Cieco Amor - Opera arias written for Giuseppe Maria Boschi by Sergio Foresti / Abchordis Ensemble / Andrea Buccarella

Sergio Foresti / Abchordis Ensemble / Andrea Buccarella

Cieco Amor - Opera arias written for Giuseppe Maria Boschi

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917287523
Catnr: CC 72875
Release date: 12 March 2021
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Label
Challenge Classics

UPC
0608917287523

Catalogue number
CC 72875

Release date
12 March 2021

"Sergio Foresti highlights the versatility both of Boschi’s musicianship and his own technique, through this selection of operatic arias by ten composers altogether....Overall, this release provides a valuable insight into the abilities of, respectively, a historic and a contemporary singer."

Music Web International, 31-1-2022

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

Press

About the album

Giuseppe Maria Boschi was undoubtably one of the most famous and virtuosic baritones of the 18th century. He had a brilliant and intense career on a par with those of renowned contemporary castrati and sopranos, including Farinelli, Senesino, Faustina Bordoni, Margherita Durastanti, Francesca Cuzzoni and Nicolini. He was one of the leading baritones throughout London from 1720 to 1728, sought after by Georg Frederich Händel, Giovanni Bononcini, and Attilio Ariosti. Warrior, father, lover, tyrant: many were the roles to show the nuances of his vocality which, judging by the music written for him, was of exceptional range and well-suited for dramatic roles.
The program of this recording made in honor of Giuseppe Maria Boschi is largely unpublished and constitutes a very small selection of some of the most beautiful pages of music written for him between 1708 and 1728.

Sergio Foresti: Nowadays, baroque music is often perceived merely as light, cheerful music. This image is superficial when you consider the abundant variety of the 83 roles written specifically for Giuseppe Maria Boschi. He was indeed a great singer, working with the greatest voices and composers of his time. His voice, his technique, and his ability to express drama in music must all have been spectacular.
This is, above all, theater music. The arias of this program are expressions of interior states of mind. The words have a meaning, as do the ways in which they are set to music by the various composers. The singer had to convey these meanings and add their own ornaments to the music. I have done my best to honor this great tradition.

De toonaangevende Italiaanse bariton Sergio Foresti had een lang gekoesterde droom. Het zingen van de aria’s van Guiseppe Maria Boschi, ongetwijfeld een van de meest beroemde en virtuoze bas-baritons uit de 18e eeuw. Met het album Cieco Amor komt die droom uit, pure belcanto!

Het album Cieco Amor is een eerbetoon aan die Italiaanse bas-bariton Giuseppe Maria Boschi. Het bevat een selectie van grotendeels ongepubliceerde, tussen 1708 en 1728 voor Boschi geschreven, aria’s. Samen met de getalenteerde musici van het Abchordis Ensemble onder leiding van de bekroonde klavecinist Andrea Buccarella maakte Sergio Foresti er een waar feest van met als resultaat een prachtige opname.

Sergio Foresti heeft een bijzondere voorliefde voor muziek uit de 18e en 19e eeuw. Zijn repertoire omvat opera van barok tot laatromantiek, sacrale muziek en liederen tot in de 20e eeuw. Volgens de belcanto traditie geeft de zanger karakter aan zijn rol door zijn eigen versieringen aan de muziek toe te voegen. Soms zijn die uitbundig om de bravoure van het personage te onderstrepen. Op andere momenten vraagt de sfeer van de aria meer om intimiteit.

Sergio Foresti heeft een heldere visie op belcanto. “Het gaat niet alleen om mooi en gepolijst zingen, maar om ‘juist’ zingen. Dat betekent eigenlijk dat de zeggingskracht van de tekst en de emotie die wordt uitgedrukt, de leidraad zijn voor de uitvoering. Het is niet alleen een technisch hoogstandje. De techniek beheers je, anders kun je deze muziek überhaupt niet zingen. Het gaat meer om de vrijheid te nemen de tekst daadwerkelijk uit te drukken. Het is eigenlijk zoals zangers van eind negentiende en begin twintigste eeuw dat deden op onnavolgbare en karakteristieke wijze. Die zangers hadden stuk voor stuk een eigenheid die je heden ten dage nauwelijks nog tegenkomt.” Sergio Foresti is een van die zangers die zich toelegt op deze pure belcanto, en hoe!

Giuseppe Maria Boschi had een briljante en intense carrière. Hij had een groot vermogen om drama in muziek uit te drukken. De 83 speciaal voor hem gecomponeerde rollen laten deze rijke dramatische variatie zien. Hij portretteerde koningen, krijgers, rouwende vaders en enthousiaste en treurende minnaars. De muziek varieert van furieuze coloraturen tot trage treurnis en alle schakeringen daartussen. De muziek voor Boschi weerlegt het beeld dat barokke opera per se lichtvoetig en luchtig zou moeten zijn. Vanaf de uitvinding ervan rond 1600 bevatte het genre al alle dramatische kenmerken die we ook kennen van latere werken.

Giuseppe Maria Boschi war zweifelsohne einer der berühmtesten und virtuosesten Baritone des 18. Jahrhunderts. Er hatte eine brillante und intensive Karriere auf einer Stufe mit den berühmten zeitgenössischen Kastraten und Sopranen, darunter Farinelli, Senesino, Faustina Bordoni, Margherita Durastanti, Francesca Cuzzoni und Nicolini. Von 1720 bis 1728 war er einer der führenden Baritone Londons und wurde von Georg Frederich Händel, Giovanni Bononcini und Attilio Ariosti gesucht. Krieger, Vater, Liebhaber, Tyrann: es gab viele Rollen, in denen sich die Nuancen seiner Stimme zeigten, die, nach der für ihn geschriebenen Musik zu urteilen, von außergewöhnlichem Umfang war und sich gut für dramatische Rollen eignete.
Das Programm dieser Aufnahme, die zu Ehren von Giuseppe Maria Boschi gemacht wurde, ist größtenteils unveröffentlicht und stellt eine sehr kleine Auswahl einiger der schönsten Seiten der Musik dar, die zwischen 1708 und 1728 für ihn geschrieben wurde.
Sergio Foresti: Heutzutage wird Barockmusik oft nur als leichte, fröhliche Musik wahrgenommen. Dieses Bild ist oberflächlich, wenn man die reiche Vielfalt der 83 Rollen betrachtet, die speziell für Giuseppe Maria Boschi geschrieben wurden. Er war in der Tat ein großer Sänger, der mit den größten Stimmen und Komponisten seiner Zeit zusammenarbeitete. Seine Stimme, seine Technik und seine Fähigkeit, Drama in Musik auszudrücken, müssen spektakulär gewesen sein.
Dies ist in erster Linie Theatermusik. Die Arien dieses Programms sind Ausdruck innerer Seelenzustände. Die Worte haben eine Bedeutung, ebenso wie die Art und Weise, in der sie von den verschiedenen Komponisten vertont wurden. Der Sänger musste diese Bedeutungen vermitteln und der Musik seine eigenen Ornamente hinzufügen. Ich habe mein Bestes getan, um diese große Tradition zu ehren.

Artist(s)

Sergio Foresti

Sergio Foresti (1968) is a virtuoso Italian baritone. He first graduated in both opera singing and piano at the conservatory of Modena (Italy) and a decade later also in vocal chamber music in Florence (Italy). From the start of his career, he explored several musical styles in depth. In polyphonic music, for about 15 years he took the bass part in many concerts and recordings of renaissance madrigals with Concerto Italiano. He even worked with the Italian medieval group LaReverdie.

As a soloist he performed sacred music from the early nineties on. His debut in opera in 1998 was as Alcandro in Vivaldi’s L’Olimpiade. Since then he worked with important conductors like René Jacobs, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Fabio Biondi, and Jordi Savall. He performed on many stages all over Europe.

In 2012 Sergio Foresti moved from Rome to Berlin. He decided to study all over again the belcanto style of singing, which came to life with the invention of opera around 1600. He focused on technical qualities, such as the even placement of the voice, legato singing, flexibility of the voice, and ornamentations like trills. He looked for technical and stylistic insights in the old treatises. He realized that the early recordings of great singers of the past are a treasure trove of examples of how the belcanto principles can be put into practice. He came to the conclusion that music above all is created to move the soul, and that this is the approach he wants to follow.

From this deepened understanding of belcanto, he restudied his operatic and chamber music repertoire. Always working from the music score, he looks for meaningful ways to express the harmony between text and music. While maintaining a strong link to baroque music, he performed in operas of Mozart, Rossini, and Donizetti. In 2018 he released a collection of Italian cantatas of Antonio Caldara with Ensemble Stile Galante. This collection of arias for Giuseppe Maria Boschi is the realisation of and old dream, in collaboration with the fantastic Abchordis Ensemble under Andrea Buccarella.

Composer(s)

Various

Press

Sergio Foresti highlights the versatility both of Boschi’s musicianship and his own technique, through this selection of operatic arias by ten composers altogether....Overall, this release provides a valuable insight into the abilities of, respectively, a historic and a contemporary singer.
Music Web International, 31-1-2022

The selection [of arias]... have as a common denominator both the high musical quality and the vocal demands. Foresti's interpretation has two virtues, technically it is almost flawless (especially in coloraturas) and faithfully expresses the text and the affection of each of the very different roles he plays. A highly interesting recording.
Ritmo, 03-1-2022

The pleasure with which I listened to this recital is closely related to the singing of Sergio Foresti..... Another positive point is the varied composition with lyrical and contemplative moments, attractively dosed between the vocal and instrumental fireworks..... Bravo!
Opus Klassiek, 15-12-2021

....rarely heard repertoire....real gems...
Opera Magazine, 01-12-2021

He sings it extremely well and there aren't a lot of singers who can handle the vocal challenges and the dramatic ones as well. In addition, his diction and projection of the different characters is very sharp and detailed. The Abchordis Ensemble conducted by Andrea Buccarella offers colorful, forceful support. It's clear that all enjoyed creating this together. The sound is warm and crisp with enough space around Foresti's voice.
American Record Guide, 01-9-2021

Sergio Foresti impressively portrays the imperious warrior, the vengeful father or the longing lover. With his robust and very flexible baritone voices, he effortlessly creates cascading coloratura as well as quieter, elegiac passages with great stylistic confidence, stage presence and drama. It's just amazing how - theatrical in the best sense of the word - Foresti gives his characters credibility. The Abchordis Ensemble, led by harpsichordist Andrea Buccarella, is also really letting itslef go and knows how to fill its part with rich contrasts and differentiation. With its unbridled temperament and passion, this is the ideal partner for the confident Sergio Foresti. A musical rollercoaster of emotions!
Toccata, 07-8-2021

Foresti sounds energetic, lively. His voice is firm and clear. Its color is mixed with strength and delicacy. He creates unique and often contrasting interpretations. At times it is moving, then again noble, and then it is blunt. His voice has a rich expressive palette and his interpretations are emotional and well thought out at the same time. This is an example of baroque virtuosity at the highest level.
Presto, 13-7-2021

Sergio Foresti and Abchordis Ensemble's intelligent selection navigates a course through contrasting instrumentations, keys, moods and composers.
Gramophone, 01-7-2021

Foresti strides majestically across his register, dispatching ringing top notes; in passages of coloratura, he's as reckless as a racing driver.
BBC Music Magazine, 01-7-2021