Filago: Sacri concerti a voce sola con la partitura per l'organo

Featuring

Arianna Lanci
Elena Bianchi
Marcella Ventura
Maria Luisa Baldassari
Pedro Alcàcer
Giovanni Cantarini

Ensemble Les Nations
Carlo Filago

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Carlo Filago criticized contemporary sacred music for its imperfections and the 'profaning' excesses of virtuoso singers who performed in church as if in a theatre.

Recording & Production

This recording is based on a critical edition of Carlo Filago's 'Sacri concerti a voce sola' prepared by M. Luisa Baldassari and Mariarosa Pollastri in 2009.

Composer Biography

Carlo Filago, a talented organist, won a difficult competition in 1623 to become the first organist at St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, judged by Claudio Monteverdi.

Composition History

The motets in 'Sacri Concerti' were inspired by the Polish nun Maria Felice Sbarasca, a noblewoman and accomplished singer, to whom the work is dedicated.

Composition History

The 'Sacri concerti a voce sola' were published in 1642 in Venice and represent Carlo Filago's fourth and final printed collection of works.

Compositional Technique

Filago's motets feature contrasting sections with binary and ternary rhythms, imitative bass lines, and 'allelujatic' parts, often including madrigalisms on evocative words.