Italian

Robert Schumann considered Peter Joseph von Lindpaintner the most promising operatic composer in the country, yet despite his 21 operas he has been almost forgotten. Like most leading German composers of his time he took Meyerbeer's historical grand operas, conceived in Paris, as his model. Set in Sicily at the dawn of the 1848 revolution, Il vespro siciliano ('Die sizilianische Vesper' / 'The Sicilian Vespers') is a dramatic four-act opera that reveals why he was held in such esteem by Schumann, Spohr and Mendelssohn: expressive harmonies, folksong-like strophic songs, rich orchestration, the use of the latest stylistic devices, and tuneful bel canto melodies that point to the work's Franco-Italian lineage.

After Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert, Jordi Savall continues his journey into the 19th century with the Italian Symphony of Felix Mendelssohn, a composer he records for the first time. He delivers 2 versions of the work: the one which was performed at the wolrdwide premiere in 1833 and the revised one from 1834. The most conspicuous changes are to be found in the last tree movements. The comparison of the two scores and the performance on period instruments take us as close to Mendelssohn's work and original intention as we will ever get. Thanks to Jordi Savall's insightful conducting, there is still something to discover in Mendelssohn's most famous symphony.

The film was a sensation and audiences all over the world were entranced. It was hugely influential and ushered in a whole era of Comedy, Italian Style. Aiding and abetting the mischievous fun was the wonderful score by Carlo Rustichelli. Rustichelli, born in 1916, had begun working in film in 1939 and by 1962 had become a hugely popular composer for Italian films. His first film for Pietro Germi was Lost Youth in 1948 and thus began one of the longest and most fruitful director/composer collaborations ever, with Rustichelli composing scores for all but the first of Germi’s films – eighteen in total. He also worked with other directors such as Billy Wilder, Mario Bava, Gillo Pontecorvo, Luigi Comencini, and provided scores for countless sword and sandal films, spaghetti westerns, crime films, and just about every genre imaginable. He was a superb melodist, and Divorce, Italian Style is rife with great themes, which all serve the film perfectly. In fact, the film would be unthinkable without Rustichelli’s wonderful and tuneful score.

Parody metal powerhouse NANOWAR OF STEEL turns to the musical roots of their homeland, bringing heavy new life to traditional Italian music on their new album Italian Folk Metal (out July 2 on Napalm Records)! Filled with references to Italian folklore, NANOWAR OF STEEL puts its own comedic metal twist on the various traditional sounds of their beautiful country. Each song on Italian Folk Metal is performed in a distinct style of Italian folk music: Napoli-based sounds of musica neomelodica clash with melodic guitar sweeps on “Scugnizzi of the Land of Fires“ and speedy accordions (prominently known from northern Italy‘s mazurka) are layered with dizzying guitar solos on “La Mazurka del Vecchio che Guarda i Cantieri“. The powerful blast beats and violins on Italian Folk Metal‘s album opener “L'Assedio di Porto Cervo“ prove that NANOWAR OF STEEL are absolute aficionados of both Italian folk music and heavy music.

Paradiso Armonico: Italian Chamber Music in the Low Countries c. 1650
Classical, Baroque | 1 CD | EAC | FLAC, CUE, LOG | Scans | 337 MB | RS
Recorded: 2-4 May 2005, Akademiezaal Sint-Truiden (BE)
Released: 2005 | Label: Et'Cetera KTC 4012 | TT: 68:32
Constanze Backes - soprano | More Maiorum/Peter van Heyghen

More Maiorum cherrypicked instrumental and some vocal pieces for an anthology devoted to the vital and multicoloured Italophile musical life in the Netherlands. From the 1630s onwards Italian composers gradually gained popularity in the Low Countries. Local composers were influenced by the more modern Italian compositions and (amateur) performers enjoyed the impressive growth of publications. The title of the cd, Paradiso Armonico, refers to all the variants of 'Paradise' used as a metaphor in titles of collections of vocal and instrumental music published in the Low Countries in the early 17th century. (Amazon.com)