Cristina Pasqua

Cristina Branco is a critically acclaimed Portuguese fado artist who has mesmerized audiences worldwide with her soulful voice and profound musicality. With a career spanning over two decades, Branco has released numerous successful albums, captivating listeners with her unique interpretations of traditional fado and her exploration of contemporary musical expressions. Recognized for her exceptional artistry, Branco has garnered international acclaim and established herself as a leading figure in the world of fado. With an unwavering passion for traditional fado, she delivers a poignant homage to this emblematic musical genre deeply ingrained in Portuguese culture. Mark your calendars for her upcoming 18th studio album, “Mãe” (“Mother”) release on September 22nd.

This is the only recording of sacred music by the extraordinary 17th-century Venetian singer and composer Barbara Strozzi. The Latin works in her collection Sacri Affetti Musicali were entirely suitable for church performance–something Strozzi herself, as a woman outside a convent, was forbidden to do. Most likely she performed these pieces as "spiritual recreation" at meetings of the "Academy of the Unisons" founded by her father, a well-known poet.

L'apparition de compositrices en Italie au Seicento, siècle d'un extraordinaire bouillonnement musical, est un phénomène unique par son ampleur et la qualité des musiques qui nous sont parvenues. Qui ne connaît la compositrice et cantatrice virtuose Barbara Strozzi, ou encore Francesca Caccini, première femme a avoir composé des opéras ? De même, les œuvres de Caterina Assandra et Isabella Leonarda, empreintes d'un réel mysticisme, sont saisissantes. La cantatrice Maria-Cristina Kiehr, à la voix d'une extrême sensualité, accompagnée du Concerto Soave de Jean-Marc Aymes, nous plongent au cœur de la vitalité artistique de l'Italie du Seicento.

In a very specific sense in 16th- and 17th-century Spain and again in today’s Mexico (and elsewhere in Latin America) the Spanish term son denotes a particular genre of music with certain common traits including a close association with dance, text composed of several verses (coplas) and a fundamental harmonic pattern unique to each son.

“I couldn’t have imagined a better constellation for my first album!” says Cristina Gómez Godoy about her first recording. She has chosen this repertoire because these pieces made her fall in love with the instrument and music. As a musician in Daniel Barenboim’s Berlin-based orchestra, she feels very privileged to have recorded her first album with him, accompanied by the West Eastern Divan Orchestra, with whom she has played for many years.