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Cimarosa: Requiem in G Minor

Domenico Cimarosa arrives in St. Petersburg between the first and third of December 1786. Immediately on his arrival the composer was presented to the empress Catherine II by Duke Antonio Di Serra-Capriola, plenipotentiary minister accredited by the King of Naples, Ferdinando IV, to the court of St. Petersburg. Eager to learn of the talents of her new "Maestro di Cappella", Catherine II asked Cimarosa to sing for her, accompanying himself on the harpsichord. Following his performance, Cimarosa was very highly praised by the nobility to the extent that Catherine decided he was worthy to teach music to Alexander and Constantine, the young grand dukes and sons of the heir Paul Petrovich, who was later to become Emperor Paul I. Cimarosa was soon at work on his first assignment. The Duchess of Serracapriola died within a few days of his arrival, and for the memorial service held in the Roman Catholic Church of St. Catherine in St. Petersburg, Cimarosa composed, ad the duke's request, a "Missa pro Defunctis a 4 voci con VVni, Corni da Caccia Obbligati e Basso". The holograph score in signed and dated 1787.

Harmoniae Templum Chamber Orchestra
Simone Perugini, Conductor.