Martucci/Respighi: La Canzone dei Ricordi; Notturno/Il Tramonto

Giuseppe Martucci (born in Capua in 1856, died in Naples in 1909) lived a short but intense life. He was a pianist of international fame, much admired by Liszt and Rubinstein, as well as a great conductor, a composer, and the Dean of the Liceo Musicale di Bologna where he also taught composition The whole work is pure musical poetry, intense in its expressiveness, crystalline yet colourful in its instrumentation, and delicate in its harmonies. But whether the mood is tender, contemplative, joyful or sad, the composer's imagination never strays from the links of the basic conception. The main idea is masterfully unfolded and moulds the music to the very end The link between the two vocal works presented here is their obvious craftsmanship and immediate power of captivation. Both are written by masters of the genre; they both offer easy-flowing, yet never banal, melodies, and they both tell of forsaken love-one through betrayal, the other through death.