Zorrita: Passion's Avenger (2000)

Prayers of Steel is the name of the only full-length album released by the German heavy metal band Avenger in 1985, before they changed their name to Rage. The only other release that followed under the name Avenger was the EP Depraved to Black (1985 also)…

Das Berner Ensemble Les Passions de l'Ame erhielt für alle seine Veröffentlichungen bei Deutsche Harmonia Mundi exzellente Besprechungen und wurde 2020 für das Album "Variety" mit einem OPUS KLASSIK ausgezeichnet.

Quelle drôle d’idée a Mondonville ! D’après une fable de La Fontaine, aussi cruelle que tragique, il écrit un livret charmant, à la fin heureuse, et compose une aimable pastorale. Ici, contrairement à la fable, point de noblesse de cour mais celle du cœur : Daphnis, jeune berger se meurt d’amour pour Alcimadure, coquette villageoise éprise de liberté qui le dédaigne. Jeanet, frère de la belle, tente de la convaincre qu’il est le bienaimé idéal. Le loup qui terrorise le village s’en mêle. Tout va-t-il s’arranger à la fin ?

Seux génies du baroque italien à la filiation évidente et dont la musique emplit églises, palais et théâtres du Royaume napolitain au début du XVIIIè siècle sont ici réunis : Alessandro Scarlatti (1660–1725) et Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710–1736).

Nicola Porpora was a Napolitan composer of Baroque operas and singing teacher, whose the most famous singing student was the castrato Farinelli. Besides some four dozen operas, there are oratorios, solo cantatas with keyboard accompaniment, motets and vocal serenades. Among his larger works, his 1720 opera Orlando, his Venetian Vespers, and the opera Arianna in Nasso have been recorded.

Beata es Maria is made up primarily of vocal music in praise of the Virgin that features three men's voices, a counter tenor, tenor, and bass. It's an especially attractive ensemble, and Charpentier, who is known to have sometimes sung the tenor parts, knew how to make the vocal lines terrifically appealing. The Magnificat that opens the album beautifully illustrates his skill in taking a much-used convention the chaconne, with a harmonic progression that (the composer reports) repeats 89 times and keeping it endlessly intriguing with his inventive handling of the voices.

Beata es Maria is made up primarily of vocal music in praise of the Virgin that features three men's voices, a counter tenor, tenor, and bass. It's an especially attractive ensemble, and Charpentier, who is known to have sometimes sung the tenor parts, knew how to make the vocal lines terrifically appealing. The Magnificat that opens the album beautifully illustrates his skill in taking a much-used convention – the chaconne, with a harmonic progression that (the composer reports) repeats 89 times – and keeping it endlessly intriguing with his inventive handling of the voices. The piece, while sounding fresh and original, calls to mind two other chaconnes, Monteverdi's madrigal, Lamento della Ninfa, whose harmonic scheme it follows, and the men's trio in the opening scene of Philip Glass' Satyagraha, which it almost spookily foreshadows.