Le Nuove Musiche, led by acclaimed director Krijn Koetsveld, continue with their exceptional series of Claudio Monteverdi’s complete madrigals. Here, they look back to the very beginning of Monteverdi's works, when the young composer was still under the influence of his teacher Marc'Antonio Ingegneri. At this time, the madrigal was already a popular art form, one that Monteverdi was beginning to add his name to, before – as we know – he would go on to radically extend it with the introduction of the seconda prattica. These two books show that Monteverdi was an assured and dexterous composer in the established genre. He could follow the conventions of madrigal-writing – concentrating on the recitation of the text, adding in affects by altering the melody, rhythm and harmony – with skill and originality.
Figgatta de Blanc is the tenth studio album by Italian rock band Elio e le Storie Tese, published in 2016. The name is a parody of The Police' Reggatta de Blanc.
This recording provides an opportunity to discover a forgotten Baroque operatic treasure, a zarzuela, the key dramatic and musical genre of the Spanish Golden Age. Sumptuous choruses, poignant arias and folksongs blend in a rich and spectacular narrative, whose music was falsely attributed to Antonio Literes before Sebastián Durón (1660-1716) was acknowledged as its composer in 2009! Another peculiarity of the work is that it is sung by seven sopranos, who are even given the roles of Apollo, Neptune and the monster Triton. Only the part of an old man, the seer Proteus, is assigned to a tenor. Ana Quintans in the title role, Isabelle Druet, Anthea Pichanick, Caroline Meng and Cyril Auvity are among the cast of this colourful zarzuela, whose modern stage premiere in 2019 enjoyed great success.
Stereo Deluxe present Le Café Abstrait Vol. 9. 30 excellent Chillout and Downtempo tracks: Electrix, Eskadet, Tripswitch, Bob Holroyd, Carbon Based Lifeforms, Solar Fields, Lemongrass and many more.