Maria Coccia – Sacred Music from 18th Century Rome
By Ralph Graves
Maria Rosa Coccia was a composer and harpsichordist acive in the late 1700s. Her career is almost a case study in the “separate but equal” concept. Coccia showed talent at an early age.
By 13 she had written six harpsichord sonatas. She’d also composed an oratorio “Danielli.” The work was performed in the Oratory S. Fipllo Neri — an event women, including the composer, were barred from attending.
Her talent couldn’t be denied, though. Anyone practicing music in Rome then had to enter the Accademia di Santa Cecilia. They also had to pass an exam to be a Maestro di Capella.
Coccia did both at age sixteen. But because of her gender, she was never allowed to direct a choir professionally.
Fortunately, that didn’t prevent her from composing music for choirs. This release features five sacred works by Coccia and two of her instrumental pieces. The program includes works by her contemporaries: Stane Pesci, Giovanni Battista Casali, and Sebastiano Bolis.
Coccia writes in the clean, elegant style of the middle Classical period. If you enjoy the choral works of Haydn and Mozart, you’ll find a lot to like in Coccia’s music. Her clarity of line ensures the text is always readily understandable. Yet her interplay between voices shows real imagination. And she has solid contrapuntal skills.
The Cardiff University Chamber Choir has a warm, transparent sound. Their acapella singing is assured, and their phrasing is fluid. It gives the music a supple energy I quite enjoyed. Based on the quality of Coccia’s music here, I would love to hear her oratorio and large-scale cantatas. But this is a great start.
Maria Rosa Coccia: Sacred Music from Eighteenth-Century Rome
Cardiff University Chamber Choir; Peter Leech, director
Robert Court, chamber organ
Toccata Classics TOCC 0359
