Piangete
Cantatas & Motets by Giacomo Carissimi

Concerto Delle Donne
Gill Ross
Donna Deam
Elin Manahan Thomas
Alastair Ross
David Miller

Programme

For a composer who spent his entire career in Rome, Giacomo Carissimi (1605-1674) developed a remarkable international reputation in his own lifetime and the decades following. Writing in London in 1664, Samuel Pepys recalls an evening of music-making which was spent performing a work generally estimated to be the best piece of music in the world, composed ‘by Seignor Charissimi the famous master in Rome’. True, there was a vogue for Italian music at the English court in this period, but nonetheless the taste for Carissimi had clearly passed beyond the small group of Italian musicians working at the court of Charles II. Hearing performances of Carissimi by musicians based in England is therefore a completely authentic experience and must once have been far more common than nowadays, if one takes the massive number of manuscripts surviving in Oxford as evidence of a performing tradition.

Though he was universally famous in a period in which the term ‘universal’ could apply just to Western Europe, Carissimi’s own biography is extremely sparse. This is not, as far as we know, because documents have been lost, but because Carissimi seems to have done very little of note in biographical terms. After growing up in the town of Marino in the hills just south of Rome, Carissimi held his professional posts in the nearby hill town of Tivoli, where he was a singer and organist, before becoming organist of the Cathedral in Assisi for a few years until 1629. But Carissimi’s limited wanderings were concluded by the time he reached his mid-20s. Although he did not apparently move from Rome for any length of time after settling there, he worked in a remarkably international environment, which surely contributed to his widespread fame. From 1629 until his death in 1674, Carissimi directed the music at the German College in Rome, just off the Piazza Navona. The students there, training to become priests, took the culture of Rome— including his music—back to northern countries as part of their efforts to secure loyalty to the Roman Church. The paradox is that, despite having worked there for almost half a century, the works for which he is best remembered—the Latin oratorios—were composed as part of freelance activity during the Fridays of Lent for a noble confraternity dedicated to the veneration of the Most Holy Crucifix at the Church of San Marcello. It was for that institution that such well-known masterpieces as Jephte, Jonas and Judicium Salomonis were written.

The music recorded here has received less attention than the oratorios; however, it is the fruit of activities which represent the core of Carissimi’s creative work. Providing the music at the German College meant liturgical performances on a daily basis at its church of S. Apollinare. And as far as the secular music in the Italian vernacular is concerned, that stems from an activity which became an increasing commitment during the 1650s. The arrival of Christina of Sweden in Rome in 1655 led to the establishment of a secular court in the city, creating an important artistic circle, at least on Wednesday evenings. This was a venue for chamber music in the true sense of the word, and central to the musical proceedings was Carissimi, whose music Christina had already encountered before leaving her native country. While Carissimi had written cantatas from at least 1640 onwards, it was the 1650s which saw a flowering of this aspect of his compositional activity.

Writing for three equal voices was comparatively rare in Baroque Rome; while many of the better-financed churches employed eight voices, these ensembles comprised a four-part choir with two voices in each range, underlining the importance of double-choir music. Three equal voices, as represented here, are an interesting and attractive curiosity. Only on two occasions does the number three appear to assume some symbolic value, representing the extremes of both sacred and secular. In Benedictus Deus et Pater, the three voices may be seen as representing the Holy Trinity, while the same number of voices in Siam tre miseri piangenti refers to wretched mortals. In general the motet texts here differ from those used in the oratorios, since they do not recount a narrative but rather constitute a meditation on the theme of the Sunday or feast day being celebrated, such as Surrexit pastor bonus, intended for Eastertide. One text may be of particular significance for Carissimi and his religious circle: Cum reverteretur David, which alludes to the combat of David—a weak boy helped by God’s assistance—against the giant Goliath. A number of such battle texts appear in the Roman Baroque motet repertory, and these can be seen as possessing a resonance of the counter-Reformation, when the Catholic Church was holding its beliefs against the upsurge of Protestant dissension in northern Europe. Given the rate of conversion away from Catholicism in those decades, the image of David as an upholder of truth ranged against the Germanic princes must have been a consolation and an encouragement. The Jesuits for whom Carissimi worked were at the heart of the defence of Catholicism in the northern lands.

In this recording Carissimi is reunited with three Roman colleagues: Girolamo Frescobaldi, Michelangelo Rossi and Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger, some of the finest instrumental musicians of their generation. Even in his own day Frescobaldi was hailed as a great virtuoso, and a considerable mythology developed; his printed publications surely only give us a hint of how his music must have sounded. Though Rossi was always hailed as a violin virtuoso, it is his keyboard music which has survived, and continued his reputation; he was a pupil of Frescobaldi, a fact that clearly emerges from the musical style of his toccatas. Kapsperger, despite his name, was a long-term resident of Rome and much involved with the papal court, as the beautifully bound editions of his work in the Vatican Library testify. One contemporary writer, a visitor from France called André Maugars, remarked that scarcely a day passed on which there was not a festival in one of the churches. Given this Roman predilection for festival, coupled with the fact that most churches could not afford permanent musicians, freelance musical activity was a way of life for most Roman musicians. As such it is likely that those heard in this recording performed together almost 400 years ago on various occasions. Carissimi, indeed, is best known for his Lenten responsibilities, creating oratorios for those nobles who wished for a devout and pleasurable observation of that subdued season. In this recording we find Carissimi, in the company of his colleagues, in two other spheres of activity, the church music essentially coming from his permanent home at the German College and secular cantatas frequently from the circle of Christina of Sweden, whose arrival in Rome gave new impetus to cultural life and certainly to Carissimi’s own creativity.

Graham Dixon, February 2002

Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) was organist at St Peter’s in Rome from 1608 to 1628. His reputation as a keyboard virtuoso has given rise to extraordinary legends—30,000 people are said to have witnessed his début at St. Peter’s. Parte sopra lamonicha is a set of variations based on a song popular in the first half of the 17th century, describing the lament of a young girl destined for life in a convent. German by birth, but residing in Italy, Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger (c.1580-1651) spent the first twenty or so years of his life in Venice. Around 1604 he went to Rome where he established himself as a virtuoso player on lute and chitarrone. He also composed vocal works and became closely associated with the papal family. Kapsperger’s ‘Libro Quarto’ is a compendium of all the instrumental forms of early 17th century Italy including preludes, toccatas, canzonas, grounds, and character pieces. The chitarrone is given further ‘solo’ status by the composer’s provision of a continuo part to most of the pieces. 

Michelangelo Rossi (1601/2-1656) was active in Ferrara and in Rome. where his two collections of keyboard music were published. The music is astonishing, particularly in its dissonance, chromaticism and sudden modulation. Toccata Settima is the best-known and most frequently-recorded of Rossi’s fourteen toccatas, and with good reason; it has tremendous energy and drama, and ends with an extraordinary passage of rising and falling chromatic scales.

Alastair Ross, January 2002

Texts and Translations

1. Cum reverteretur David

Cum reverteretur David, percusso Philisteo, egressae sunt Filiae Israël in occursum, cantantes, chorosque ducentes in tympanis laetitiae, et in voce exsultationis praecinebant ei, ludentes, et dicentes: Percussit Saul mille,
et David decem milia. Alleluia.

When David returned from the slaughter of the Philistines, the women of Israel came out to meet him, singing and dancing, with timbrels of joy, with voices of exultation played before him, saying: Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. Alleluia.

2. Benedictus Deus et Pater

Benedictus Deus et Pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi, Pater misericordiarum, et Deus totius consolationis, qui consolatur nos in omni tribulatione nostra.

Blessed God, father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Father of mercies, God of all consolation,
who comforts us in all our tribulations.

4. Exulta, gaude, filia Sion

Exulta, gaude, filia Sion;
triumpha, iubila, filia Ierusalem.
In te natus est salvator mundi;
in te natus est rex pacificus,
in te natus est rex magnus, rex admirabilis, Deus fortis, Pater futuri saeculi, princeps mundi, princeps pacis.

Exulta, gaude, filia Sion; triumpha, iubila, filia Ierusalem.
Consurge, sede Ierusalem, induere vestibus iucunditatis et gloriae.
Solve vincula colli tui captiva filia Sion.

Quoniam illuxit tibi dies redemptionis tuae,
dies gratissima, dies felicitatis aeternae.

Exulta, gaude, filia Sion;
triumpha, iubila, filia Ierusalem.
Noe, noe.

Exult, rejoice, O daughter of Zion; triumph, sing in jubilation, O daughter of Jerusalem.
To you is born the saviour of the world,
to you is born the king of peace, to you is born the great king, the wonderful king, the mighty God, the father of the world to come, the prince of the world, the prince of peace.

Exult, rejoice, O daughter of Zion; triumph, sing in jubilation, O daughter of Jerusalem.
Rise up, Jerusalem, clothe yourself in the garments of joy and glory.

Loosen the chains from your neck, captive daughter of Zion.
For the day of your redemption has shone on you, that most pleasing day, the day of eternal happiness.

Exult, rejoice, O daughter of Zion; triumph, sing in jubilation, O daughter of Jerusalem.
Noe, noe.

6. Va dimanda al mio pensiero

Va, va dimanda al mio pensiero
dove sempre o stassi o va.
Ti dira’ o che posi o che s’en vola
sempre innanzi al mio bel sole
et in lui trova sol nido e sentiero.
Va dimanda al mio pensiero.

Pensier, la verita’!
Tu che t’en vai sempre intento in sua belta’
quel tesoro, che fa?
Vacille sovente
s’appaga si pente d’usarmi pieta’
Pensier, la verita’.

Ma lasso, e tu non parli!
Con subito rossore imporpori le guance
e reo t’accusi,
ahi che questi son usi di messaggeri infausti
che stimano mercede tacer nuntio dolente
per non produr la morte
per non aprir la tomba a chi lo sente.

No, no, non temer parla chiaro.
Un’anima avvezza a stratio e fierezza
il suo stabil tormento ha per riparo.
Sciogli pur la favella e parla chiaro.
Metallo poch’anzi tolto da centro ov’era sepolto a poco a poco a forza di foco
diventa acciaro.
Io piu’ non sento offese
insensato al dolore il duol mi rese.

Go, ask my thoughts where they are all the time or where they’re going. They will say that whether motionless or wandering they always have before them my beautiful sunlight, where they find their only repose and their only way.
Go, ask my thoughts.

My thoughts, tell me the truth!
You who are always contemplating her beauty—such treasure—what is happening?
My thoughts are content to be often uncertain,
regret showing me mercy
by speaking the truth.

Alas, you do not speak!
Your cheeks suddenly blush
and that shows your guilt,
for these are the ways of the bearers of bad tidings, who believe it merciful to keep painful news a secret, in order to avoid death for the listener, and an open grave.

No, fear not, speak plainly.
A soul accustomed to suffering and adversity, finds solace in its constant torment.
Open your lips and speak plainly.
A metal which has been extracted from its natural surroundings, little by little,
by the action of fire, becomes steel.
I cannot feel suffering.
My torment has made me insensitive to pain.

8. O dulcissimum Mariae nomen

O dulcissimum Mariae nomen, nomen vere sanctissimum,
O nomen gratiae, semper cogitandum;
O solatium animarum, nomen venerandum;
O nomen caelicum, et vere angelicum, resonent ergo in ore omnium.
O Maria, mater pia, nos defende in hac via; nos tuere, nos guberna, duc nos tecum ad superna.

O most sweet name of Mary, name truly most holy,
O name always to be dwelt upon.
O solace of souls, name to be revered.
O name of the heavens, and truly of angels,
which resonates in the mouths of all.
O Mary, holy mother, defend us on this road; protect, guide, lead us to the heavens above.

9. Siam tre miseri piangenti

Siam tré miseri piangenti
che tributi ognhor cresciamo
ai più torbidi torrenti
e sfidando a’ guerra andiamo
la Fortuna e gli elementi
Siam...

Io sospiro un ben distante
idolatro ingrata amante
et io seguo un be’ de venti
Siam...

Tesoro posseduto
e poi rapito dà subita distanza
Ahi che di pene il cor di Tisio avanza
Mirar che la fera
à fiamma si vera.

Sorrida per gioco son lente son poco
le rabbie di Dite
ermogli Averno pur furie infinite
Ch’ad ogni sembiante
sua fede vacille moltiplica
nell alme Inferni a’ mille inferni

Ahi che non è bastante né mente più fonda
né lingua faconda
a’ capir e ridir tanti tormenti
Siam...

We are three wretched souls weeping,
forever increasing
raging torrents:
to war we will go,
challenging fortune and the elements.
We are three wretched souls weeping.

I sigh for a distant good,
I worship an ungrateful lady,
I pursue a lover who always eludes my grasp.
We are three wretched souls weeping.
For a treasure we possessed,
but was snatched from us.
Alas, with hearts full of pain and longing
we watch the cruel laughter
at our burning anguish
which is so real.

The wrath of Dis is quickly aroused;
may Hell swarm with a thousand furies
and may their presence stop her daring
and multiply her suffering in Hell.

Alas, even an able mind and an eloquent tongue
do not suffice to understand and tell
how much this torment pains.
We are three wretched souls weeping.

11. Surrexit pastor bonus

Surrexit pastor bonus, qui animam suam posuit pro ovibus suis et pro grege suo mori dignatus est.

The good shepherd is risen again,
who gave his life for his sheep,
and was worthy to die for his flock.

12. Ahi, non torna

Ahi, non torna, et io mi moro,
quel tesoro che stancato ha i miei sospiri.
Quando fia ch’io piu ti miri,
fuggitivo mio ristoro?

Ahi, non torna, et io mi moro.
Si, si, lieta il cor serena, giunse a pena
alle stele il mesto grido, et quel fido
gia sen vola a questa arena;
si, si, lieta il cor serena.

O sempre quel di felice per me,
che mi die quel tesor che mi rapi.
Si, si, felice mai sempre, felice quel di.

Al fin ti riveggio,
mercede ti chieggio.
Adorato, sospirato,
ahi, sbandisci dal cor la lontananza,
che s’eterna il goder con la costanza.

Ah, he returns not, and I am dying,
that treasure for whom I’m tired of sighing.
When will I see you again, my relief that escapes me?

Ah, he returns not, and I am dying.
Yes, my heart is joyful.
The stars had compassion on my tears
and the faithful man is already hastening here,
Yes, my heart is joyful.

Oh, happy forever will be the day when the treasure that has stolen my heart returns to me.
Yes, happy forever, that happy day.

At last I will see you again.
Have mercy, beloved.
Forget the time we have been separated,
because, through constancy,
happiness is made eternal.

13. Piangete, ohimè piangete

Piangete, ohime piangete,
Anime innamorate,
E soccorso e pietate,
Sospirando, piangendo, altrui chiedete.
Quando s’adira belta serena,
Chi non sospira indarno spera.
Chi non piange, d’amar non si dia vanto.
E foco amor, e lo sostiene il pianto.

Languite, ohime languite, O seguarci d’Amore!
Il tormento, il dolore
Né sospiri, né pianti altrui ridete.

Se d’ira è pieno un bel sembiante,
Chi non vien meno è falso amante.
Chi non piange, d’amar non si dia vanto.
Conosce Amor i suoi seguaci al pianto.

Weep, alas, weep,
you souls that are in love!
And with sighs and tears
beg other people to help and pity you.
When a tempting beauty becomes angry,
anyone who is not sighing must be hoping in vain! Anyone who is not weeping cannot boast of being in love. Love is a fire that is kept fuelled with tears.

Languish, alas, languish, O disciples of love;
do not laugh at the torment, the pain,
nor the sighs nor the tears of others.

If a beautiful face is filled with anger, anyone who does not weaken is not truly a lover.
Anyone who does not weep should not boast of loving.
Love recognises his disciples by their tears.

15. Si dia bando, alla speranza

Si dia bando alla speranza
e dal seno e dal core
ch’in amore non val piu’ fede
No, non val costanza
Si dia bando alla speranza.

La speranza di godere
e’ una pena troppo grande
il dolor via piu’ si spande
quando il cor la vol tacere

Se poi crede di ottenere
in amor il caro intento
all’hor piu’cresce il tormento
e nel sen molto s’avanza
Si dia bando alla speranza!

Let’s banish hope
from the breast and from the heart,
because in love neither faith
nor constancy has any value.
Let’s banish hope.

To hope for joy
is too great a pain,
and the suffering increases
if the heart tries to silence it.

And if it believes that it will obtain
its sweet beloved
then the torment grows even more,
and spreads through its whole breast.
Let’s banish hope!

16. Omnes gentes gaudete cum victore

Omnes gentes gaudete cum victore
qui aeviterna corona decoratus
hodie in coelis plaudentibus
choris angelorum gloriosus triumphat.
Vos devotissima fidelium corda,
Gratulamini illi in voce cordis et organis
suavissime concinentes.
Alleluia.

All ye people rejoice with the victor,
who, decorated with an everlasting crown,
today in applauding heaven
triumphs with choirs of angels.
You, with most devoted heart of the faithful,
congratulate him with the voice of your heart
and with organs most sweetly singing together. Alleluia.