Austrian label Preiser Records is renowned for producing high-quality reissues of vocalists and opera from the distant past. But once in awhile Preiser departs from its standard fare in order to make room for something new, and in coloratura soprano Akiko Nakajima the label has found an artist worth singing about. On her debut album La Pastorella, Nakajima's silvery and pure voice floats weightlessly and effortlessly through a mixed bag of obscure and semi-obscure repertoire, including pieces by Alessandro Scarlatti, Franz ...
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Austrian label Preiser Records is renowned for producing high-quality reissues of vocalists and opera from the distant past. But once in awhile Preiser departs from its standard fare in order to make room for something new, and in coloratura soprano Akiko Nakajima the label has found an artist worth singing about. On her debut album La Pastorella, Nakajima's silvery and pure voice floats weightlessly and effortlessly through a mixed bag of obscure and semi-obscure repertoire, including pieces by Alessandro Scarlatti, Franz Schubert, Alfredo Catalani, and Franz Schubert. Assisting Nakajima in this project is pianist Niels Muus, who contributes a splendid and sensitive accompaniment, and legendary clarinetist Peter Schmidl, who brings a sense of authority to one of the nicest recordings ever made of Schubert's Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, a piece that has not always been treated with this much care on record. There are many Catalani songs on La Pastorella, including a Romanza never recorded before --...
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