L'intestino Felice

The soprano Daniela Dessì died suddenly on 20th August 2016, aged 59. She was hailed by critics and colleagues as one of the finest voices the world of opera has ever known. Dynamic pays tribute to the great soprano with this recording, filmed just one year before her untimely death. Her performance of Giordano’s Fedora was one of the pinnacles of her stunning artistic career. In the famous aria O grandi occhi lucenti from Act One, she delivers a technically perfect and emotionally passionate performance worthy of a great star. The story takes place at the end of the 19th century, in St. Petersburg (Act One), Paris (Act Two) and Switzerland (Act Three).

The trumpet has a curious fate. On the one hand, it is one of the oldest instruments created by humankind, and, with its many variants (in shape, matter, size and sound) it is found in most cultures through time and space. On the other hand, its standing as a solo instrument has been recognized only relatively recently in Western music, although the twentieth century saw a sudden and magnificent flowering of solo works for this instrument, not only in the classical repertoire but also in a wide range of other musical styles.

The Felice Brothers had a banner year in 2008, ditching their gig as New York City street performers in favor of a record contract, increased distribution, and international tour dates. Released just 13 months after the self-titled Felice Brothers – an album that served as the band's de facto introduction to the world at large – Yonder Is the Clock offers another confident, rustic batch of northeastern Americana…

The name of violinist and conductor Evaristo Felice Dall'Abaco does not necessarily spring to one's lips when significant figures of the late Baroque period are under consideration. To summarize, he was a contemporary of Antonio Vivaldi and the Veronese-born master of music attached to the court of Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria. As such, Dall'Abaco spent the first 11 years of his tenure in exile with the Elector in the Netherlands, and later, in France.

Born in Rome in 1600 in a family of musical traditions, Giovanni Felice Sances owes his musical education first to the Roman environment, and then to the Venetian, strongly influenced by the genius of Monteverdi that in those days was dominating unchallenged. The turning point of Sances life however, occurred at thirty-six when he was hired at the Imperial Chapel of Vienna, first as singer, and then - known for his skills - as main composer and favorite of the emperor; he retained this position until his death, leaving the Imperial Chapel an impressive number of compositions.

Heras second album for Deutsche Grammophon is the deeply personal result of an existential confrontation of Hera's with the foundation of her being, resulting in her determination to embrace life: "As I contemplated death, I found my soul infused with the magnificence of life. A profound sense of gratitude began to fill my soul." Presenting operatic favourites by Massenet ("Meditation"), Delibes ("Flower Duet" w/ Emily D'Angelo), Humperdinck ("Abends wenn ich schlafen geh") side by side with contemporary works by Luke Howard, Cecilia Livingston, Hyowon Woo and Bernat Vivancos. A spectacular under water shot music video for "While you live" will accompany the album release.

The religious Hildegard von Bingen was known as 'The Sybil of the Rhine' on account of her visions, translated into music with prophetic charisma. This disc presents two sides of Hildegard, an instrument and a mirror, reflecting her divine revelations, through the sound of her words both spoken and sung. The performances are from a specialised early-music ensemble, based in Florence, who have undertaken study of the original manuscripts and (perhaps more unusually) performed the music in public before making this testament to the art of one of music's most singular women, who is still perhaps more famed for her life than her music.