Description
During the first half of the eighteenth century, Antonio Lotti was numbered among the most important Italian composers. Sadly, today's knowledge does not correspond to his deserved status. Born in Venice, Lotti spent most of his professional life there (including thirty years as the organist at St Mark's Basilica). Sacred music proved the main focus of his compositions, but he increasingly turned to the writing of operas that were to prove great successes, and resulted in a two-year appointment as music director in Dresden. These two years in Dresden occasioned a flourishing of sacred music, some of which is presented here. The 'Dixit Dominus' on this disc is almost unique for its time in its genial interpretation of the text, and ranges from extreme emotional intensity to filigree tenderness. Antonio Lotti is one of the forgotten masters of eighteenth-century choral music, and surely deserves a renaissance!