Customer Reviews

The Italian Dramatic Lament

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THE ITALIAN DRAMATIC LAMENT is a collection of early music, primarily vocal music that was popular in 17th century Italy. Composers wrote and often performed music that was meant to move the audience to tears (thus the name lament). Like much of the music of that period, the music was performed and could be rather popular but was never written for perpetuity so much of it is lost. What we have on this disc is a treasure and to have it performed so well is an added bonus. In many ways it sounds like operatic music, and the composers included, particularly Monteverdi, were instrumental in creating the genre that developed into opera as we know it today. This CD will be enjoyed by people who enjoy early music and will have a ready audience with lovers of early opera. The music is performed the Catacoustic Consort, an award willing early music group that seems to be able to convey the emotion of the vocal pieces.

The lament was a genre all its own in Italian Baroque opera, one of the most famous being Arianna's Lament by Monteverdi. Sopranos, in particular, would expire on a rock, because of betrayals and broken hearts, lamenting their fate to the audience all the way! The audience would typically write about their emotional reactions-it seems that sometimes the audiences were literally awash in tears! This new group, winner of the Early Music America Competition in 2003, picks both vocal and instrumental laments from the Lament literature and performs them beautifully in the style and appropriate instrumentation. Catherine Webster, the soprano, handles all this music and ornamentation with ease, and the ensemble plays very well. This group is on tour as I write this. If they are near you or in your city, don't miss their concerts!