Sacred Cantata - Tears of the Angels

Giovanni Battista Sammartini Il pianto degli Angeli della Pace (Sacred Cantata: The Tears of the Angels of Peace); Symphony in Eb, J-C 26. Silvia Mapelli (soprano), Ainhoa Soraluze (mezzo-soprano), Giorgio Tiboni (tenor), Capriccio Italiano Ensemble. Daniele Ferrari. This is the first in a set of two world première recordings of cantatas by Sammartini, probably the most important Milanese musician of the 18th century and certainly a key figure in the broader musical world of the period. Sammartini had a long and active musical career, working as maestro di capella or organist in as many as ten different churches, yet surprisingly few of his sacred compositions survive. Il pianto degli Angeli della Pace features three soloists and was first performed in the church of San Fedele in Milan in 1751. The vocal texture of the cantata is largely dominated by a typically Italianate melodiousness and virtuosity, while the orchestral writing is full of daring harmonies, sparkling themes, and a refined and inexhaustible wealth of ideas. His Symphony in E flat major is part of a large body of works in the genre, which Sammartini was among the first to exploit, earning him the title quot;Father of the Symphonyquot;.