One of the problems with performing early music–presuming that you actually want people to listen to it and care about it and pay money for it–is how to preserve its uniqueness while making it sound not quite so, well, “early”. In other words, how do you impress modern ears with ancient sounds? I’m convinced that a lot of it has to do with attitude: perform this music as if you just blew the dust off the manuscript or like you believe some mystical purity will be violated if you sound like you’re having fun, or that some ancient curse will be visited if you actually play or sing the music in tune, and you’ll get what you ask for. No one today will much care to listen. But, perform like the French early music vocal/instrumental ensemble A Sei Voci–that is, as if this music is just as meaningful and dynamic and compelling in its harmonic structures, rhythms, and melodies today as it ever was–and you’ll not only get people to listen, but you just may convince them to come back for more. It also helps if you have some interesting, lively, colorful music to sing and play, and it turns out that Pietro-Paolo Bencini–“one of the most important musical figures in Rome in the early 18th century”–really knew how to write for voices. Shimmeringly beautiful harmonies, lovely, long-lined melodies, and an engaging rhythmic pulse characterize much of the music in Bencini’s mass, a work that survives with its original performing parts intact.
The Italianate style, especially of the two-part motets included on this outstanding program–Beata es Maria virgo, sung by two sopranos; and Dominus Deus, for soprano and alto–places these works firmly alongside Scarlatti and Vivaldi, with little or no sign of German influence. And although the mass is impressive in how effectively Bencini uses his relatively limited forces, it’s the disc’s other pieces, particularly those two-part works mentioned above, that make this an early music listener’s treasure. There are plenty of highlights, such as the Magnificat’s “Quia fecit” section, which features some of the simplest yet loveliest music (and singing) you’ll ever hear. A Sei Voci’s sense of excitement (listen to the amazing Beatus vir), perfectly tuned singing and playing (a theorbo, positiv organ, and violone support the various combinations of 11 voices), and overall enthusiasm and impeccable musicianship not only will satisfy committed fans, but also should be more than enough to interest just about any other “modern ears” willing to listen. The sound is ravishing.
