Stradella: La forza delle stelle ovvero Il Damone

Featuring

Andrea De Carlo
Nora Tabbush
Claudia Di Carlo
Raffaele Pe
Maurizio Dalena
Mauro Borgioni

Ensemble Mare Nostrum
Alessandro Stradella

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Recording & Production

This recording was made as part of the first 'International Festival Alessandro Stradella' in Nepi, Italy, in the Church of San Tolomeo.

Composer Biography

Alessandro Stradella, born in Nepi in 1639, moved to Rome at age 14 after his father's death, living with the Lante family.

Composition History

Queen Christina of Sweden actively collaborated on the libretto for this serenata, providing a scenario and detailed instructions for musical elements like sinfonias, arias, and recitatives.

Compositional Technique

Stradella's serenata, La forza delle stelle, uniquely employs two concertino ensembles in addition to a concerto grosso, allowing for spatial distinction and varied timbres.

Compositional Technique

Stradella's music is considered more 'modern' than his contemporaries due to his frequent and early use of modulation within tonality.

Interpretation

This recording uses only one concertino, despite the Turin manuscript calling for two, because the second was deemed scenographic and rarely played with the first.

Historical Context

Queen Christina of Sweden, a convert to Catholicism, was a significant patron of music in Rome and was instrumental in opening the city's first public opera theater, the Tordinona.