Various Composers - Italian Overtures / Intermezzi / Preludes [Gavazzeni-Orchestra Del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino]

This is my fourth listen to this disc, and my third to get in my Blog [17th November 2010 & 28th December 2011], it's an excellent little compendium of eight Italian Composers, and there's a tendency to delve into the less well known stuff, and that's very welcome indeed, it was good to familiarise myself with some of these 'unknown' pieces today.

Gianandrea Gavazzeni is Italian [1909-1996], mainly an Opera Conductor, which explains the pieces on this disc, he recorded this disc way back in 1957 and 1958, which explains the oldness of the recording, still excellent by the way, and in stereo, the front cover portrait is really excellent [by Leonardo Cendamo], a clear focused shot of Gavazzeni wearing a hat, nice light on his upturned face, love the lettering too, listing the Composers.

Well this recording is fairly old, it needs some more warmth / bass to it, a certain bloom i guess, but it's still amazing for something that's nearly sixty years old, on this listen it was Ponchielli's Waltz Of The Hours i liked the best, but i also thought tracks 2-5 & 8 were excellent too, and it's track 4 Catalini's La Wally Prelude that i found so endearing, it's actually the prelude to Act 4 of the Opera, it starts with shimmering low strings, probably violas, with ghostly high woodwinds [0:00-1:08], it's wonderfully mysterious music, an offstage solo trumpet joins in [1:08-1:35] the thing then returns to the opening again [1:36-2:02], the higher strings come in with harp, Catalani makes a real varied and atmospheric canvas, lighter music comes in, shimmering violins with flutes, and pizzicato lower strings with a tambourine [3:15-3:41], now that's some heady combination!, and very effective musically too, the music gets angry with the high violins [3:59+], and then dark clouds of brass come in [4:20+], with intense strings in the background, lots of tragedy here, Catalini can't help but bring the wonderful opening back again [5:28-6:05], this time subdued, as the music then takes on a more noble conclusion, woodwinds give some sort of coda [6:38+], the end is gentle and beautiful, it's really something worth getting to know, it will be a firm favourite every time you get to hear it.

Here's Gavazzeni playing this Prelude on YouTube.

Various Composers - 'Bel Sogno' Italian Soprano Opera Arias [Gallardo-Domas/ Barbacini-Munchner Rundfunkorchester]

I love these Opera Aria recitals, this one is dedicated to the Italian repertoire, maybe a bit too much Puccini, and it would have been good to have some more Bellini, but it's still a good variety, one of the best Opera Arias recital discs i own. 

Cristina Gallardo-Domas was born in Chile, at the moment she seems to be a Puccini specialist, and she sings the lighter Bel Canto roles, she has a versatile Soprano voice, easily reaches the high notes, and is lovely and sweet, she recorded this recital in 2001, she certainly isn't a household name, i'm surprised, she's actually really good, the booklet front cover shows a cropped head and shoulders shot [photo by Kasskara], a sepia toned shot, very very nice, and the white lettering in the darker areas really stands out nicely.

I enjoyed every single one of these arias, and it's hard to pick out a highlight, but track 3, the aria 'Ebben, ne andro lontana' from Catalani's La Wally is such a heartfelt gorgeous aria, so full of yearning, about a girl who contemplates moving far away from home, and all the sorrow that that will bring, after a loaded intro of expectant strings and fluttering flutes, Gallardo-Domas / Wally starts to sing her aria with a somewhat monotonous beat, and so it's all the more memorable when she sings 'there, amid the white snow' [0:33-0:43], to a glorious high and sweet tune, the highlight of the whole aria, i like the short woodwind phrase after the first verse [1:19-1:25], a nice dissonant touch, the middle section is sung with a gentle passion [1:34+] where Wally contemplates leaving her Mother, possibly never seeing her again, very loaded with touching regret, the tune at the start comes back, and the high and sweet phrase is now 'like the church bell's echo' [2:53-3:04], the whole thing is short and sweet.

Here's Cristina Gallardo-Domas singing 'Ebben, ne andro lontana' from Catalani's La Wally on YouTube.