Rossini / Ricercar Academy / Ponseele - Operatic Overtures in Transcriptions for Wind - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Adriano Sebastiani made his recording debut on Brilliant Classics with the songs for voice and guitar of Louis Spohr; here Adrian accompanies the soprano Silvia Vajente in her Brilliant Classics debut. A seasoned performer of this repertoire, Vajente is a past winner of the first Concorso Internazionale di Canto Barocco ‘Francesco Provenzale’ (held in Naples) and the 10th Premio Bonporti International Early Music Competition (in Rovereto, Italy). The Ariettes Italiennes are 8 pieces taken from the Soirées Musicales, a collection of songs and arias written by the “pensioned” Rossini after his retirement as a highly successful opera composer. They are pure delight, each one written on a certain topic or emotion, full of humour, wit, nostalgia and old age irony and wisdom. The Douze Ariettes Italiennes are written by guitar composer and virtuoso Ferdinando Carulli, on popular and famous themes from Rossini’s operas, elegant and charming, salon music of high distinction and entertainment. Sung by soprano Silvia Vajente, with the right touch of beauty, sentiment and tongue-in-cheek, guitarist Adriano Sebastiani supplying the perfect instrumental foundation.

It is no secret that Rossini never wasted his energy and, partly out of haste and partly out of laziness, he was always ready to resurrect pages of music which would have otherwise been destined to oblivion. Thus, when in 1822 he was invited by Prince Klemens von Metternich to commemorate with suitable music the Congress of the European heads of state which would take place in Verona-to InchharmonizeInch the souls, as it were-this proclaimed InchGod of harmonyInch gladly accepted. Il vero omaggio (InchsincereInch act of devotion toward the Austrian Emperor) was a recycling of the pastoral cantata La riconoscenza, performed by Rossini in Naples the year before. The sequence of pieces which constitute Il vero omaggio confirm Rossini's own statement the musical nature of the cantata is quite similar to the first act of a normal opera. As such, it was enjoyed by the public of the period, partly due to the fact that the performance was staged. What distinguishes such a cantata from an opera is not, indeed, the visual aspect, as one might assume, but rather the absence of a veritable dramatic design. The subject of the cantata was thus a mere pretense for staging a public panegyric to the Austrian Emperor by means of a grandiose concert of vocal music. The work is interpreted here by conductor Herbert Handt.

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