This Christmas, we’ve given ourselves a gift that we hope will bring you as much joy as it has brought us: the recording of the oratorio Giuseppe riconosciuto, by Domènec Terradellas. This marks the culmination of a project that began in August 2023 with the performance that opened the Festival de Torroella and continued with various concerts, including one at the Palau de la Música and one at the Auditorio Nacional. With this new CD we fulfill a dream and, at the same time, a duty to the legacy of one of the foremost composers of the European Baroque, a Catalan musician trained at the Barcelona Cathedral and the Naples Conservatory, whom we hope to restore to the spotlight he so richly deserves.
Giuseppe riconosciuto revisits a well-known biblical story, that of Joseph, who arrives in Egypt after being sold into slavery by his brothers but quickly becomes the Pharaoh's trusted advisor thanks to his ability to interpret dreams. Years later, when his brothers come seeking help, they fail to recognize their lost sibling in the powerful man offering them aid. The protagonist’s moral dilemma is clear. Musically, this work boasts extreme instrumental and vocal virtuosity, brilliant melodies, refined orchestral textures, theatrical instincts, drama, pyrotechnics, and sheer spectacle.
We are proud to have brought together an exceptional cast for this recording: sopranos Alicia Amo, Mercedes Gancedo and Montserrat Seró; mezzo-soprano Anna Alàs i Jové, and tenors Jorge Navarro Colorado and Roger Padullés. We also hope to honor with our work the memory of musicologist Josep Dolcet, a great scholar, a champion of Terradellas and the editor of the score.
