Monica Farnetti

The pieces recorded here have a common characteristic: they are all inspired by lines of poets who were born in Romagna or attracted by this enchanted land. On the one hand Pascoli and Moretti, on the other Panzini, who was practically a citizen of Rimini, and Carducci, who was an enthusiastic visitor in the countryside of Cesena. Romagna is the place where their respective memorial buildings stand, ranging from those in San Mauro Pascoli and Cesenatico to the Casa Rossa in Bellaria and Villa Silvia in Lizzano, above Renato Serra’s Cesena. These four houses actually have been united by a strong project, whose goal was to give rise to a musical competition under the aegis of the four illustrious men of letters. This was the origin of the “Primo Concorso internazionale di composizione lirica da camera su testi di poeti e scrittori di Romagna”, organised by n.o.t.a. Music, a cultural association that is quite zealous and innovative in the sphere of didactic and productive activities.

For all the charges of unacceptable schematicism levelled at Vivaldi and his kind, Monica Huggett, as supremely imaginative as well as technically and stylistically accomplished an exponent of the baroque violin as any, demonstrates clearly that this music benefits from the guiding hand of a charismatic interpreter: her delivery of Vivaldi’s exuberant, even manic, inspiration is never less than involving and, in the slow movements, never less than touching.

Sista Monica Parker releases a tribute to the mothers of her blues, Katie Webster, Koko Taylor and Ruth Brown. An award-winning female blues and soul singer. She captivates the listener with her passionate phrasing and heart-felt lyrical content. ''I dedicate this Soul Blues & Ballads CD to the life of the great blues women that have influenced my writing and singing - Koko Taylor, Katie Webster, and Ruth Brown. I have always been inspired by their strong, sassy, often tortured, storytelling blues. These women paved the way for me to open up and write about my heartaches and expose my wounds.''