The reason to own this disc has nothing to do with its Christmas-oriented programming but rather centers on the Mass and motet by Giovanni Alberto Ristori, a contemporary of Bach and Handel whose music contains compelling stylistic aspects of both of those masters while retaining orchestral mannerisms and melodic characteristics rooted in the Italian theatre. Listeners who've never heard of Ristoli--most of his music for the Dresden court was destroyed in World War II--will be surprised at the high quality of the vocal writing, both for ensemble and for the soloists. The "Laudamus te" for soprano and chorus, as well as the following choral "Domine Deus" and "Qui tollis" for alto and chorus--and the later "Benedictus" for soprano, which could stand alongside Handel's better oratorio arias--represent some of Ristori's best and, given the evidence, presumably characteristic writing, which, like Handel, favors melody and a natural rhythmic flow over harmonic concerns, and like Bach, gives substantial weight to texts and contextual matters, especially regarding the type of orchestral figuration and choice of keys. The Mass is a major work, here given its world-premiere recording (along with most of the other pieces on the CD), and we can only hope that there are more surviving scores from this significant and virtually unknown composer.

The choir, orchestra, and soloists are uniformly first rate; neither Ristori nor the other composers represented here could ask for stronger, more committed advocates for their work, and as a result we have a unique glimpse into a corner of the German Baroque that's usually overshadowed by much bigger names than Heinichen and Ristori, but that deserves to be illuminated and exploited. No, I haven't mentioned the other works on the program--but those are simply bonuses. Ristori's "the man", and if you like Baroque choral music, you must hear him.

--David Vernier