In this second exploration of the music written for Italian salons of the early-to-middle 19th century, the standard of performance is certainly as high as the first, even if the quality of the works themselves is less consistent. The first programme (8/99) confined itself to songs by Mercadante and to the salon-fare provided by him in 1836. Mercadante is represented in the present volume, too, and his inclusion accounts for some of the best of it. The rest is distributed among several composers of the period, the dates of composition ranging from 1810 (Paer) to the early 1860s (Pacini). Three of the nine pieces are cantatas, two of them lasting nearly 15 minutes, and the recital ends with Calipso, a scena lirica, which is also of substantial length. This gives perhaps a feeling of greater weight, though it may be doubted whether the music itself justifies such a notion. The items from which I took most pleasure come consecutively in the programme and are, respectively, a cavatina (Luci mie belli), a romanza (La rampogna) and a melodie (Il sogno).
Most of the singers are familiar from earlier productions by Opera Rara. New to me, I think, is Enkelejda Shkosa, gifted with a warm voice of wide compass, and skilled in the required accomplishments. Gary Magee has two solos, including the most memorable of all, Mercadante's Il sogno, with a plangent cello obbligato and a vocal line suggesting a voice of the Battistini type - Magee's answers well, but if the Battistini style is also in question he is a little too discreet. Nelly Miricioiu was certainly the right choice of singer for the intense and tragic Virginia cantata, while Majella Cullagh is splendidly forthright in Paer's tribute to Napoleon. The tenors also do well, William Matteuzzi undaunted by the high notes and ornamentations designed for Rubini, Bruce Ford graceful and fluent in the cavatina by Mayr. The instrumentalists contribute valuably, David Harper achieving wonders with accompaniments that are so often thankless. And, again, every detail of production is cared for, including the excellent booklet.'