The selection of cantatas presented on this CD is based on the critical edition prepared by Alice Borciani for the Istituto Italiano per la Storia della Musica under the direction of the musicologist Luigi Collarile. The volume brings together the twelve cantatas by Antonio Cesti on texts by the poet Giovanni Filippo Apolloni, a friend and compatriot of the composer. The ensemble Il Zabaione musicale borrows its name from a collection of music by Adriano Banchieri published in Milan in 1604. This ensemble specialising in early music was founded in 2010 by Alice Borciani (Italy), Elam Rotem (Israel) and Ryosuke Sakamoto (Japan), who met while studying at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. Their interest in early music and especially the repertoire of the Italian early baroque led to various concerts in Italy and Switzerland. Musicological research plays a fundamental role in the work of the ensemble, whose main goals include rediscovering unexplored musical repertoire and working with original sources.