By BC94747
10-Jun-2010

Daring harmonies in Arcadia  

Numbering at over six hundred compositions, Alessandro Scarlatti’s chamber cantatas are a daunting legacy to come to terms with. Not only is their sheer quantity a staggering achievement even for the composer’s infamously prolific age, but the inventiveness, experimentation, and harmonic daring Scarlatti brought to bear on his cantatas was the stuff of legend in the his time. Needless to say, recent excavations of this oeuvre have barely scratched the surface of what consistently proves to be beautiful and intriguing music from a composer who never seems to have had an off day. Two of the cantatas on this disc have recorder accompaniment, and the other two feature violins. While none of the cantatas are recorded here for the first time (although the recitative to Bella, s’io t’amo il sai is a new discovery, and is now the title of the cantata formerly known as Ardo e ver per te d’amore), Clara Rottsolk is a fresh and charming advocate of these intimate works. Hers is the kind of sweetly pure voice—which is not to say it lacks character—that is becoming rare in the early music world as singers increasingly value darker-hued voices and dramatic vibrato. A warm and vibrant performance by all.
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