The Sarx label has released four CDs with works by a composer who will undoubtedly evoke warm memories in many people who were 'off the hook', namely Lorenzo Perosi (1872-1956). This Italian priest spent his life putting his musicality at the service of the Roman Catholic Church and with his compositions gained great popularity among the Roman church people. Perosi was considered a dS composer who
… could meet the requirements that people started to set for church music around the turn of the century: no theatrical effects and - to a certain extent - grafted onto Renaissance polyphony. (Incidentally, the clergy in Northern Europe did not think in any positive way about Perosi's merits.) One of the released CDs (dbx4781) contains three masses, the "Mis Cerviana", the " Mass in honorem SS.Gervasii et Protasii 'and the "Missa Te Deum Laudamus", which, like the "Requiem" (dbx4778), are all written for two or three soloists, male choir and organ. When listening to it, incense immediately rises, as it were. Perosi's style is simple: no complicated harmony% n and a simple melodic style that seems to have arisen from a curious mixture of Palestrina and Puccini and that is not always free from cheap sentimentality. But Perosi also composed larger-scale works, which are represented on the other CDs, namely "La Passione di Cristo secondo S.Marco" (dbx4783), "Il natale del Redentore" (dbx4782) and the oratorio "Transitus anim" (dbx4778) . The most striking thing about these pieces is actually, that they hardly deviate from the above masses in terms of composition; the only difference is that instead of an organ, the orchestra provides the accompaniment, but the orchestral parts themselves are always very simple in design. The explanations accompanying the CDs are a bit too positive: Perosi's music is nice and at times more than that, as in the middle part of the "Passione", which depicts the events on the Mount of Olives, but overall not catchy enough to be uninterrupted. can continue to fascinate. Documenting an almost forgotten era in Italian religious (Catholic) music is therefore the greatest achievement of these releases. These are recordings made between 1959 and 1973. The quality is very reasonable and the same can be said of the performances. (JvG) the only difference is that instead of an organ the orchestra provides the accompaniment, but the orchestral parts themselves are always very simple in design. The explanations accompanying the CDs are a bit too positive: Perosi's music is nice and at times more than that, as in the middle part of the "Passione", which depicts the events on the Mount of Olives, but overall not catchy enough to be uninterrupted. can continue to fascinate. Documenting an almost forgotten era in Italian religious (Catholic) music is therefore the greatest achievement of these releases. These are recordings that were made between 1959 and 1973. The quality is very reasonable and the same can be said of the performances. (JvG) the only difference is that instead of an organ the orchestra provides the accompaniment, but the orchestral parts themselves are always very simple in design. The explanations accompanying the CDs are a bit too positive: Perosi's music is nice and at times more than that, as in the middle part of the "Passione", which depicts the events on the Mount of Olives, but overall not catchy enough to be uninterrupted. can continue to fascinate. Documenting an almost forgotten era in Italian religious (Catholic) music is therefore the greatest achievement of these releases. These are recordings that were made between 1959 and 1973. The quality is very reasonable and the same can be said of the performances. (JvG) but the orchestral parts themselves are always very simple in design. The explanations on the CDs are a bit too positive: Perosi's music is nice and at times more than that, as in the middle part of the "Passione", which depicts the events on the Mount of Olives, but overall not catchy enough to be uninterrupted. can continue to fascinate. Documenting an almost forgotten era in Italian religious (Catholic) music is therefore the greatest achievement of these releases. These are recordings that were made between 1959 and 1973. The quality is very reasonable and the same can be said of the performances. (JvG) but the orchestral parts themselves are always very simple in design. The explanations accompanying the CDs are a bit too positive: Perosi's music is nice and at times more than that, as in the middle part of the "Passione", which depicts the events on the Mount of Olives, but overall not catchy enough to be uninterrupted. can continue to fascinate. Documenting an almost forgotten era in Italian religious (Catholic) music is therefore the greatest achievement of these releases. These are recordings that were made between 1959 and 1973. The quality is very reasonable and the same can be said of the performances. (JvG) The quality is very reasonable and the same can be said of the performances. (JvG) The quality is very reasonable and the same can be said of the performances. (JvG)more
