An Italian Songbook

• Main performer: Cecilia Bartoli
• Booklet languages: English
• Libretto languages: Italian, English
• Time: 67:13
• Release Date: 1997

Review

For an operatic superstar, Cecilia Bartoli has invested an unusual amount of energy into the musicological pursuit of researching (and then performing) obscure repertoire, particularly of the Italian Baroque and Romantic eras. In this release, she brings to light songs by Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti, and Gioachino Rossini, composers known almost exclusively for their operas. Each was a prolific song composer, but few of their works in this genre are known, and only a handful are published in modern editions. The songs represented here are mostly fairly simple strophic songs, but they reflect the same gift for melody and penchant for florid vocal display that characterized their operas. In fact, many of these songs could be slipped into their operas without causing any sense of stylistic or aesthetic disruption. Among the most striking are Bellini's haunting L'abbandono, Donizetti's boisterous "Me voglio fà 'na casa," Rossini's manic La danza, and his profound and moving A ma belle mère. Bartoli delivers the music with her characteristic gusto and full commitment, which, while it may not always result in technically immaculate performances, always packs a visceral punch. James Levine provides a chaste, subdued, and immaculate piano accompaniment. The sound is clear and clean, but seems just a little close. ~ Stephen Eddins, Rovi

Performances

Composer	Title	Time
Gioachino Rossini	Aragonese, for voice & piano (Péchés de vieillesse, book 11), QR iv/44	3:30
Vincenzo Bellini	Vaga luna, che inargenti, song for voice & piano	4:02
Gaetano Donizetti	Il barcajuolo ("Voga, voga, il vento tace"), for voice & piano	2:47
Gaetano Donizetti	Ah, rammenta, o bella Irene, cavatina for voice & piano	5:38
Vincenzo Bellini	L'abbandono (L'ultima veglia), for mezzo-soprano & piano	4:16
Gioachino Rossini	La passeggiata ("Or che di fiori adorno"), for voice & piano	4:02
Vincenzo Bellini	Malinconia, ninfa gentile for voice & piano (6 ariette da camera)	1:16
Gaetano Donizetti	Amore e morte ("Odi d'un uom che muore"), arietta for voice & piano	3:28
Gioachino Rossini	L'invito ("Vieni o Ruggiero"), song (bolero) for voice & piano (Soirées Musicales)	3:31
Gaetano Donizetti	La conocchia ("Quann'a lo bello mio voho parlare"), song for voice & piano	2:19
Vincenzo Bellini	Il fervido desiderio, for voice & piano	2:35
Vincenzo Bellini	Torna vezzosa Fillide, for soprano & piano	7:53
Vincenzo Bellini	Vanne, o rosa fortunata, for voice & piano (6 ariette da camera)	2:06
Vincenzo Bellini	Dolente immagine di figlia mia, for voice & piano	3:15
Vincenzo Bellini	La farfalletta, song for voice & piano	2:01
Gioachino Rossini	A ma belle mère (Requiem eternam), for piano in A major (Péchés de vieillesse, book 11), QR xi/58	2:58
Vincenzo Bellini	Per pietà, bell' idol mio, for voice & piano (6 ariette da camera)	2:03
Gaetano Donizetti	Amor marinaro ("Me voglio fà na casa"), canzonetta napoletana for voice & piano (or orchestra)	2:12
Gioachino Rossini	L'esule ("Qui sempre ride in cielo"), for voice & piano (Péchés de vieillesse, book 3), QR iv/25	4:13
Gioachino Rossini	La danza. Tarantella Napolitana ("Già la luna è in mezzo al mare"), for voice & piano (Soirées musicales)	3:08

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