Sezione Aurea

If, as a composer, you were not only allowed to enjoy the esteem of the famous music theorist and Mozart teacher Padre Giovanni Battista Martini, but you were also represented by a portrait in his picture gallery of musicians, then you can not have been some completely insignificant little composer. Nonetheless, the composer, organist and priest Ignazio Cirri (1711-1787), born in Forli, is today perhaps only known by music lovers. The reason is relatively simple: Hardly any of his works are available in modern editions. Because of their stylistic pioneering role in Viennese classical music, the sonatas op. 2, first performed here by Sezione Aurea, make curious about the other works by the composer.

Following the success of 'Arias for Nicolino', a musical portrait of the celebrated castrato of Handel's era (A427), Carlo Vistoli turns his attention to Venetian opera of the seventeenth century. The Italian countertenor - 'a voice […] intrinsically beautiful, strong and powerful' (Opera Magazine) - has been delving into this repertory since the beginning of his international career with specialists such as Leonardo García Alarcón, William Christie and John Eliot Gardiner. In this anthology accompanied by the ensemble Sezione Aurea, the focus is on operatic scenes and chamber music by the leading composers of the time, such as Francesco Cavalli and Claudio Monteverdi, whose famous aria 'Sì dolce è 'l tormento' exemplifies the linking thread of the arias in this recording: disappointed lovers.

Following the success of ‘Arias for Nicolino’, a musical portrait of the celebrated castrato of Handel’s era (A427), Carlo Vistoli turns his attention to Venetian opera of the seventeenth century. The Italian countertenor – ‘a voice […] intrinsically beautiful, strong and powerful’ (Opera Magazine) – has been delving into this repertory since the beginning of his international career with specialists such as Leonardo García Alarcón, William Christie and John Eliot Gardiner. In this anthology accompanied by the ensemble Sezione Aurea, the focus is on operatic scenes and chamber music by the leading composers of the time, such as Francesco Cavalli and Claudio Monteverdi, whose famous aria ‘Sì dolce è ’l tormento’ exemplifies the linking thread of the arias in this recording: disappointed lovers.