As a younger contemporary of Berio, Nono and Maderna, Niccolò Castiglioni (1932-1996) brought wit, buoyancy and an absolute sureness of touch to the post-1945 Italian avant garde. That joyous airiness is beautifully exemplified in the three works on Gianandrea Noseda’s impressively polished disc. La Buranella is an orchestral suite derived from movements in Galuppi’s keyboard sonatas (the title comes from Burano, the Venetian island where Galuppi was born). It is charming and lightweight, rather like Stravinsky’s Pulcinella. But both Altisonanza and the setting of Psalm 19, The heavens declare the glory of God, are substantial, compelling scores. Altisonanza (also available in a 2011 Neos recording) is one of Castiglioni’s finest pieces, an orchestral triptych full of the gem-like high-register writing that was so typical of his music. The scoring for Salmo XIX, apparently not available on disc before, includes a pair of solo sopranos – one a helium-high coloratura – to provide a gleaming tracery above the chorus. Each section of the text is treated differently, and given its own sound world, but there’s muscle as well as beauty; it’s a remarkable piece, a real choral discovery.
