Bontemps / Ranaivo / Hanitra - Songs from Madagascar - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

On 1 March 1620, the festa a ballo Delizie di Posillipo was performed at the Royal Palace of Naples to celebrate the recovery of King Philip III. Promoted by the Viceroy Pedro Girón, 3rd Duke of Osuna, the spectacle featured splendid stage designs by Bartolomeo Cartaro and music by some of Naples' finest composers Pietro Antonio Giramo, Giacomo Spiardo, Andrea Ansalone, and especially Francesco Lambardi and Giovanni Maria Trabaci, maestro di cappella and organist of the viceregal chapel. As in the great court intermedii, the performance combined arias, canzonettas, and dances, with alternating instrumental groups. On stage, Pan and Venus, symbols of the terrestrial and marine realms, compete for Posillipo, but the contest ends with a solemn final dance. La Grande Chapelle faithfully revives this sumptuous ballo, framed by the religious ceremonies and music organised by the Spanish court in Naples, a brilliant reflection of it's power, multicultural identity, and Baroque splendour.

Performed with life, with intimacy and friendship, this Malagazy music is one of spontaneity, warmth and cheerfulness.

Haydn / Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra / Zuker - Violin Concerto No. 1 in C Major - Sinfonia [SUPER-AUDIO CD] Hybrid SACD date 09/11/2015