontrollate, la beneficenza, mentre il gioco dazzardoaveva fatto il resto.

Anche se oggi ricordato soltanto comecontrabbassista, Bottesini fu un musicista completo, nelsenso che brill in ogni ramo della sua arte. Fu uno deiprimi, se non il primo, a unificare tra gli Italiani le figure delconcertatore e del direttore dorchestra e, anche comedirettore dorchestra lavor in ogni parte del mondo, dovefu stimato per la precisione, laccuratezza, laderenza agliintenti dellautore, anche se, talvolta, gli vennerimproverata una certa formalit di interpretazione. Tra gliItaliani si rilev uno dei primi direttori con una concezioneinnovativa di questo ruolo, dirigendo anche un grandenumero di concerti sinfonici e con solisti di vari strumenti.

Altrettanto innovativa fu la posizione nella musica dacamera: la prima Societ del Quartetto nacque a Firenzenel 1861, e lui fu tra i fondatori; lo stesso a Napoli lannoseguente. Gi pochi anni prima, nellagosto 1856, era statouno degli interpreti di una serata storica: Bazzini, Arditi,Piatti e Bottesini avevano eseguito a Londra cinque deiquartetti inediti che Donizetti aveva scritto diciannovenne.

Oltre che come esecutore, fu attivo come autore di quintettie quartetti per archi, di composizioni cameristiche, di arieda salotto (se ne conoscono pi di settanta), di musicasinfonica e di un testo di didattica (Metodo percontrabbasso). Non si possono dimenticare le opereliriche: anche se non ebbero un successo straordinario inunepoca in cui il teatro lirico italiano era schiacciato dallapresenza di Verdi, si deve riconoscere che in esse vi sonopagine che rappresentano dei veri gioielli di melodiaespressiva e appropriata (tra queste, Ero e Leandro, AlBab).

Come altri musicisti italiani del tempo, Bottesini halasciato anche alcune composizioni di musica religiosa. Lapi significativa il Requiem, utilizzando quella particolareforma del messale romano che gi in tempi recenti avevavisto i capolavori di Mozart, Berlioz, Cherubini, Cimarosa eVerdi. Anche se nei secoli della Messa pro defunctis o darequiem si contano un grande numero di esemplari, inperiodo romantico questo genere, pi che allo spiritoliturgico, fu particolarmente legato alle tendenze sinfonichee operistiche ricorrendo a orchestrazioni di grandidimensioni.

La Messa di Bottesini fu composta ai primi del 1877 insuffragio del fratello Luigi da poco deceduto, e venneeseguita, anche se non integralmente, alle donne nonera concesso di cantare in chiesa nel tempio dei fraticappuccini del Cairo, citt dove il maestro dirigeva lastagione lirica. Lesecuzione fu accolta con successo dalpubblico che affollava il luogo sacro ed ebbe unarecensione favorevole dal corrispondente della GazzettaMusicale di Milano. La prima esecuzione completa si ebbeal Teatro Regio di Torino il 24 marzo 1880, con scarsapresenza di un pubblico che non era abituato a frequentarei teatri durante la settimana santa n ad udirvi musicasacra. Lanno dopo, infine, vinse la medaglia dargentoallEsposizione Nazionale di Musica di Milano.

I giudizi dei critici del tempo probabilmente portati afare un confronto con il Requiem di Verdi di tre anni prima


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Introit and KyrieEternal rest grant to them O Lord,and let perpetual light shine upon them.A hymn, O God, is fitting for you in Sionand a vow shall be paid to you in Jerusalem:hear my prayer,to you all flesh shall come.Eternal rest grant to them O Lord,and let perpetual light shine upon them.

Lord have mercy.Christ have mercy.Lord have mercy.

Eternal rest grant to them O Lord,and let perpetual light shine upon them.

Dies iraeDay of wrath, that dreadful day,the world will melt in ashesas David and the Sybil foretold.

What trembling there will bewhen the judge shall comedealing strictly with everything.

The trumpet scattering wonderful soundthrough earths sepulchresshall bring all before the throne.

Death will stand stupefied and naturewhen the creature shall riseto meet the one that judges.

The book written shall be brought out,in which all is containedby which the world shall be judged.

When the judge, then, takes his seatwhatever was hidden shall be revealed,



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nil inultum remanebit.

3 Quid sum miserQuid sum miser tunc dicturus,quem patronum rogaturus,cum vix justus sit securus?Rex tremendae majestatis,qui salvandos salvas gratissalva me, fons pietatis.

Recordare Jesu pie,quod sum causa tuae viae;ne me perdas illa die.

4 Quaerens meQuaerens me sedisti lassus,redemisti crucem passus;tantus labor non sit cassus.

Juste judex ultionis,donum fac remissionis,ante diem rationis.

5 IngemiscoIngemisco tanquam reus,culpa rubet vultus meus;supplicanti parce, Deus.

Qui Mariam absolvisti,et latronem exaudisti;mihi quoque spem dedisti.

Preces meae non sunt dignae,sed tu, bonus, fac benigne,ne perenni cremer igne.

Inter oves locum praesta,et ab hoedis me sequestra,statuens in parte dextra.

6 ConfutatisConfutatis maledictis,flammis acribus addictis,

nothing shall remain unavenged.

Quid sum miserWhat am I, wretched man, to saywhom seek to intercede,when the just are scarcely safe?King of fearful majestywho grants salvation to those to be saved,save me, fount of mercy.

Remember, merciful Jesus,that I am the reason for your lifedo not destroy me on that day.

Quaerens meSeeking me, you lived in weariness,suffered the cross and redeemed me.Let such labour not be in vain.

O just judge of vengeancegrant me remissionbefore the day of accounting.

IngemiscoI groan as an offender,my face blushes with guilt,spare the suppliant, O God.

You who absolved Maryand heard the thief;you gave hope too to me.

My prayers are unworthy,but you, in goodness, act kindly,so that I do not burn in eternal fire.

Grant me a place among the sheepand separate me from the goats,putting me on your right hand.

ConfutatisLet the cursed ones be confounded,committed to harsh flames,

The critics of the day were, for the most part, fairlynegative about the work, largely perhaps because they feltobliged to compare it with Verdis Requiem of three yearsearlier. Their views have also undoubtedly influencedsome of those who have written about the work in our time(Sergio Martinotti, Giovanni Carli Ballola, UmbertoScarpetta). Bottesinis Requiem fell into neglect almostimmediately and was only revived a century later, in 1979,when it was performed in Crema cathedral in an editionused again the following year at St Marks in Venice.

In his setting of the Mass, Bottesini interprets theliturgical text with apt and colourful accents. His use ofcounterpoint gives the work a conventional ecclesiasticalstamp, while his melodies attest to the key influence of

opera, from which his linguistic and stylistic models areclearly drawn.

As far as the instrumentation is concerned, he givesthe leading rle not to the strings, but to the woodwind,often entrusting them with the works principal theme. Histreatment of the four solo singers and the chorus,meanwhile, demonstrates his skill for contrapuntal writing.All in all, the Requiem is a work rich in harmonic interestand is beautifully constructed both in terms of counterpointand the overall quality of its choral and orchestral writing(Umberto Scarpetta).

Gaspare Nello VetroEnglish translation by Susannah Howe

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voca me cum benedictis.

Oro supplex et acclinis,cor contritum quasi cinisgere curam mei finis.

7 LacrymosaLacrymosa dies illa,qua resurget ex favillajudicandus homo reus.

Huic ergo parce Deus,pie Jesu Domine,dona eis requiem.

8 Offertory: Domine Jesu Christe Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae, libera animas omnium fidelium defunctorumde poenis inferni, et de profundo lacu:libera eas de ore leonis, ne absorbeat eas tartarus, ne cadant in obscurum.sed signifer sanctus Michael repraesentet eas in lucem sanctam:Quam olim Abrahae promisisti, et semini ejus.Hostias et preces tibi,Domine, laudis offerimus: tu suscipe pro animabus illis, quarum hodie memoriam facimus:fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam.Quam olim Abrahae promisisti, et semini ejus.

9 SanctusSanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis.

call me among the blessed.

I beg you, suppliant, bowing down,my contrite heart like ashes,care for me at my ending.

LacrymosaTearful, that day,on which shall rise from the ashguilty man, to be judged.

Therefore, O God, spare this man,O merciful Lord Jesus,grant them rest.

Offertory: Domine JesuLord Jesus Christ, King of glory,set free the souls of all the faithful departedfrom the pains of hell, and from the deep pit:set them free from the lions mouth,lest hell swallow them up,lest they fall into darkness.But let the holy standard-bearer Michaelbring them into holy light,as you once promised to Abraham,and to his seed.Victims and prayers of praisewe offer you, O Lord;accept them for those soulswhom we commemorate today;make them, O Lord,pass from death to life.as you once promised to Abraham,and to his seed.

SanctusHoly, holy, holyLord God of Sabaoth.Heaven and earth are fullof your glory.Hosanna in the highest.

He was one of the greatest musicians of the centurydominated by Verdi, and the most prodigious of virtuosoperformers. Beneath his bow, the double bass would sigh,lament, sing, croon, tremble and roar, an orchestra in itself,capable of both powerful outbursts and the softest ofnuances... (Giovanni Depanis). Giovanni Bottesini (1821-89) travelled the globe as a double bass player andconductor, earning worldwide fame and continuing to touruntil a few months before his death. Given the time it tookin his day to journey from place to place, his appearancesat so many far-flung concert halls are almost beyond belief:he performed right across Europe, from Portugal toRussia, and throughout the Americas, then almost a monthaway from Italy by sea, and won great acclaim whereverhe went.

Dubbed the Paganini of the double bass, Bottesiniwas a warm-hearted and generous man. He earned afortune during his lifetime yet his funeral expenses had tobe met by Parmas city council after he died penniless,having spent or given away much of his money and lost therest at gambling.

Though he is principally remembered today as adouble bass virtuoso, Bottesini was a complete musician inthe sense that he excelled in every branch of his art. Hewas a pioneer in Italy in combining the rles of soloist andconductor, gaining praise on an international level for theprecision and accuracy of his conducting, as well as for hisfidelity to composers intentions, although the formality ofhis interpretations came in for occasional criticism.Bottesini directed many orchestral concerts, working withall kinds of instrumental soloists, unlike many of hiscompatriots, whose focus was still firmly fixed on the operahouse.

His work in the chamber music world was equallyinnovative. One of the founding members of the first ItalianQuartet Society, established in Florence in 1861, and ofanother in Naples in 1862, just five years earlier (in August

1856) he, along with Antonio Bazzini, Luigi Arditi andAlfredo Piatti, had given a historic concert in Londonfeaturing five unpublished string quartets composed by anineteen-year-old Donizetti. Bottesini himself also wrotestring quartets and quintets, as well as other chamberworks, many salon songs (seventy or more), orchestralmusic and a theoretical publication, the Complete Methodfor Double Bass. Nor should his operas go unmentioned:while he did not achieve huge success in this field at a timewhen Italian opera was entirely dominated by Verdi, henonetheless created some gems of well-crafted andexpressive melodic beauty (in, for example, Ero e Leandroand Al Bab).

Like other Italian musicians of the time, Bottesini alsowrote a number of sacred works, the most significant ofwhich is his Requiem, the form of the Catholic Mass whichhad recently inspired masterworks from Mozart, Berlioz,Cherubini, Cimarosa and Verdi. While over the centuriesthere had been many settings of the Requiem, or Mass forthe Dead, in the Romantic era the genre moved away fromits liturgical roots somewhat to reflect instead thesymphonic and operatic trends of the day, resulting inversions written on a grand scale for large forces.

Bottesinis Requiem was composed in early 1877 inresponse to the death of his brother Luigi. It was firstperformed (in adapted form, because women were notallowed to sing in church at this time) in the Capuchinchapel in Cairo, Bottesini then being musical director of thecitys Italian opera company. A large audience thronged tohear it and gave the performance a warm reception; it alsoearned an enthusiastic review from the correspondent ofthe Gazzetta Musicale di Milano. The first completeperformance took place at Turins Teatro Regio on 24thMarch 1880, but was not well attended not only was itHoly Week, but the theatre was not known for stagingsacred works. One year later, however, the Requiem wona silver medal at the National Music Expo in Milan.


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GIOVANNIGIOVANNI

BOTTESINIBOTTESINI

MMESSAESSA DADARREQUIEMEQUIEM

Marta Mathu Gemma Coma-AlabertAgustn Prunell-Friend Enric Martnez-Castignani

Joyful Company of Singers London Philharmonic OrchestraThomas Martin

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0 BenedictusBenedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.(Hosanna in excelsis.)

! Agnus DeiAgnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi:dona eis requiem, Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi:dona eis requiem sempiternam.

@ Requiem aeternamRequiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es.

# Libera meLibera me, Domine, de morte aeterna, in die illa tremenda:quando caeli movendi sunt et terra:dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem.Tremens factus sum ego et timeo,dum discussio venerit atque ventura ira.

$ Dies illaDies illa, dies irae, calamitatis et miseriae, dies magna et amara valde. Requiem aeternam, dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna, in die illa tremenda:quando caeli movendi sunt et terra:dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem.

BenedictusBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.(Hosanna in the highest.)

Agnus DeiLamb of God,who takes away the sins of the world,grant them rest,Lamb of God,who takes away the sins of the world,grant them eternal rest.

Communion: Requiem aeternam Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord,and let eternal light shine on themwith your saints for ever,because you are merciful.

Libera meSet me free, O Lord,from eternal death,in that terrible day,when the heavens and earth are to be moved:when you shall come to judgethe world through fire.I tremble and am afraidwhen I think of the judgementand the anger to come.

Dies illaThat day, day of anger,of calamity and wretchedness,the great and very bitter day.Eternal rest grant them, O Lord,and let perpetual light shine upon them.

Set me free, O Lord,from eternal death,in that terrible day,when the heavens and earth are to be moved:when you shall come to judgethe world through fire.


CMYK

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572994rear Bottesini EU_572994rear Bottesini 20/11/2012 11:36 Page 2

CMYK

Renowned worldwide in his lifetime and remembered today as a double bass virtuoso,Giovanni Bottesini excelled in every branch of musicianship, but his operas and sacredworks were overshadowed by those of Verdi and have fallen into neglect. Composed inresponse to the death of his brother Luigi, Bottesinis large scale Requiem combinesecclesiastical counterpoint with formal innovation and the expressive lyricism anddramatic orchestration of operatic models. DDD

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2013 N

axos Rights US, Inc.

Booklet notes in English

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BOTTESINI(18211889)

Messa da Requiem(Edited by Thomas Martin, Josep Prats and Peter Broadbent)

Marta Mathu, Soprano 1 Gemma Coma-Alabert, Mezzo-Soprano 2

Agustn Prunell-Friend, Tenor 3 Enric Martnez-Castignani, Baritone 4

Joyful Company of Singers (Director: Peter Broadbent)London Philharmonic Orchestra Thomas Martin

Recorded at Henry Wood Hall, London, UK, from 15th to 16th February, 2012 Producer: Michael Ponder Engineer and Editor: Eleanor Walton (K&A Productions Ltd.)

Sung texts and translations are included in the booklet and can also be accessed atwww.naxos.com/libretti/572994.htm Edition: Scores Reformed (www.ScoresReformed.com)

Booklet notes: Gaspare Nello Vetro Cover photo: Calvary cross on a rock ( Thinkart / Dreamstime.com)

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Introit and Kyrie1 Requiem aeternam: Adagio 1, 2, 3, 4 9:20

Sequence2 Dies irae: Allegro 6:253 Quid sum miser: 5:12

Andante sostenuto 3

4 Quaerens me: Maestoso 4:075 Ingemisco: Andantino 4 4:526 Confutatis: Moderato 1, 2, 3, 4 4:237 Lacrymosa: Adagio 1, 2, 3, 4 5:08

Offertory8 Domine Jesu: Andantino 1 4:41

Sanctus and Benedictus9 Sanctus: Allegro 1:380 Benedictus:

Andantino con moto 1, 2, 3, 4 2:56

Agnus Dei! Agnus Dei: Andante 1, 2 3:40@ Requiem aeternam: Grave 5:01# Libera me: Andante 2 4:47$ Dies illa: Allegro 1, 2, 3, 4 4:14

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