Pasquini’s golden era of dramatic composition was between the years of 1670 and 1680. Within the realm of the Oratorio genre, his creations were sought after outside the Roman circles. Performances were made in cities such as Florence, Modena, Naples and Vienna. An interesting annotation emerges from the correspondence of the Marquise of Ferrara, Ippolito Bentivoglio (studies done by Sergio Monaldini) in which Giacomo Zucchesini requests an Oratory be sung in Ferrara with a personal stipulation. E se si compiacesse ancora d’accompagnarlo con un altro di Bernardo Pasquini […] mi stimerei somma[men]te favorito. (And were it to be pleasing to have another one of Bernardo Pasquini, I would consider myself highly fortunate.)

This present CD recording of 12 Motets for 1, 2 & 3 Men’s Voices and Basso continuo of Giacomo Carissimi? might be best considered an oddity as much as an attempt to satisfy a curiosity. Since there are no existing autograph Motet manuscripts of Giacomo Carissimi, all manuscripts that have been transcribed by Consortium Carissimi are transcriptions themselves of Carissimi’s contemporaries. These transcriptions of both sacred and secular music come from Library Manuscripts or Early Printed Editions, consequently much if not all of this music has not been performed and heard since.