| La Pellegrina - Intermedii 1589 Leclair; Mauch; Bertin; van Dyck; Novelli; Fajardo; Capriccio Stravagante Renaissance Orchestra; Collegium Vocale Gent; Skip Sempé Paradizo PA0004 |
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Beautifully performed in its own right, this set will be of particular interest to those who wonder about the beginnings of opera. The play La Pellegrina was performed along with these Intermedii for the wedding of Ferdinando de’ Medici and Christine de Lorraine, Princess of France (Florence 1589). With music composed by the likes of Marenzio, Malvezzi, Caccini, Peri, Archieli, Cavalieri and Bardi, it is easy to see how the Intermedii may have been the highlight of the festivities. The Intermedii, which began as a pleasant diversion performed as staged madrigals and dances between the acts of a play, eventually grew to become the main attraction of an evening’s entertainment at the opulent houses of the Medici dynasty. Over time, as the music, dance, machinery and stage design of these vignettes became more and more elaborate, the form naturally expanded to create some of the first extended musical dramas. Many of the texts for the 1589 Intermedii featured in this set were written by Rinuccini and Striggio, who went on to create the librettos for the first operas composed by Peri, Caccini and Monteverdi. The Collegium Vocale Gent along with Capriccio Stravagante provides an excellent interpretation and insight into this genre. Director Skip Sempé adds an interview discussing the historical and musicological justifications for the orchestration, vocal style and ornamentation, modern performance and recording of these works. Executed magnificently, this is a rarified view into one of the most extravagant performances of the period.
Dianne Wells
| Domenico Scarlatti - Duende Harpsichord Sonatas Skip Sempé Paradizo PA 9003 |
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Harpsichordist extraordinaire, tireless impresario and accomplished record producer Skip Sempé scores another major success with this recital of vibrant sonatas by the Italian keyboard wizard Domenico Scarlatti.
As the title of this release indicates, Sempé has chosen those particular sonatas that exhibit the elusive quality of Duende. Federico Garcia Lorca observed, “Everything that has black sounds in it, has duende.” It is a concept closely associated with the defining qualities of Spanish art — in particular the folk and flamenco music the Italian-born Scarlatti absorbed during his lengthy service to the royal courts of Iberia.
The selections expertly conjure what Sempé describes as Scarlatti’s “high-risk gambler’s instinct”: virtuosic exuberance, passions, regrets, echoes of guitars and mandolins and wild nights sing throughout this fantastic musical landscape. The recording quality is excellent, vibrant without becoming overbearing and blessedly devoid of the distracting mechanical sounds older instruments are prone to. Canadian musician Olivier Fortin joins Sempé on four of the fourteen sonatas, performing solo sonatas arranged as duets on a matched set of harpsichords built by Bruce Kennedy in 1985. An accompanying promotional disc also contains numerous selections from the sizable stable of young talent appearing on previous releases from Sempé’s own Paradizo label.
Daniel Foley
