Maria Koundoura

Eighteenth century Naples was not only a creative, cultural melting pot, but also one of the most important cities in Europe. Full of impressive contrasts between decay and splendour, and with an immense artistic output whose musical influences stretched across Europe, attracting many musicians and composers, Naples was a source of fascination and has retained its appeal to the current day.

Musician and teacher, Francesco Durante was so known at his time, that his name was given to a compositional school (that of the "durantisti"). He composed mostly vocal music, especially sacred, of which his keyboard works make up a limited part, where virtuosity is extremely common; elements like the very rapid scales, the arpeggios or the crossing of the hands are also widely found in other contemporaries from Naples, but his writing preserves characteristic features which are absolutely personal.

Renaissance of a voice: Maria Callas – Unforgettable arias sung by the most iconic diva of all time – remastered for the first time in high-definition sound from the original tapes, for an unprecedented sound quality that shines new light on the voice of Maria Callas. Allan Ramsay, remastering engineer at Abbey Road Studios: “With high definition, you’ll be able to experience sounds which have only been heard so far by people who were either present at Callas’s recording sessions, or who had access to the unique master tape… All we wanted to do is remove the specks of dust, as it were, and wipe the glass clean.”

Giovanni Battista Bononcini (1670-1747) and his younger brother, Antonio Maria (1677-1726) were considered by their contemporaries to be among the most outstanding cello virtuosi of their time; today, however, they are best known not only as composers of vocal music but also as two of the greatest representatives of the galant style. It is to their music, often unpublished, that Marco Ceccato and his Accademia introduce us here.

From the sweet to the salacious to the poignant, Maria Muldaur's eponymous, strong debut features savvy studio vets, talented guests, strong tunes, and Muldaur's lissome pipes. The outstanding players include Ry Cooder, David Grisman, Clarence White, and Mac Rebennack, better known as Dr. John. A tasteful guitar solo by the underrated Amos Garrett elevates the charming surprise hit single "Midnight at the Oasis." Although she later gravitated to jazz and gospel, Muldaur's first outing is heavy on songs derived from country and blues. A rousing "Work Song," borrowed from Kate & Anna McGarrigle, is only one of several highlights.

This CD has two of the best arias every Callas fan should have….the bell song and la mamma morta these arias alone make this cd worth it….she shows her true power and agility in both of these arias that display what is called perfect technique….making her a true Dramatic Colortura singer…and maybe the only real one…but this cd has more it contains an aria from her famous role of Nedda from Pagliacci which she never did on stage so this is a real treat… and her Carmen is always perfectly done…this cd runs through so many beautiful arias and Callas did great in all of them…this is why we call her La Divina