la Veillee Imaginaire

The four Salve Regina recordings presented on this uniquely compiled new album cross the boundary between opera house and church a boundary that in 18th-century Naples was never very forbidding to begin with. In fact, Leo, Pergolesi and Porpora are all fine examples of composers who moved with unselfconscious facility between sacred and secular genres, between old counterpoint and the Monteverdian stile concertato that caressed each word with sensuous melismas and velvet harmonies. Porpora was a noted singing teacher of his day, intimately familiar with everything that a voice can do, and possessing a melodic skill that spins long and ornate vocal phrases of almost instrumental effect.

On his new GENUIN recording, Jeremias Schwarzer allows his recorder to dance: Le Ballet imaginaire is the name of this production that brings together Baroque masterpieces by Bach, Chédeville, Telemann, and Handel. Schwarzer’s ideally-matched partner, who is one of his instrument’s leading exponents, is Ralf Waldner on the harpsichord. The two artists not only dance through this enchanting and spirited music with lightness and vitality, but also make it sing and speak. Originals and counterfeits, kings and opera princes, love songs and sparkling virtuosity – a ballet full of passions!

La présence espagnole en Amérique du Sud ne tarda guère à susciter un syncrétisme musical absolument fascinant, notamment à l'époque baroque, dont on a récemment redécouvert les prodigieuses richesses et qui influe directement sur les pratiques musicales actuelles. La Chimera se concentre pour ce programme sur une région emblématique de l'Amérique du Sud, composée originairement par des territoires Guaranis et Incas, plus tard dominée par les Jésuites, pour arriver à nos jours avec les noms de Paraguay, de Bolivie, de Pérou, de Chili et d’Argentine.

It would not, perhaps, be too much of a stretch to think of Marc-Antoine Charpentier as a sort of late 17th century Poulenc. Poulenc is known for two distinct artistic faces, one a comedian of the zaniest sort, and the other capable of expressing the most profound emotional depth. Charpentier's work lay in almost complete obscurity for nearly two centuries when in the late 20 century it began being brought to light, revealing one of the most fertile and inventive musical minds of the Baroque. He has been known almost exclusively for his religious music, and particularly for his gift for expressing the darkest grief.

Nino Rota: La Notte Di Un Neurastenico, Nonetto
Classical | CD | FLAC CUE LOG | COVER | 276 MB
La Bottega Discantica 09 | Release Date: 1997

Born in Milan in 1911 into a family of musicians, Nino Rota was first a student of Orefice and Pizzetti. Then, still a child, he moved to Rome where he completed his studies at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in 1929 with Alfredo Casella. In the meantime, he had become an 'enfant prodige', famous both as a composer and as an orchestra conductor. His first oratorio, L'infanzia di San Giovanni Battista, was performed in Milan and Paris as early as 1923 and his lyrical comedy, Il Principe Porcaro, was composed in 1926.

French countertenor Dominique Visse has participated in the early music revival in France since its inception. Although he became a chorister at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris at the age of 13, he pursued studies on organ and flute at the Versailles Conservatory. As an instrumentalist, he developed an interest in medieval and Renaissance repertories, only occasionally singing as a countertenor.