Domenico Cimarosa succeeded Salieri as court composer in Vienna and was liked and respected by both Haydn and Mozart. He had an eventful life that included a stint working for Catherine the Great in St. Petersburg (he went back to southern Italy because he couldn't hack the cold weather) and imprisonment in old age for having supported the French Revolution. This Dixit Dominus comes from the last stage of Cimarosa's career, after he composed most of the operas for which he is best known today. Even more than most sacred ...
Read More
Domenico Cimarosa succeeded Salieri as court composer in Vienna and was liked and respected by both Haydn and Mozart. He had an eventful life that included a stint working for Catherine the Great in St. Petersburg (he went back to southern Italy because he couldn't hack the cold weather) and imprisonment in old age for having supported the French Revolution. This Dixit Dominus comes from the last stage of Cimarosa's career, after he composed most of the operas for which he is best known today. Even more than most sacred pieces of the late eighteenth century it is extremely operatic. The overall structure, following the verses of the original psalm, alternates solos and choruses. The choruses largely eschew polyphony, and some of them include unison exclamations in the nature of an opera chorus. Even the final "Sicut erat" is a peppy piece of choral homophony garlanded with duos rather than a majestic conclusion. The opening "Dixit Dominus" begins with lengthy orchestral passages that resemble an...
Read Less
