Performers

Abchordis Ensemble Andrea Buccarella - organ, harpsichord and conductor Claire Debono - soprano

Lathika Vithanage - violin I

Katia Viel - violin II

Nicola Paoli - cello

Giacomo Albenga - double bass

Programme

SALVE REGINA

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)  

Orchestral Suite HWV 399 in G major

(Allegro - A tempo ordinario - Passacaille - Gigue - Menuet) 

Haec est Regina Virginum, HWV 235 in G major, for soprano, strings and continuo 

Salve Regina HWV 241 in G minor, for soprano, strings and continuo 

(Salve Regina - Ad te clamamus - Eia ergo - O Clemens)

Nicola Porpora (1686-1768)

Sinfonia da camera op. 2 n. 3 in G minor

(Adagio sostenuto - Allegro - Adagio - Aria [Allegro]) 

Leonardo Leo (1694-1744)

Salve Regina in F major, for soprano, strings and continuo

(Salve Regina - Ad te clamamus - Ad te suspiramus - Eia ergo - Et Jesum benedictum -  O Clemens)

  Programme Notes

The concert programme Salve Regina is a tribute to the sacred music inspired by the Virgin Mary and includes compositions by some of the greatest composers of the Baroque period: George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), Nicola Porpora (1686-1768) and Leonardo Leo (1694-1744).

When Handel arrived in Rome at the beginning of 1707, the Opera was (temporarily) banned in the Papal States, which is why he devoted himself almost exclusively to the composition of sacred music. Great masterpieces such as Dixit Dominus, La Resurrezione, Il trionfo del tempo and various Marian motets and antiphons, such as Haec est Regina Virginum and his famous Salve Regina, date back to this period.

Nicola Porpora and Leonardo Leo are among the greatest composers of instrumental and sacred music of the Neapolitan Baroque. In the Sinfonia da camera op. 2 n. 3 in G minor Porpora manages to create pages of great dramatic intensity, which recall the famous Stabat Mater by Pergolesi, alongside dances with a very lively and virtuosic character. Leonardo Leo's Salve Regina is a masterpiece that contains all the elements of the new Galante Style, the beauty and singability of the soprano's melody is supported by a warm accompaniment of strings and continuo.