Lamentationes Hebdomadæ Sanctæ

Description

At his death in 1741, the widow of Joseph-Hector Fiocco sold the manuscripts of the composer's works to Joannes Vanden Boom, dean and chapel master of the Saints-Michel-et-Gudule cathedral in Brussels, where the composer had held the position of zangmeester (chapel master) until his premature death. Among this collection is a complete set of nine lamentations for Holy Week for the unusual instrumentation of solo voice, obbligato cello, and continuo. Fiocco's lamentations are designed in the highest Italian style of the early 18th century. Masterful, they can be placed alongside the most beautiful, as their accent is profoundly dramatic and of poignant emotion. In addition to the nine lamentations known from the aforementioned manuscript, this recording offers for the first time two new musical settings and a different instrumental version found in the archives of the Saint-Jacques Fund in Antwerp.
Porpora and Hasse are the greatest representatives of this Neapolitan style, and both settled in Venice before achieving international fame. Their musical style, heavily influenced by opera, is also present in their religious compositions and reflects the Italian taste of the time. The Muffatti and countertenor Clint van der Linde present here works of unusual expressive strength, including Hasse's Hostes Averni and Porpora's Nisi Dominus in world premiere.