Cecilia Bartoli and Sol Gabetta Join Forces for New Album, Dolce Duello
For immediate release
Cecilia Bartoli and Sol Gabetta Join Forces for New Album, Dolce Duello
The Collection of Baroque Arias for Voice and Cello to be Released on November 10
Album Trailer Out Now
31 August 2017 - Cecilia Bartoli (vocals) and Sol Gabetta (cello) – two of the most captivating women in classical music – are joining together for a new album, Dolce Duello, to be released on November 10 via Decca Classics/Universal Music Canada, the country’s leading music company. The album is a collection of Baroque masterpieces that showcase the stunning combination of voice and cello in a series of dazzling duels and wondrous arias.
The composers of these works demand equal commitment from both singer and instrumentalist – engaging them in a friendly duel. If the concerto is the most elaborate and extended of musical duels, the 18th Century’s obbligato aria, with its pugnacious instrumental solo part, is easily the most spectacular. From the dawn of the Baroque, the voice and cello were inseparable companions, whether they appeared together for practical reasons (the cello being part of the continuo) or for expressive purposes. The sound of the cello is often considered to be the closest to the human voice, one elegantly complimenting the other. However, when they are pitted against each other, something extraordinary happens – the cello pushes the voice to its physical limits while the singer demands raw emotion from wood and strings as if it were nature’s own instrument.
Dolce Duello covers almost a century of music with works by Antonio Vivaldi, George Frideric Handel, Domenico Gabrielli, Tomaso Albinoni, and Luigi Boccherini. The new album also boasts three world premiere recordings: Nicola Antonio Porpora’s “Giusto Amor, tu che m’accendi” from the serenata Gli orti esperidi, and two compositions by Antonio Caldara – “Fortuna e speranza” from his opera Nitocri and “Tanto, e con sì gran piena” from Gianguir.
Reflected in the music of Dolce Duello is the great friendship between Bartoli and Gabetta. They have known each other for years and had long been looking for a project to collaborate on. Together with a musicologist, they unearthed these beautiful works for voice and cello – three of which had never been recorded before. There are touching laments, such as Handel’s “Ode for St Cecilia’s Day”, and more energetic arias like “Di verde ulivo” by Vivaldi.
While it may be an album of duels, the true winner is surely the listener who can bask in the joyous music from two wondrous women. Dolce Duello is full of sweet treats for every taste.
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Cecilia Bartoli and Sol Gabetta - Dolce Duello
- Caldara: “Fortuna e speranza” (Nitocri) *
- Albinoni: “Aure, andate e baciate” (ll Nascimento dell’Aurora)
- Gabrielli: “Aure voi, de’ miei sospiri” (San Sigismondo, re di Borgogna)
- Vivaldi: “Di verde ulivo” (Tito Manlio)
- Handel: Ode for St Cecilia’s Day: “What passion cannot Music raise and quell?”
- Caldara: “Tanto, e con sì gran piena” (Gianguir) *
- Handel: “Son qual stanco pellegrino” (Arianna in Creta)
- Porpora: “Giusto Amor, tu che m ’accendi” (Gli orti esperidi) *
- - 11. Boccherini: Cello Concerto No. 10 in D major, G 483
*World premiere recordings
Cecilia Bartoli, voice
Sol Gabetta, cello
Cappella Gabetta, Baroque orchestra
Andrés Gabetta, concertmaster
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