Search - Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca;Sergio Foresti;Marco Beasley;Mario Cecchetti;Roberta Invernizzi;Elisabetta de Mircovich :: La morte del cor penitente

Giovanni Maria Legrenzi (1626-1690), composer and choirmaster of San Marco in Venice, was praised by his contemporaries as a 'true source of music and living oracle of harmony'. Daring to disregard the laws of composition in favor of 'grace and charm', he composed operas and oratorios in addition to his instrumental works. Of the eight known Legrenzi oratorios only three complete works have been preserved. 'La Morte del cor penitente' was probably written in 1671 for the Venetian church 'Santa Maria della Consolazione' where Legrenzi was choirmaster from the year 1670 to 1690. In the period of the Counter Reformation, a highly explosive theme was described: that of the spiritual path of the sinner, who through repentance can redress his misdeeds against God and attempt to regain his damaged honor. The annonymous author of the text conjures the image of this inner journey in many poetic pictures, and Legrenzi translates the theme to a succession of affected Arias, Duets and Recitatives in a powerful and melodic design.