La Santissima Trinita

A. Scarlatti: La Santissima Trinita / Biondi, Gens, Composer: Alessandro Scarlatti, Performer: Roberto Abbondanza, Paul Agnew, Vivica Genaux, Roberta Invernizzi, Conductor: Fabio Biondi, Orchestra/Ensemble: Europa Galante, Number of Discs: 1. La Santissima Trinità is in fact an immensely rewarding work. Scarlatti, far from being inhibited by the subject matter, produced a score that extracts maximum effect from the conflict of views, articulating Faithlessness's mockery and sturdy skepticisms with a strength that demands all the resources of his opponents, who reply through a variety of means often employing metaphor. It is some of these mimetic arias-the depiction of the turtledove's freedom (enhanced by two solo violins) in Faith's "Vedrai la tortorella," or Theology's evocation of the "hapless little boat" on a stormy sea ("Povera navicello")-that provide just some of the highlights of a richly varied score that throughout shows Scarlatti at his most imaginative and inventive. Stylistically, numbers range from brief, old-fashioned continuo arias with a concluding instrumental postlude to more modern, fully accompanied arias that frequently include concertante solo-writing for the strings (there are no wind parts). Despite reservations about Biondi's direction, this is unquestionably a major addition to the Alessandro Scarlatti discography, yet further vitally increasing our understanding of a prolific major composer who was until relatively recently largely restricted to the more shadowy realms of the Baroque.