Beyond – Works by Monteverdi, Caccini, Frescobaldi, Kapsberger, Saracini, Netti, Jarzębski et al
Jakub Józef Orliński (countertenor); Il Pomo d’Oro
Erato 5419772645 51:30 mins
As its title suggests, this album ventures ‘beyond’ the leading composers of 17th-century Italy – Caccini, Frescobaldi, Monteverdi and Barbara Strozzi – to set them alongside their shadowy contemporaries: Bernabei, Moratelli, Netti, Pollarolo, Saracini, Sartorio… the list goes on. Featuring a string of world premieres, the creative and attentively researched programme knits together musical and textual threads into a fast-moving sequence of cantatas, songs, opera extracts and sundry instrumental pieces that blur boundaries been pop and art music.
Among the premieres are a spirited cantata by Giovanni Battista Vitali, showcasing Orliński’s grace and agility, and a short operatic scene from Giovanni Cesare Netti’s La Filli, whose poignant and lyrical melodies the Polish countertenor pours out like liquid honey. A particular highlight of the album is Giulio Caccini’s aria ‘Incomprensibil nume’ from Pompeo Magno, which Orliński and Il Pomo d’Oro imbue with real dignity. Providing jaunty interludes are foot-tapping numbers by Cappellini and Sartorio, and a radiant trio sonata by Johann Caspar Kerll.
Orliński carries off the programme with great élan: his bell-like voice is warm, focused and as limber as his famous break-dancing. Il Pomo d’Oro offers sinewy, high-octane playing and richly textured continuo realisations. Given the litany of unknown works included here, it’s a pity the programme notes aren’t more extensive. Small caveat; great album. Kate Bolton-Porciatti