Caresana - L'adoratione de Maggi (CD)

Again and again, Antonio Florio and his colleagues from the Centro di Musica Antica Pietà de' Turchini in Naples succeed in tracking down forgotten repertoire of the Neapolitan Baroque and breathing new life into it. This recording from 2009 focuses on cantatas by the composer Cristofaro Caresana. The latter was born in Venice and, in Florio's opinion, was one of the most important protagonists of Neapolitan musical life in the second half of the 17th century. Both the music of his cantatas and their performance reflect the Neapolitan spirit of the Baroque in a dramatic and exuberant way; tasteful and accomplished singers such as Maria Grazia Schiavo, Giuseppe de Vittorio and Rosario Totaro form the ensemble for the three polyphonic Christmas cantatas, of which the one about the "Adoration of the Three Magi" gave the album it's title. The program is completed by the solo cantata "Partenope" for the feast of the Neapolitan patron saint San Gennaro as well as instrumental sonatas from the pen of Pietro Andrea Ziani, in which the strings of the Turchini can demonstrate their virtuosity.