Letter Marco Mezquida

Little is known about one of the most productive of Italian musicians, Adriano Banchieri. Relegated to a marginal sector of Renaissance history, still defined by madrigals, Banchieri lived in the most extraordinary innovative period of Italian 'harmonic' music: we find clear signs of a new 17th-Century sensibility in adaptation, or rather in making the word serve representational needs, in the use of the basso concertante and in the extensive use of continuo. The two works presented on this CD represent the chronological heart of Banchieri’s most typical production and may be appreciated in modern recordings for the first time: this is an ambitious project to shed light on Italian 'minor' musical history of the end of the 16th century.

A 17th-century manuscript that was compiled by Albert Bobowski, a Polish musician and orientalist, contains songs of the Italian Renaissance and the Ottoman court. Bobowski, alias Ali Ufki, was born around 1610 in Poland and worked in Constantinople at the Ottoman court, where he related to many European diplomats, clerics and travellers as translator, language teacher, mediator and advisor. Thanks to his diverse skills and profound knowledge of the Islamic-Ottoman and Christian-European cultures, he became a valued mediator between the two worlds during his lifetime. In this collection of European and Ottoman vocal and instrumental, sacred and secular, court and popular music, Ali Ufki switches between languages and music genres with a fantastic ease and naturalness.

Italian multi-instrumentalist Marco De Angelis grew up listening to classic prog bands like Pink Floyd, Genesis and Yes, as well as related groups, such as Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. His music shows evidence of his roots, but listens might notice most a resemblance to Floyd, and also Alan Parsons. He is proficient on guitar, bass and keyboards, and is one of Italy's few Chapman Stick masters. Although he has been performing for over thirty years, as well as producing and engineering, he didn't release his first album under his own name until 2013. Marco De Angelis is an Italian solo artist, songwriter, musician, audio engineer and record producer. Started his musical journey when he was 10 and puts for the very first time his hands on a musical instrument.

This is, by operatic standards of fidelity, a very faithful musical treatment of Edmond Rostand's classic drama about the swashbuckling poet and swordsman with the big nose. The music is competent but not spectacular; that quality is found in the libretto. The title role is expertly filled by Roberto Alagna, who not only has the best tenor voice in France but also turns out to be an accomplished actor in a demanding role. He is well-supported by a cast that clearly loves the story, its various characters and its often brilliant dialogue.

In his opening remarks, Marco Blaauw admits that only latterly did he enjoy the extrovert tendencies of his instrument – and this recital “shows off” in exemplary fashion. Only Hanna Kulenty’s Brass No 1 is a truly abstract study: the first in a cycle of trumpet-centred pieces that puts the double-bell instrument as thoroughly and as scintillatingly through its paces as any music written from a non-jazz perspective.

Italian multi-instrumentalist Marco De Angelis grew up listening to classic prog bands like Pink Floyd, Genesis and Yes, as well as related groups, such as Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. His music shows evidence of his roots, but listens might notice most a resemblance to Floyd, and also Alan Parsons. He is proficient on guitar, bass and keyboards, and is one of Italy's few Chapman Stick masters. Although he has been performing for over thirty years, as well as producing and engineering, he didn't release his first album under his own name until 2013. Marco De Angelis is an Italian solo artist, songwriter, musician, audio engineer and record producer.

The “Scala Academy Project” has chosen an opera by Donizetti never before performed on the Scala stage. Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali (Viva la mamma !) is a dramma giocoso which premiered in Naples in 1827. Italian actor, director and writer Antonio Albanese, a true master of wit and satire, made his debut as opera director. The Orchestra is conducted by Marco Guidarini.