A. Scarlatti: Cantatas - CD

ENGLISH

<br><br>A genuine treasure. This is a selection of rarely-heard intimate compositions by the incredibly prolific composer Alessandro – the father of Domenico – Scarlatti truly amazes. Why is this music not performed more often? <br /> <br /> Alessandro Scarlatti had great affinity with opera. He wrote dozens and dozens of them. His dramatic vein shows itself in many of his smaller-scale works too, as long as voices are involved. One or two voices is all this composer needs to tell a story convincingly.<br /> <br /> This is what Scarlatti does in his secular (chamber) cantatas - in which genre he wrote no less than 820 items! -, duets and especially in the three intermezzos. Everywhere the music precisely conveys the meaning of text, which is partly in dialect. Here the composer achieves a unique level of expressiveness. On this recording the native Italian singers perform with a natural flow and heart-felt emotions.<br /> <br /> In his time Alessandro Scarlatti found his style increasingly becoming outdated. More and more his love for formal counterpoint was being considered old-fashioned. Today, of course, this does not influence of our appreciation of his music any more. We hear essentially great Italian and lively music, especially in the genres recorded here.<br /> <br /> The subject of most of the works on these records is love. The composer’s preference for high voices – including castrati at the time – is evident as well. Excellent performances by among others Cristina Miatello and Barbara di Castri.