Sponsa Canticorum, Tolle Sponsa, Vanitas Vanitatum I, Vanitas Vanitatum II

This 1988 recording from the Bongiovanni label serves as a significant contribution to the revival of 17th-century Italian Baroque music. It features the compositions of Giacomo Carissimi, an influential figure in the development of the oratorio form, performed under the direction of Flavio Colusso. The project was conceived to bring scholarly attention to Carissimi's vocal works, bridging the gap between historical musicology and contemporary performance practice during the late twentieth-century early music movement.

The production highlights the delicate interplay between the Coro Polifonico di Sulmona and the instrumental ensemble, focusing on a clean, liturgical aesthetic that reflects the somber and expressive nature of seventeenth-century sacred music. By focusing on the 'Vanitas' themes and the specific liturgical texts of the 'Sponsa Canticorum,' the recording was received by critics as a dedicated effort to capture the dramatic emotional range inherent in the Roman Baroque style, prioritizing historical accuracy over modern embellishment.