La Venexiana, Gabriele Palomba

Giovanni Bononcini composed the four part oratorio La Conversione di Maddalena for the Habsburg emperor Leopold I in 1701.

The musician from Modena, at the time at the apex of his European fame, had at his disposal the best forces of the Imperial Chapel: four singers (two sopranos, a contralto and a bass) of top rate and an instrumental ensemble, limited to strings but adequately consistent to articulate a concert dialectic with tutti-concertino, including soloist pages for the violin, the cello and the viola da gamba.

The extremely popular story of Mary Magdalene - a subject among the most fascinating in the Baroque spirituality of the Counter-reformation - is dealt with in original terms by the anonymous author of the libretto, who through a suggestive use of poetry “places on stage” the difficult journey of conversion of the sinner saint. Mary Magdalene is urged by the percussive incitement of her sister Marta (like in the painting of Caravaggio), who at the end of several stages of a contradicting drama plot, will succeed in winning her over to the field of Sacred Love, making vain the offers and threats of Profane Love.

Bononcini reacts to the suggestions of the text by producing a score that holds a wonderful variety and a constant novelty of invention, and in which immediate heartfelt expressiveness, conspicuous vocal requirements and many nuances of timbre and harmony concur to define a sculpted profile for each character.

"The solemnly twisting contrapuntal strings in the Sinfonia are played with both passion and refinement – characteristics that pervade much of this performance. Emanuela Galli’s quicksilver shaping of lines and articulate communication of Mary Magdalene’s journey from initial worldly sensuality to penitence are enthralling." - Gramophone Magazine, August 2020.