TOMASO ALBINONI (1671-1751): 12 Cantatas, Op. 4.

Description: Six of these are for high, and six for low, female voice. The subject of most of the cantatas is Love, its sweetness and eroticism as well as its fear, despair and bitterness. Albinoni refrains from making the kind of demands on vocal technique as Handel or even Vivaldi, but he proves himself adept at evoking not only the languor and pathos inflicted by Cupid’s arrow but also a sense of context in the instrumental accompaniments. 2 CDs. No texts. Silvia Frigato (soprano), Elena Biscuola (contralto), L’Arte dell’Arco.