CD - SACD Hybrid
| More Formats | |
|---|---|
| CD | $15.59 |
Countertenor Andreas Scholl delves into Italian literary history on the delightful Arcadia, a recording that focuses on music by members of the famous Arcadian Academy, founded in Rome at the end of the 17th century. Centered around Queen Christina of Sweden and other brainy Roman sophisticates, the Academy concentrated on poetry and literature, inspiring much wistful writing on the ideals and tribulations of rural life and love. Yet composers also joined in and took a crack at expressing such notions musically, and the five solo cantatas included here -- by Francesco Gasparini, Benedetto Marcello, Bernardo Pasquini, and Alessandro Scarlatti -- are wonderful examples of such musical scene painting. Scarlatti (father of the more famous Domenico) may be the best known of his compatriots on the program, and his cantata "Ferma omai, fugace e bella," a late work with much imaginative text setting, shows that talent ran deep in that family. The other three names are liable to be unfamiliar except to Baroque buffs, but their music is similarly full of charm and invention, and Scholl makes a strong case for all their works, with stylish, assured singing enhanced by a full, muscular tone that grows radiant in the top range. Other, purely instrumental music by Arcangelo Corelli and Bernardo Pasquini (fellow Academicians as well) breaks up and enlivens the program, played with precision and flair by the spirited early-instrument band Academia Bizantina. EJ Johnson, Barnes & Noble