This album was recorded in May 2019 at the Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud, a former monastic site and UNESCO heritage site in France.
Composer Biography
Alessandro Stradella, the composer, was a fascinating figure of 17th-century Italian music whose life ended tragically with his assassination in Genoa.
Historical Context
Oratorios were a popular musical genre in Baroque Rome, serving as an alternative to opera, which was often subject to papal censorship.
Compositional Technique
The oratorio's libretto, by poet Ansaldo Ansaldi, tells the story of St John the Baptist denouncing Herod's marriage to his brother's wife, Herodias, leading to the Baptist's death.
Composition History
Stradella's oratorio, San Giovanni Battista, was created in 1675 for the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini in Rome and is based on an episode from the New Testament.
Compositional Technique
In San Giovanni Battista, Stradella used the concerto grosso format, which creates dialogue and contrast between a group of instrumental soloists (concertino) and the rest of the orchestra (ripieno).
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