|
|
Search MusicWeb Here |
 |
 |
||
|
Founder:
Len Mullenger Editor
in Chief:John Quinn
|
|
|
Search MusicWeb Here |
|
|
||
|
Founder:
Len Mullenger Editor
in Chief:John Quinn
|
|
Francesco Bartolomeo CONTI (1682-1732)
Cantate con istromenti Lontananza dell’amato Ride il prato Con piu lucidi candori Vaghi augelletti  Bernarda Fink, mezzo-soprano
Ars Antique Austria/Gunar Letzbor Rec: July 2001, Tre Colli church, Calci. ARCANA A 309 [68.20]
|
| CD available for post-free online mail-order or you may download individual tracks. For some labels you can download the entire CD with a single click and make HUGE savings. The price you see is the price you pay! The full booklet notes are available on-line. |  |
|
NOTE • Click on the button and you can buy the disc or read the booklet details • You can also access each track which you may then sample or down load. • Further Information. |
|
|
Francesco Bartolomeo Conti is virtually forgotten today, but was an important composer in Viennese musical life of the 18th century. Born in Florence, he worked as a theorbo player for the Habsburg court, and later become Court Composer. After securing what was an excellent position, he spent the rest of his career in Vienna. He wrote some twenty-six operas, a dozen oratorios, as many comic intermezzos, and about eighty cantatas. This recording contains a selection of his cantatas for solo voice with a small instrumental accompaniment.
Bernarda Fink is an excellent singer who has performed a wide range of baroque music, from Bach to Handel, from Monteverdi to Mozart. Combining Fink’s voice with the Ars Antique Austria ensemble, playing on a group of delectable original instruments, one could expect a truly memorable recording.
Alas, while the music is interesting, and the performers competent, there is nothing that makes this recording stand out. Fink, who has a fine, sensual voice, sounds forced and uncomfortable. She overuses vibrato. Her diction sounds a bit unnatural (while I do not speak Italian, it just sounds like she is stumbling at times), and she is almost screaming at some points, where it seems that the music might call for a more subtle approach. Her voice is too present, overwhelming the instruments, and the recording itself is strange; the music sounds muted, and Fink is off-centre in the sound-space.
Fink does not vary her approach to this music, but sings every part exactly the same. There is little emotion coming through; it sounds as if she is practising. Though her winning voice does save this disc from what could be much worse.
It is a shame, to have such a fine singer and excellent musicians, record something that ends up sounding so uninspired. While some listeners may appreciate this disc for its presentation of an unknown composer,. Kirk McElhearn |
Aria.
Lontananza dell'amato Ride Il Prato Allegro.
Ride il Prato e fra herbe Con piu lucidi candori Aria.
Con piu lucidi candori Vaghi Augelletti Vaghi
Augelletti Get a free QuickTime download here |
|
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION •
You can sample only 30 seconds (or 15% if that is longer) of a given track. Select from the View tracks list. Each sample will normally start from the beginning but you can drag the slider to any position before pressing play. • PLEASE NOTE: If you are behind a firewall and the sound is prematurely terminated you may need to register Ludwig as a trusted source with your firewall software.
•You will need Quicktime to hear sound samples. Get a free Quicktime download here • If you cannot see the "Sample All Tracks" button you need to download Flash from here.
|
|
|
Return to Index |