The genesis of Concerto Soave is closely bound up with the music of 17th -century Italian composers. Thus the ensemble was the first, some 15 years ago, to devote a recording to the Sacri Musicali Affetti of Barbara Strozzi (for empreinte digitale). However, the great Venetian woman composer is not the only one who deserves the honour of recording.
Most of these ladies came from the ranks of the aristocracy; some consecrated themselves to God. In both cases, they found the wherewithal not only to compose and to achieve recognition from their peers, but also to publish their output.
María Cristina Kiehr has established a reputation with press and public alike as one of the leading interpreters of baroque vocal music. She is capable of combining the smoothness of her unique timbre with fervent respect for the poetic texts she champions with humility and warmth. Trained by René Jacobs at the schola Cantorum in Basel, she taken part in a large number of recordings and concerts with the finest conductors, such as René Jacobs, Philippe Herreweghe, Frans Brüggen, Jordi Savall, Gustav Leonhardt and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. She has been associated with numerous operatic productions (among them Cesti’s Orontea in Basel, Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea in Montpellier, and Vivaldi’s Dorilla in Tempe in Nice) and appeared on more than 100 recordings.
"Kiehr, her soprano seductively coloured with an underlying fruitiness, relishes as much as the half-dozen members of Concerto Soave the elegantly expressive intensity of each work, and controls every nuance immaculately.” The Sunday Times
“[Kiehr] has achieved in this recital an even greater sensitivity and subtlety of expression than ever before...It is not just the performances that merit an 'IRR Outstanding' rating for this disc. The works selected and the construction of the whole programme testify to Kiehr's and Aymes's exquisite taste and superb artistic judgement.” International Record Review, March 2011
