Andrea Sadia Sunday Stroll

Giya Kancheli is a Georgian composer whose intensely personal style is closely related to Minimalism and New Spiritualism.

Giuseppe Maria Boschi was undoubtably one of the most famous and virtuosic baritones of the 18th century. He had a brilliant and intense career on a par with those of renowned contemporary castrati and sopranos, including Farinelli, Senesino, Faustina Bordoni, Margherita Durastanti, Francesca Cuzzoni and Nicolini. He was one of the leading baritones throughout London from 1720 to 1728, sought after by Georg Frederich Händel, Giovanni Bononcini, and Attilio Ariosti. Warrior, father, lover, tyrant: many were the roles to show the nuances of his vocality which, judging by the music written for him, was of exceptional range and well-suited for dramatic roles.

This 1996 disc compiles music from the beginning of Andrea Bocelli's career, with tracks going back as far as 1992. At this point the blind Italian tenor, although trained in opera, was unabashedly a pop singer, just like the many other pop singers who have benefited from classical vocal training at one time or another. There is no controversy about whether Bocelli was a competent opera singer here, for there are no operatic arias, and not even any of the Neapolitan songs that he later essayed in American appearances - all the music is contemporary, heavily string-enveloped (mostly) Italian pop.

Seventy orchestral and choral artists, conducted by maestro Diego Basso and the emotion in music of flutist Andrea Griminelli, transformed the Dolomites into an exceptional stage for the notes of the Roman composer. The splendid natural balcony of the San Pellegrino Ski Area, on the border between Val di Fassa, in Trentino, and Falcade, in Veneto, saw the excellent performance of some of Morricone's best-loved melodies by seventy orchestral and choral artists from the Italian Rhythmic Symphony Orchestra, the Opera House Opera Choir and the Art Voice Academy Choir, conducted by Maestro Diego Basso. The audience will be enchanted by the undisputed talent of Andrea Griminelli, the internationally renowned flautist, who has received honours and awards all over the world, from the Grammy to the Prix de Paris. The Dolomite peaks of Marmolada, Cima Uomo, Costabella, Pale di San Martino, Pelmo and Civetta (to name but a few), which can be admired from Col Margherita, were thus transformed into the perfect backdrop for an exciting synergy between conductor, orchestra and soloist. The event, designed for a limited number of spectators, respected not only the regulations in force, but also the perfect combination of music and mountains.