These four pieces—three chamber cantatas and a duet—are all new to The Classical Catalogue. Alessandro Scarlatti was almost unbelievably prolific in these forms and was perhaps mainly responsible for the conventional alternating recitative-aria-recitative-aria formula. The arias, furthermore, are almost invariably cast in da capo form, a skill in which Scarlatti was a master. Just as well, for if the information in the booklet accompanying these performances is to be believed, the present disc is Volume 1 of a survey which is to encompass Scarlatti's complete works for soprano, alto and basso continuo. Though only one piece, Il sonno (1707), is dated, it is probable that the remaining works on the disc belong to a period in Rome between 1703 and 1708 when Scarlatti produced many such chamber works for his patron, Cardinal Ottoboni.
I have remarked in earlier reviews that the singers in Gradiva Ensemble, though often sensitive to text, are sometimes hindered by the limitations of their techniques. I do not wish to strike too negative a note since both singers have good ears and an evidently warm rapport with one another. And they also have a good sense of style, but time and again I found myself longing for vocal techniques which could negotiate Scarlatti's often quite demanding passagework with greater fluency and without such strain in extremities of tessitura. In spite of this reservation I still found plenty to enjoy in the performances and in the music. Dietschy and Zaepffel do not, by and large, have problems with intonation. Diction is not as clear as it might be and texts, though provided in the booklet, are in Italian and French only. A qualified commendation, then, for the performances but grateful thanks for the realization of some enchanting music inspired by the almost invariable Arcadian idyll. Both singers are sensitively supported by their continuo group and the project in due course will fill an important gap in recorded repertory to date. Clear recorded sound.'