Mantua and the Gonzaga family represent one of the summits of European humanistic and Renaissance expression. This project addresses one of the city's greatest periods with sacred works by the leading musicians of the Gonzaga court, at a time when music was the primary tool employed by the Gonzaga dukes to assert their prestige over other Italian cities; this golden age began with the foundation of the Basilica Palatina di Santa Barbara and its cappella under Giaches de Wert during the rule of Guglielmo Gonzaga in 1565 and lasted until the sack of Mantua in 1630. The Ensemble Biscantores specialise in the performance of late Renaissance and Baroque music; here, thanks to the research, study and transcriptions made by its director Luca Colombo, they explore the Mantuan court of the Gonzagas and the liturgy specific to the Basilica Palatina di Santa Barbara.
L’Empio Punito is a dramma per musica in three acts composed by Alessandro Melani, on a libretto by Giovanni Filippo Apolloni, based on Filippo Acciaiuoli’s adaptation of El burlador de Sevilla y Convidado de piedra (1616) by Tirso da Molina. It was premiered in 1669 and this release features the first performance in modern times that took place at Teatro di Villa Torlonia in Rome in October 2019, 350 years after its debut. Acrimante, the male protagonist of l’Empio Punito, can be considered the first Don Giovanni in the history of opera. His seductive power brings chaos and pain in the lives of the other characters but a lot of energy as well. Although Melani was at the beginning of his career as an operatic composer – he wrote mainly sacred music – in L’empio punito he proves to be very skilful in alternating lyrical moments and pure recitative, and in introducing at the right moment dramatic recitatives that interrupt the course of the arias.
One Shot 80: Da oltre di 10 anni è la collana più completa dedicata ai successi Pop e Dance della decade che va dal 1980 al 1989. Dopo il successo ottenuto con la prima serie arrivata al 20° volume, anche grazie agli innumerevoli Fans che con e-mail e cartoline contenute all'interno del CD hanno collaborato alla riuscita con le loro segnalazioni, ecco che la Universal Music Italia, propone quello che viene considerato il completamento dell'opera. La Nuova One Shot, come forse avete già capito, oltre ad essere rinnovata nel look, è rinnovata anche nei contenuti, 2 CD per volume che raccolgono anno per anno tutto quello che gli anni 80 hanno offerto.
The single piece by Cecil Taylor lasts an hour. It was recorded during the second of two concerts given to celebrate the first ten years of the Italian Instabile Orchestra. This was part of the Talos Festival in Ruvo di Puglia, in Southern Italy, on September 10, 2000. From the sounds of an orchestra warming up, to a subdued conclusion that rumbles deeply and insignificantly, Taylor’s piece takes his audience on a journey through scenery that changes gradually and often. Indistinct human voices can be heard along the way; so can the sounds of trumpet valves clacking, saxophone keys tapping, reed mouthpieces chattering, brass mouthpieces kissing, and tympani rolling along.