Barbara Strozzi

After 400 years, the Fieri Consort reveal newly-discovered madrigals of Maddalena Casulana alongside works by another of Italy’s greatest composers, Barbara Strozzi.

Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677) must have been an extraordinary woman. At a time when women were largely excluded from the public music scene, her musical talent was particularly encouraged. She was able to present both her wonderful voice and her extraordinarily artistic compositions in so-called "academies" of the highest Venetian society; she was even able to publish a total of eight operas with her music. The ensemble Il Segreto delle Muse presents here twelve selected arias and duets by Strozzi.

This is the first solo recital recording of mezzo soprano Romina Basso, yet currently one of the most busy and outstanding baroque specialists. Recorded in Athens with the Greek musicians of the Latinitas Notra ensemble and led by Markellos Chryssicos, this striking record offers incandescent and special performances of Italian baroque masterpieces that feature among the most heart-rending, including: Monteverdi’s 'Lamento d’Arianna', Rossi’s 'Lamento della regina di Svezia' and Strozzi’s 'Lagrime mie'.

An homage to some of the most famous musicians of the 16th and 17th centuries, this album pairs composers such as Barbara Strozzi, Claudia Sessa and Maddalena Casulana with two contemporary composers: Alberto and Leonardo Schiavo. Music from the past and the present, in dialogue. The idea is to discover (or rediscover) these works and mutually enrich them. The musical language adopted for these arrangements never strays too far from their original sonorities, but on the other had it is not a simple transcription, but an interpretation of a repertoire that is more relevant than ever, and consequently a source of inspiration and raw material for contemporary composers.

Mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozená's collection of vocal solos (plus a few instrumental tracks) from the early Baroque, Lettere Amorose, "Love Letters," is a delight. The recital includes some familiar pieces like d'India's Cruda Amarilli, Monteverdi's Sì dolce è il tormento, and Sanz's giddy dance, Canarios, but consists largely of repertoire that's more obscure but no less engaging. Merula's lullaby chaconne Hor ch'è tempo di dormire is a jewel, gorgeously idiosyncratic and deeply emotional. Caccini's erotic Odi, Euterpe, 'I dolce canto could be mistaken for mature Monteverdi at his most mischievous, but it dates from 1601 or 1602, when Monteverdi was at an early stage in his career. A real standout of the album is Strozzi's L'Eraclito amoroso: Udite amanti, which alternates sections of extravagantly expressive recitative with a ravishingly lyrical chaconne. Kozená easily has the technique to make the music glow and the dramatic gifts to bring it movingly to life. Her sharply characterized interpretations of the songs make each of them seem as fully realized and potent as a short operatic scene. Her voice has the burnished warmth of a mezzo, but can gleam when she soars into her upper register, and throughout she maintains an exquisite purity.