La Voce Pinerolese

The Russian composer Sergey Akhunov (b. 1967) was educated at the Kiev State Conservatory, before he started his career as an oboe player. He subsequently gained experience in various musical styles and genres such as electronic music and rock. In the mid-2000s, he consistently turned to composing orchestral, chamber and vocal music, but also film music. This recording presents vocal music by Akhunov, including "Songs", which he wrote as a commission for La Voce Strumentale. Dmitry Sinkovsky as the spiritus rector of the recording - he is at the same time singer (countertenor) and conductor - succeeds in an impressive way, among others seconded by soprano Julia Lezhneva in three songs, in combining tonal contemporary music with the sound of an early music ensemble.

The turning-point of Franco Battiato's career: from uncompromising experimentation and progressive electronica to catchy melodies and refrains. The transition had already begun with L'era del cinghiale bianco, but "La voce del padrone" made it complete: its seven refinate synth-pop, with a bit of Krautrock influence, anthems catapulted the album to the top of the hit parade and made it the best-selling Italian album ever. Meticulously produced, with a nice summer vibe throughout its runtime and playful lyrics and instrumentals brings La Voca Del Padrone a lot of life and sets it apart from others from the region to set alongside with other great New Wave classics.

Despite the success of Paul Potts, Alfie Boe, and Bryn Terfel, the People's Tenor, Russell Watson, remains the U.K.'s most popular homegrown male opera singer. His down-to-earth appeal and impressive but commercial vocal abilities still resonate with mainstream audiences who would have previously found the genre too inaccessible. Following his Michael Bublé-esque jazz-pop reinvention on 2008's People Get Ready, the Salford-born vocalist returns to his signature sound with his eighth studio album, La Voce.

An homage to the Baroque singer and composer Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677), this album is titled La voce sola. That final word, 'single', 'only' or 'alone', points to the fact that most of Strozzi's works are written for solo voice, usually her own, a fact that makes her music especially intimate and personal. It emphasizes the uniqueness of her musical language and her distinctive voice as a composer but also refers to the difficulties of her striving alone in her personal and creative endeavors. This recital is a career survey of this great composer, from her first collections to her last opus, in chronological order, including a world-premiere recording of a work with no opus number.