Giuseppe Martucci - Vocal Chamber Music (Chiarastella Onorati; Luisa Prayer)

Information

Composer: Giuseppe Martucci

• La canzone dei ricordi
• Pagine sparse, Op. 68
• Sogni
• 3 Pezzi, Op. 84
• Romanza

Chiarastella Onorati, mezzo-soprano

Luisa Prayer, piano

Date: 2007

Label: Tactus

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Review

These songs of the late nineteenth century (and early twentieth) are little known outside Italy (and may remain that way, for their texts are given only in Italian in the booklet). The "musica vocale da camera" or chamber vocal music billed here simply indicates songs for voice and piano. They may confirm speculations about what Italian art song might be like -- they are Italianate in melody and vocal style, but with piano parts that make a great point of asserting their independence, often simply through an elaborate introduction. The brief, mostly sober Pagine sparse, Op. 68 (Sparse Pages), of 1888 is simpler and more effective than the other songs, but the essentially operatic voice of soprano Chiarastella Onorati, there and in the paired Sogno d'amore (Dream of Love) and Sogno di morte (Dream of Death), is more suited to the wider scope of La canzone dei ricordi (Song of Memories), an ambitious group of songs with both cyclical aspects and references to other Martucci works. The booklet goes into extensive detail about these particular compositions without doing much to illuminate basic questions (for non-Italians, at least): what was the status of art song in Italy? what kind of contact might Martucci have had with German or French models? and who was Martucci, anyway? (An opera conductor, a lover of German music, and the teacher of Respighi, he is said to have been a favorite of Arturo Toscanini.) This disc is probably of most interest for listeners specifically interested in national schools of art song.

— James Manheim

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Giuseppe Martucci (6 January 1856 – 1 June 1909) was an Italian composer, conductor, pianist and teacher. A prodigy from Capua, he studied at the Naples Conservatory from age 11 and was trained in composition by Paolo Serrao. His international career began with a European tour in 1875. Martucci held teaching positions in Naples and Bologna, and became director of the Royal Conservatory in Naples in 1902. He dedicated his entire career to absolute music, which was notable among Italian composers of his era. His works include instrumental music, songs, and the oratorio Samuel, but no operas.

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Chiarastella Onorati is an Italian mezzo-soprano and pianist. A graduate of Rome's Saint Cecilia Conservatory, she began her career as a pianist specializing in 20th-century Italian repertoire. She later trained as a singer, earning acclaim for her rich, dark timbre and wide vocal range (G2–C5), which allows her to perform a broad repertoire from Baroque to contemporary music. Known for her dramatic roles in operas by Puccini, Verdi and Cimarosa, she also excels in sacred and vocal-symphonic works. Onorati has premiered contemporary compositions and recorded with labels like Tactus, Musicaimmagine and Foné.

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