Estevan Velardi - Stradella : Vola Vola in Altri Petti (2006)

Italian Baroque composer Alessandro Stradella (1639-1682) is known for his dramatic life, whose watchwords were sex and violence; he was stabbed to death, right under the nose of his bodyguard, by assassins sent out by the husband of a nobleman whose wife he had seduced. His music is just beginning to enter general circulation, and it's as exciting as one might imagine, with plenty of vocal acrobatics to challenge even the best singers. The "serenade" featured on this Italian release, Vola, vola in altri petti (Fly, fly to other hearts), is a work for four singers, about 40 minutes long; it contains recitatives and arias, along with an opening instrumental sinfonia and a dance interlude. Conceived as part of an evening's entertainment at a nobleman's palace, it is really a dialogic poem rather than a work with a plot. A shepherdess, Filla (Phyllis, a soprano), meets a swain named Silvio (a countertenor), and the two discover that they have both been wronged in love and plot revenge. At this point, two gods, Love (another soprano) and Disdain or Anger (a bass), come on the scene and contend for control of the minds of the two pastoral figures. The ending is inconclusive; the cast merely states in an ensemble that "In the kingdom of Love, he who wants to win Love should arm himself with Anger." Not much of a story, but the work is immensely appealing. It combines vocal heroics with an entirely natural passage from conversational recitative to passionate arias -- the music never comes off as a series of set pieces. The singers on this disc are ideal, with voices of moderate dimensions but maximum agility. Hear especially the bass, Riccardo Ristori, in one of the arias from Vola, vola (try "Io, tu rival," track 18), or in the short bass cantata at the end of the disc (try track 32, "Furie del nero Tartaro). At the outset he seems gentle, almost diffident, until he plunges into the swirling scales and perilous octave-plus leaps Stradella has written for him. The Alessandro Stradella Consort under Estevan Velardi, playing period instruments, delivers lively, sensitive support. Detailed notes, with full texts, translations, and notes specific to each track help introduce this unknown music, which with luck will not be unknown for much longer -- fearless young singers looking for a work the length of half a concert program that will knock an audience out are hereby directed toward Vola, vola in altri petti, and the soprano queens of the Baroque who have been regaling us with Handel and Hasse should start looking back to Stradella as well. This serenade is historically important, to boot -- its orchestra is marked for division into a concerto grosso and concertino or large and small group, making it apparently this first work with this feature specified. An absolutely superb job has been done by all associated with this release.