Opera arias of the Serenissima

Minasi and his ensemble in recital discs from countertenors Cencic and Sabata

Record and Artist Details

Composer or Director: Francesco Gasparini, Geminiano Giacomelli, Antonio Vivaldi, Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni, Antonio Caldara, Giovanni Porta

Genre:

Vocal

Label: Virgin Classics

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 63

Mastering:

Stereo
DDD

Catalogue Number: 464545-2

Tracks:

Composition Artist Credit
Adriano in Siria Antonio Caldara, Composer
Antonio Caldara, Composer
Il Pomo d'Oro
Max Emanuel Cencic, Singer, Countertenor
(La) costanza combattuta in amore Giovanni Porta, Composer
Giovanni Porta, Composer
Il Pomo d'Oro
Max Emanuel Cencic, Singer, Countertenor
A' piedi miei svenato Antonio Vivaldi, Composer
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer
Il Pomo d'Oro
Max Emanuel Cencic, Singer, Countertenor
Flavio Anicio Olibrio Francesco Gasparini, Composer
Francesco Gasparini, Composer
Il Pomo d'Oro
Max Emanuel Cencic, Singer, Countertenor
Anche in mezzo a perigliosa Antonio Vivaldi, Composer
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer
Il Pomo d'Oro
Max Emanuel Cencic, Singer, Countertenor
Merope, Movement: Sposa, non mi conosci Geminiano Giacomelli, Composer
Geminiano Giacomelli, Composer
Il Pomo d'Oro
Max Emanuel Cencic, Singer, Countertenor
Argippo Antonio Vivaldi, Composer
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer
Il Pomo d'Oro
Max Emanuel Cencic, Singer, Countertenor
(Il) Nascimento dell'Aurora Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni, Composer
Il Pomo d'Oro
Max Emanuel Cencic, Singer, Countertenor
Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni, Composer
(La) Verita' in Cimento, Movement: Mi vuoi tradir lo so (Act 1, Scene 11) Antonio Vivaldi, Composer
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer
Il Pomo d'Oro
Max Emanuel Cencic, Singer, Countertenor
Montezuma Antonio Vivaldi, Composer
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer
Il Pomo d'Oro
Max Emanuel Cencic, Singer, Countertenor
Nitocri Giuseppe Sellitto
Giuseppe Sellitto, Composer
Il Pomo d'Oro
Max Emanuel Cencic, Singer, Countertenor

Composer or Director: George Frideric Handel

Label: Aparte

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 53

Mastering:

Stereo
DDD

Catalogue Number: AP048

Tracks:

Composition Artist Credit
Tamerlano George Frideric Handel, Composer
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Il Pomo d'Oro
Riccardo Minasi, Musician, Violin
Xavier Sabata, Singer, Countertenor
Ariodante, Movement: ~ George Frideric Handel, Composer
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Il Pomo d'Oro
Riccardo Minasi, Musician, Violin
Xavier Sabata, Singer, Countertenor
Teseo, Movement: ~ George Frideric Handel, Composer
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Il Pomo d'Oro
Riccardo Minasi, Musician, Violin
Xavier Sabata, Singer, Countertenor
Amadigi di Gaula, Movement: ~ George Frideric Handel, Composer
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Il Pomo d'Oro
Riccardo Minasi, Musician, Violin
Xavier Sabata, Singer, Countertenor
Giulio Cesare, 'Julius Caesar', Movement: Belle dea di questo core George Frideric Handel, Composer
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Il Pomo d'Oro
Riccardo Minasi, Musician, Violin
Xavier Sabata, Singer, Countertenor
Giulio Cesare, 'Julius Caesar', Movement: ~ George Frideric Handel, Composer
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Il Pomo d'Oro
Riccardo Minasi, Musician, Violin
Xavier Sabata, Singer, Countertenor
Ottone, Re di Germania, Movement: ~ George Frideric Handel, Composer
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Il Pomo d'Oro
Riccardo Minasi, Musician, Violin
Xavier Sabata, Singer, Countertenor
Il Pomo d’Oro only formed last year but the band already have a prolific recording profile, with several Naïve Vivaldi Edition volumes under their belt. Now they are involved in two countertenor recitals, both directed by the orchestra’s principal concertmaster Riccardo Minasi. Max Emanuel Cencic places a few Vivaldi arias (including some whose authorship is uncertain) alongside an attractive variety of music by close contemporaries who were either Venetian compatriots or at least had close ties to the city. Cencic and Il Pomo d’Oro both have a predilection for flamboyant gestures, so there is plenty of visceral energy in quick music such as ‘Barbaro non comprendo’ (from Caldara’s Adriano in Siria). Minasi also allows slower music to breathe softly, such as the beguiling pastoral ‘Mormorando quelle fronde’ (from Porta’s La costanza combattuta in amore), during which two concertino violins play in tandem with pizzicato strings. Cencic is supremely talented at getting around fast coloratura passages (‘Io son rea dell’onor mio’ from Vivaldi’s Argippo) but reflective lyrical arias prove to be more memorable, such as Apollo’s ‘Pianta bella’ from Albinoni’s serenata Il nascimento de l’Aurora. The monotony of strings and continuo makes one yearn for some woodwind or brass.

Xavier Sabata sticks exclusively with Handel but his exploration of ‘Bad Guys’ steers towards arias seldom heard out of context. Of the dozen arias chosen to represent dastardly cowards, misguided schemers or implacable tyrants, only Dardano’s ‘Pena tiranna’ (Amadigi) has been included on several high-profile recital albums: its doleful oboe and bassoon lines are played tenderly but Sabata’s meandering embellishments in the da capo hinder sincere dramatic truthfulness, and I wish the strings of Il Pomo d’Oro had chosen an understated simplicity that would have more profoundly illustrated Dardano’s hopelessness. Elsewhere, Sabata offers the sweetest singing he has yet produced on disc, while at the other end of the spectrum he aptly characterises Tolomeo’s petulant bullying of Cleopatra (‘Domerò la tua fierezza’). The concept necessarily excludes the shades of pastoral delicacy, amorous charm or heroic valour that the finest Handel recitals usually throw into the stew.

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