
Psalmi vespertini a 8 voci (1648)
Michele Gasbarro, conductor
About this album
Virgilio Mazzocchi was born in Civita Castellana, a small town in the province of Viterbo, in 1597. He received his first musical education from his older brother Domenico and, in parallel, he attended the local seminary for his studies in humanities. After receiving the tonsure in 1622, he was appointed maestro di cappella at Civita Castellana’s Cathedral and soon moved to Rome, where in 1623 he became maestro di cappella, first at Chiesa del Gesù, then at the Roman Seminary and finally, in 1629, at the prestigious Cappella Giulia of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. Here he succeeded Paolo Agostini, ‘one of the most witty and lively geniuses of the music of our times in every kind of harmonic composition’, from whom Virgilio learned the art of composing in the most varied and fashionable genres of the time, and above all in the polychoral style. It was in this genre that Virgilio Mazzocchi distinguished himself among contemporaries, giving to the ‘sbattimento dei cori’ (the dynamic dialogue of the choirs) a liveliness unknown before, so much so that years later Della Valle expressed his opinion on the Maestro as a ‘gran musicone’ (great ‘big musician,) due to his compositions with ‘twelve or sixteen choirs, with an echo choir in the dome
TRACK LISTING
1. | Toccata (Anonimo del XVII sec.)* | [03’14’’] | |||
2. | ADeus in adjutorium meum intende | [00’58’’] | |||
3. | Petrus et Johannes(canto gregoriano) | [00’38’’] | |||
4. | V. Mazzocchi: Ps 109 - Dixit Dominus | [03’58’’] | |||
5. | Argentum et aurum (canto gregoriano) | [00’35’’] | |||
6. | V. Mazzocchi: Ps 110 - Confitebor | [11’37’’] | |||
7. | Dixit angelus ad Petrum (canto gregoriano) | [00’33’’] | |||
8. | V. Mazzocchi: Ps 111 - Beatus vir | [07’31’’] | |||
9. | Misit Dominus (canto gregoriano) | [00’41’’] | |||
10. | V. Mazzocchi: Ps 112 - Laudate nomen | [08’31’’] | |||
11. | Tu es Petrus (canto gregoriano) | [00’34’’] | |||
12. | V. Mazzocchi: Ps 116 - Laudate Dominum | [04’25’’] | |||
13. | Act 12:1-3 | [00’34’’] | |||
14. | Canzona per il post- Comm:° (Anonimo del XVII sec.)* | [02’01’’] | |||
15. | Decora lux æternitatis (canto gregoriano) | [03’15’’] | |||
16. | In omnem terram | [00’14’’] | |||
17. | Ad Jesum autem (canto gregoriano) | [01’01’’] | |||
18. | V. Mazzocchi: Magnificat | [14’04’’] | |||
19. | Ex proprio sanctorum | [00’51’’] | |||
20. | Conclusio | [01’33’’] | |||
21. | T. L. de Victoria: Salve Regina | [09’43’’] | |||
T.T. | [01 16’36”] |
Dalla Biblioteca del Convento dei Ss. Silvestro e Martino ai Monti, Roma.