Cantata Napolitane Del 700 Opera cd

There is no longer any need to recall all that we owe to Antonio Florio and his Cappela de'Turchini in the exploration of Neapolitan music of the 17th and 18th centuries. Firmly established in Naples itself, these exceptional musicians have allowed us, for more than a decade, to discover, with amazement, the thousand ramifications and jewels of a world of sound and theater whose influence throughout Europe was felt throughout the Baroque era, particularly in the field of vocal music.

With this disc dedicated to Neapolitan cantatas, they once again revive the irresistible verve (of local dialects of an often droll strangeness, notably with the 4 arias of Giuseppe de Majo, literally to die of laughter) but also the harmonic sophistication of composers sometimes known (Leonardo Leo, one of the discoveries of recent years), sometimes totally foreign to our contemporary ears. Who remembers Giuseppe de Majo, Nicola Ugolino, Niccolo'Grillo or Nicola Fiorenza, august unknowns, certainly, but whose colorful art inspired the greatest composers of this time?

This recording also has the inestimable virtue of offering scores that remind us that Naples was certainly the kingdom of the voice, but also constituted a place of experimentation at least as important as Venice or Rome in the development of instrumental literature. One remains speechless before the beauty of the Concerto for traverso and strings by Leo, a composer of whom until now we only knew his vocal works. Similarly, what composer subsequently dared to write a Concerto for lute and violins, an audacity that Nicolo Ugolino hardly held back from? Naples was definitely the place of all adventures.

The Cappella de'Turchini delivers here a new testament to its talent, but also does useful work by revealing these crucial pages in the history of music. That it gives us this precious gift without sacrificing its proverbial unbridled eloquence is all the more praiseworthy.