The contents of this release are a good deal more focused than the Ave Maria title, or even the "Musik zu Marienfesten" (Music for Marian Festivals), would imply. In fact this is a collection of solo arias with Marian texts and instrumental sonatas, from southern Germany, Austria, and northern Italy, from the seventeenth century. Far from the collection of favorites the Ave Maria title suggests, all the pieces, with the exception of one sonata by Biber, receive their first recordings here, and many of the composers ...
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The contents of this release are a good deal more focused than the Ave Maria title, or even the "Musik zu Marienfesten" (Music for Marian Festivals), would imply. In fact this is a collection of solo arias with Marian texts and instrumental sonatas, from southern Germany, Austria, and northern Italy, from the seventeenth century. Far from the collection of favorites the Ave Maria title suggests, all the pieces, with the exception of one sonata by Biber, receive their first recordings here, and many of the composers (Alberich Mazak, Pater Adalbert Grunde, Georg Christoph Leuttner, Alessandro Poglietti, Arcangelo Crotti, Rupert Ignaz Mayr) are quite obscure. As long as you're clear on what you're getting, this is a superior release. One major attraction is the singing of the young Spanish soprano Núria Rial. Her voice is not large, but it's exactly the right size for the cathedral dimensions of the music (nicely replicated in studio sound by the Berlin Classics label). It's light, agile, and expressive,...
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