The American tenor Karim Sulayman, of Lebanese background, has previously been heard on recordings with the Cleveland-based historical-performance group Apollo's Fire. He is backed by members of that group here in his solo debut, with the larger Apollo's Fire heard on the instrumental sonatas distributed through the program. Those point to the real strength of this release. Sulayman has a wonderfully resonant voice, and he contributes, in his singing and in an elegant note, a sense of personal involvement with the story of ...
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The American tenor Karim Sulayman, of Lebanese background, has previously been heard on recordings with the Cleveland-based historical-performance group Apollo's Fire. He is backed by members of that group here in his solo debut, with the larger Apollo's Fire heard on the instrumental sonatas distributed through the program. Those point to the real strength of this release. Sulayman has a wonderfully resonant voice, and he contributes, in his singing and in an elegant note, a sense of personal involvement with the story of Orpheus, mythology's most famous vocalist. A collection of 17th century pieces related to Orpheus, a story intimately entwined with the development of opera, was a good idea in itself, but where Sulayman really excels is in forging a little "I love you to hell and back" narrative to tie together these pieces by Monteverdi, Giulio Caccini, Dario Castello, Giovanni Paulo Cima, Sigismondo d'India, Stefano Landi, Antonio Brunelli, and Tarquinio Merula. Some of the instrumental sonatas...
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