The early music group L'Arpeggiata and its fearless director Christina Pluhar are well known for the exploration of hitherto little-known Baroque repertories, but they may never have exceeded the quotient of sheer enjoyment they deliver here. The album, as the title indicates, contains music from Naples. There is one Neapolitan song from the early 20th century, by Rodolfo Falvo, but most of the program is from the Baroque, ranging from opera to popular songs and dances, and a little comic routine called La Pazza ("The ...
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The early music group L'Arpeggiata and its fearless director Christina Pluhar are well known for the exploration of hitherto little-known Baroque repertories, but they may never have exceeded the quotient of sheer enjoyment they deliver here. The album, as the title indicates, contains music from Naples. There is one Neapolitan song from the early 20th century, by Rodolfo Falvo, but most of the program is from the Baroque, ranging from opera to popular songs and dances, and a little comic routine called La Pazza ("The Crazy Woman") interpreted by two different performers. There's considerable interest in the way the more involved pieces, even more than those in other Baroque traditions, rely on popular roots. The composers, except for those of the opera excerpts, are all but unknown, though this is not really an album for scholars and arcane enthusiasts. It is fun from beginning to end. Pluhar displays the talents of eight vocalists, including both a male alto and a countertenor, and to a man or...
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