La Tromba della Divina Misericordia – Oratorio in due parti con violini

“La tromba della divina misericordia,” first performed in Ferrara on November 8, 1676 and repeated in Bologna on November 2, 1682, was Bassani’s third oratorio (after “L’Esaltazione di Santa Croce” and “L’epulone”), but of the three it is the only one whose score has been preserved: it represents, therefore, his earliest surviving composition, since his first work would not be published until the following year. The piece was commissioned by Ferrara’s Accademia della Morte, which operated within the confraternity of the same name, one of the city’s most prominent religious institutions, where Bassani – a Paduan by birth – had lived since at least 1667. From this point of view, “La tromba” represents an example of a moral oratorio far removed from the models most popular in the courts, in which the term “oratorio” was used to indicate an opera with a libretto on a biblical or hagiographic subject, a typical surrogate for melodrama during periods – such as Lent – when theaters were closed. This recording is part of the studies aimed at rediscovering Bassani, who is remembered today mainly for a number of Sonatas in trio (an example of which is presented, Sonata VIII from Opus 5, together with an unpublished Toccata for Organ), but who was, at the time, a famous musician, of whom Bach himself had six Masses transcribed, and then studied.