Venice's four famous orphanages for girls, the Ospedali, were, along with St Mark's Basilica, the musical centers of the city and a European-wide attraction for musicians and travellers. Famous teachers such as Vivaldi, Hasse, Porpora, Legrenzi, Rosenmüller and many others provided the girls with high-quality musical training and programmes of performances.
Baldassare Galuppi, who was central to the development of Italian opera, was maestro di coro at the Ospedale di San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti for twelve years, for which he created the oratorio Jahel in 1747 and performed it there. The oratorio is about the biblical heroine Jahel, whose murder of the army leader Sisara leads to the liberation of Israel. The music is pointed with all its might towards the Viennese classical period, and the experienced Galuppi opera composer can be felt in every note. He wrote the arias for the various soloists of the Ospedale, thus demonstrating the high level of singing that prevailed there.
The Musica Fiorita ensemble around harpsichordist Daniela Dolci, together with the Mädchenkantorei Basel and young soloists from the Basel scene, present with Galuppi's Jahel an elaborate repertoire excavation of the first order in exemplary interpretation. © Pan Classics