Il Dolce Conforto reveals the hidden musical life of 18th century Italian nuns: aristocratic women who had the opportunity to grow into exceptional musicians in the closed world of their community. Within the convent walls, they studied opera, set up salons and theatres, and ordered new music from the leading composers of their time. Heavy stuff? Far from it: the music of Niccolò Piccinni, Nicola Porpora, Gennaro Manna and their contemporaries sounds surprisingly light, virtuoso and catchy! Passion cantatas for Holy Week are not overburdened with serious gloom. Instead, they show off their elegant melodies and prominent soprano parts. And then there’s the psaltery, a seldom-heard stringed instrument that gives everything a subtle sparkle. After years of research, Franziska Fleischanderl has brought it back into this repertoire at last. Il Dolce Conforto colours the picture with baroque music on the border between devotion and worldly theatre – an approach that won them the coveted Opus Klassik Award for the best concert recording of the year in 2024.
Program
Passion cantatas by D. Merola, G. Manna, A. Caputi, N. Piccinni | Instrumental work by F. Ubaldi, N. Porpora, F.P. Supriano
Performers
Carine Tinney, soprano | Daniel Perer, organ | Pablo FitzGerald, lute | Carla Rovirosa Guals, cello | Franziska Fleischanderl, psaltery & artistic leader