Marvelous Melani from Santa Maria Maggiore
This recording by Concerto Italiano led by Rinaldo Alessandrini features Melani’s motets for various combinations of voices. In the rhapsodic and sonorous Litanie per la beata vergine for nine-part double choir, Melani has each choir sing different lines of the text and sometimes, to great effect, assigns specific lines for groups of two or three voices. These madrigal-like passages are very striking. De necessitatibus, a five-part setting, opens with some striking stile antico-styled passages before taking some interesting harmonic turns. There’s plenty more like this. I can’t speak highly enough of the performances. Concerto Italiano boasts some of the A-list vocal talent on the early music scene and when you have such sopranos as Anna Simboli, Monica Piccinini and Alena Dantcheva on board, things are going to be quite beautiful – just check out the astounding Ave regina for solo soprano and five-part chorus. Rare repertoire for sure, but repertoire you are going to love.
