Oratorios

Giacomo Carissimi may not exactly be a household name, but during his time he was one of the most respected musicians in Europe. Born in 1605, he avoided becoming a cooper, unlike the rest of his family, cultivating his musical talent first as a singer, then organist, and eventually chapel master. He enjoyed a succession of positions at various religious institutions in his native Italy, including the church of the Jesuit Collegium Germanicum in Rome -- which, under his guidance, was transformed into an international centre. Now regarded as the grandfather of modern European music, Carissimi was essentially responsible for the forging of a new medium of ecclesiastical expression and it is to his cultivation of this genre that this compilation is dedicated