SACD · 1 disc
CD · 1 disc
They may look like a pop, rock, or crossover group, but don't be fooled! I FURIOSI is the hottest new baroque ensemble on the scene, reinventing the traditional classical music experience, and we are happy to announce the release of their commercial debut CD, CRAZY. CRAZY is an exciting and diverse program of musical pieces whose premise is either insanity itself, or is the product of the disturbed mind of the composer. The album matches unparalleled performances with, painstakingly crafted program notes that provide insight into both the composer's own vision, however twisted, and the broad social themes of their day. The program which includes masterworks by some of the greatest composers of the 16th-18th century is concluded in contrast by a beautifully haunting rendition of Suzanne by master song writer Leonard Cohen's Suzanne.
In developing its programming, I FURIOSI worked diligently to craft themes linked to current events, to provide contemporary audiences with an insight into historical themes that are entertaining as well as educational. The detailed liner notes provide insight behind the selection of each track.
This creative program comes to us from German soprano Anna Prohaska. In this endeavor, Anna follows the queens of Egypt and Carthage, (Dido and Cleopatra), across first century Europe. The works featured on this release come from the biggest names in Baroque names, like Cavalli, Handel, Purcell, and Hasse, as well as lesser known composers such as Graupner and Castrovillari. These opera arias are all virtuosic and passionate, and Prohaska delivers them with a fervor that has solidified her reputation in the world of opera. This is the first in a series of releases that will be recorded by Anna Prohaska. For this release, she is joined by Il Giardino Armonico - one of today’s most accomplished Baroque ensembles. The ensemble is directed by Giovanni Antonini, who is also heard as a recorder soloist in some of these arias. Anna Prohaska is a leading star in her native Germany. She has sung on the world’s finest opera stages, including La Scala and Covent Garden.
The decades around 1600 bore witness to the flourishing of a remarkable musical tradition: the art of diminution, in which simple melodies were given exquisitely virtuosic embellishments, effectively creating new works. One such creation, Francesco Rognoni’s ornamentation of Palestrina’s Io son ferito, was captioned ‘con arte e maestria’ – with art and mastery – referring to the consummate craftsmanship displayed in its invention and performance. Giving new life to this tradition was the inspiration for this unique programme: alongside iconic works from the diminution canon, Monteverdi String Band members Oliver Webber and Steven Devine present newly ornamented versions of a selection of sixteenth- and early-seventeenth-century works.
What Artemisia Heard: Music and Art from the Time of Caravaggio and Gentileschi is the culmination of a unique project envisioned by El Mundo artistic director Richard Savino. Enraptured over the work of female Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi, Savino began to question why the music of Artemisia’s time is not as widely appreciated as the visual arts of the era. Recognizing a ubiquitous connection in popular music between the aural and visual, Savino had the ingenious idea to integrate the sublime painting of Artemisia and her contemporaries directly with the equally sublime music these painters would have heard at the time.
Featured alongside paintings by Artemisia and her contemporaries is music by composers Uccellini, Kapsberger, Frescobaldi, Caccini, Piccinini, Monteverdi, Falconieri and Rossi, among others, as performed by El Mundo and distinguished soloists. El Mundo is dedicated to the performance of 16th – 19th c. Latin American, Spanish and Italian chamber music. Under the direction of guitarist/lutenist Richard Savino, El Mundo was formed in 1999 and is made up of some of today’s finest period instrument performers.
