“There can be little doubt that Scarlatti's cantatas (reputedly more than 700) are consistently delightful...Rottsolk's voice is supple and stylish, and deals admirably with some very difficult technical arias...the performances are unflaggingly attractive and reveal one beautifully crafted aria after another.” --Gramophone Magazine, July 2010
“… a tantalizing taste of an area of repertoire largely denied to non-specialist record collectors and provides a splendid showcase for these eloquent and committed musicians.” “…an interesting disc.” --International Record Review - May 2010
“… a tantalizing taste of an area of repertoire largely denied to non-specialist record collectors and provides a splendid showcase for these eloquent and committed musicians.” “…an interesting disc.” --International Record Review - May 2010
Clara Rottsolk (soprano)
Tempesta di Mare Chamber Players
The soprano Clara Rottsolk joins Tempesta di Mare Chamber Players for a disc of cantatas and instrumental music by Alessandro Scarlatti. Though his cantatas and operas are little known today Scarlatti was a titan in his time, closely associated with Rome’s Arcadian Academy and an inspiration to the much younger Handel, a frequent visitor to the Academy.
Tempesta di Mare Chamber Players
The soprano Clara Rottsolk joins Tempesta di Mare Chamber Players for a disc of cantatas and instrumental music by Alessandro Scarlatti. Though his cantatas and operas are little known today Scarlatti was a titan in his time, closely associated with Rome’s Arcadian Academy and an inspiration to the much younger Handel, a frequent visitor to the Academy.
Scarlatti’s specialty was the cantata, the operatic equivalent of the short story, in which music and narrative are distilled to their core, resulting in beautiful and moving yet succinct multi-movement vocal works. Tempesta di Mare has programmed four rarely performed Scarlatti cantatas, the Quella pace gradita, Bella dama di nome Santa, Non sò qual più m’ingombra (Cantata Pastorale) and Bella, s’io t’amo alongside Concerto IX in A minor.
‘We chose these cantatas to show the range of things that Scarlatti does with one voice and a small complement of instruments’, says Gwyn Roberts, artistic co-director of Tempesta di Mare. The cantatas are complemented by a concerto. Scarlatti’s instrumental music, like the vocal music, is much more concerned with the intricate interweaving of voices and the subtle detail of line than it is with raw virtuosity. Concerto IX, which appears in a manuscript collection dated 1725 (the year of Scarlatti’s death) certainly bears this out. Scarlatti’s use of the recorder, both here and in the rest of the programme, reflects the recorder’s great popularity throughout most of Scarlatti’s career.
‘We chose these cantatas to show the range of things that Scarlatti does with one voice and a small complement of instruments’, says Gwyn Roberts, artistic co-director of Tempesta di Mare. The cantatas are complemented by a concerto. Scarlatti’s instrumental music, like the vocal music, is much more concerned with the intricate interweaving of voices and the subtle detail of line than it is with raw virtuosity. Concerto IX, which appears in a manuscript collection dated 1725 (the year of Scarlatti’s death) certainly bears this out. Scarlatti’s use of the recorder, both here and in the rest of the programme, reflects the recorder’s great popularity throughout most of Scarlatti’s career.
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Scarlatti Alessandro
