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Presto News - 12th November 2007The forgotten Maria |
 When I first saw the sales notes for Cecilia Bartoli's new album I admit I had absolutely no idea who the 'Maria' emblazoned all over the cover was actually referring to. I thought surely it can't be a tribute to the great Maria Callas on the 30th anniversary of the Greek diva's death. Even more unlikely was a take on Bernstein's famous character from West Side Story (in the news at the moment as believe it or not it has just reached its 50th anniversary). So I read on with keen interest...  Maria Malibran Soon I came across the name Maria Malibran, now almost completely forgotten who was actually one of the most famous opera singers of the 19th century. She worked closely with the likes of Rossini and Bellini, and was hugely admired by Chopin, Mendelssohn and Liszt and all this despite the fact that she died at the age of just 28. Cecilia Bartoli, now in her forties, shot to fame about twenty years ago singing and recording the roles of Rossini. But since then she has become much more associated with Baroque and lesser known Classical Composers, and so for her this is a return to the Bel canto repertoire where she started. Born in 1808, Malibran lived through the Bel canto era, (typified by the operas of Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti). When you think of great bel canto singers on record you probably think of Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland and Montserrat Caballé, so would any of these have sounded like Malibran? Well no, probably not. It is worth remembering that Malibran would have grown up studying Baroque and Classical repertoire and it is likely that Rossini and Bellini had this sort of voice and that style of performance in mind rather than the much louder, declamatory and romantic performance style you associate with the great names mentioned above. Bartoli then, who has spent the last twenty years submerged in earlier music, has a keen interest in the musicological performance practice ethic, and an astonishingly flexible voice, with both rich contralto notes and dancing top notes, might just be closer to Malibran (and therefore the sound that Rossini and Bellini had in mind) than anyone else since.
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 Maria (Standard CD version)Cecilia Bartoli & Maxim Vengerov (violin) Orchestra La Scintilla & International Chamber Soloists, Ádám Fischer |
 Maria (Limited Edition Hardcover Book Version)If you have been collecting the previous Bartoli albums with their snazzy hard cover book style packaging then this is the version for you! |
 Maria (Limited Edition Book with CD & DVD)A bit silly in my view to have three different versions of essentially the same thing, but with Christmas in mind this might just appeal as along with the CD you get a DVD featuring a 'Cecilia and Maria', documentary and a 200 page book including a photo gallery displaying Cecilia Bartoli's personal collection of Maria Malibran artefacts. |
Chris O'Reilly - chris@prestoclassical.co.uk |
New Releases12th November 2007 |
Christmas is starting to creep into the release schedule I'm afraid, although not that you'd really notice when listening to any of these - not a carol in sight! This is just the pick of the recent releases. The New Releases and Future Releases pages are always available for browsing all the new and forthcoming releases. |
 A Mother’s Love - Music For MaryThe Sixteen, Harry ChristophersFor those looking for an alternative to traditional Christmas music, this is an original and throught-provoking recording, from what I'm told is Britain’s best selling choir of the 21st Century. |
 Viva Villazón! - The Best of Rolando VillazónRolando VillazónIn less than four years since he signed a contract with Virgin Classics, Rolando Villazón has become one of the most outstanding tenors of his generation. With sales of over 400 000 albums worldwide on Virgin Classics he is one of the label’s bestselling artists. Although he has now signed a new contract with DG, his main discography is still on Virgin and this new compilation offers an impressive sample of his artistry, covering several genres and centuries, from Monteverdi to 19th century French, Italian & Russian opera, and more recently the Spanish zarzuela. |
 Karolju - Christmas MusicBBC Symphony Orchestra & Philharmonia Chorus, David ZinmanIncluding the world-premiere recording of Christopher Rouses’s Karolju, this unique album of Christmas music celebrates best-selling conductor David Zinman’s commitment to modern and rarely recorded music. With the 11-part Karolju, Christopher Rouse explores the essence of Christmas music by pairing warm, tonal music with lyrics that draw from a variety of languages including Czech, French, German, Italian, Latin, Russian, Spanish and Swedish, with words chosen more for their sound than their meaning. The CD also includes Lutoslawski’s Polish Christmas Carols and Rodrigo’s Retablo de Navidad. In these works, the composers offer their unique sensibilities and harmonic genius to the rich Christmas music heritages of their native lands. |
 Bach, J S: Christmas Oratorio, BWV248Christine Schäfer (soprano), Bernarda Fink (alto), Werner Güra (tenor) & Gerald Finley & Christian Gerhaher (bass) |
 L’Esprit GalantJohannette Zomer (soprano) & Fred Jacobs (french theorbo)The short and succinct ‘Air sérieux’ experienced a great flowering in the second half of the 17th century. The audiences of the time loved variety and novelty, in the theatre, the dance, and in music as well. The poetry on which the ‘Air sérieux’ was based bore the general name of galanterie. ‘Delicate’, ‘cheerful’, ‘sweet’, and ‘light-footed’ were the words associated with galant poets around 1670. |
 BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewSaturday 10th November 2007 |
Building a Library - Monteverdi: L'Orfeo |
 First ChoiceEmanuela Galli (Music, Eurydice); Mirko Guadagnini (Orpheus), Marina De Liso (Messenger); Cristina Calzolari (Persephone), Matteo Bellotto (Pluto); Josè Lo Monaco (Hope); Salvo Vitale (Charon), Vincenzo Di Donato (Pluto); Francesca Cassinari (nymph), Giovanni Caccamo, Makoto Sakurada, Claudio Cavina & Tony Corradini (shepherds, spirits), La Venexiana, Claudio Cavina |
CD of the Week |
 Haas & Janácek - String QuartetsPavel Haas Quartet |
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