Sara Mingardo - Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Handel

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Fascinated by the contralto voice, Théophile Gautier went so far as to devote a poem to it: 'How I love you, O strange timbre...' Ever since the Baroque era, this rare, singular timbre, with something of both male and female, sensuality and maternal tenderness, heroism and melancholy, has often inspired composers to fervent homage, both in opera and in the domain of sacred music. But many compositions of the seventeenth and eighteenth century are neglected nowadays, especially in the rich Italian repertoire, for want of suitable singers. Sara Mingardo the pocessor of one of the very few contralto voices to be heard today, has therefore decided to explore these magnificent works. With her long-standing partner Rinaldo Alessandrini and a Concerto Italiano that is more virtuosic than ever, she has reconstituted the dream team that has already given us so many marvels of Italian Baroque music, the Stabat Mater of Vivaldi and Pergolesi and Vivaldi operas among them. Here there is of course a piece by the indispensable Prete rosso, but also a superb cantata by the young Handel, not to mention a wonderfully sensual scene from Cavalli's La Calisto evoking the sleep of Endymion. Has there ever been such an ardent rendering of Monteverdi's Lettera amorosa? Could one imagine a greater contrast between this piece and Merula's deeply moving lullaby of the Virgin Mary? Here is the art of Sara Mingardo at its most refined and spontaneous, served by her miraculous, unique timbre.

contents:

T. Merula : Hor ch'e tempo di morire
G. Salvatore : Allor che tirsi udia
G. Carissimi : Deh, memoria, e che piu chiedi
C. Monteverdi : Vorrei baciarti
F. Cavalli - Erme e solighe cime
C. Monteverdi : Se i languidi miei sguardi
G. Legrenzi : Costei ch'in mezzo al volto scritt'ha il mio cor
G.F. Handel : Lungi da me pensier tiranno
Vivaldi : Pianti, sospiri e dimandar mercede
Sara Mingardo
Concerto Italiano
dir. Rinaldo Alessandrini