Remembering something joyfully special about those sessions; the place, the music, colleagues, little incidents, can flood back in as we listen ! In the case of anything made at Forde Abbey, this pleasure is guaranteed… Two or three years ago I returned for a concert there, and in the rehearsal, as I sang my first notes in the Great Hall, I knew again that these acoustics are among the most beautiful anywhere in the world, for chamber music and for voices. Add to that the beauty of the house and its grounds, the peace of deepest Somerset, and you can recall sessions as near to a holiday as any work could be !.. One could take any of these pieces and add clusters of accompaniment for larger theatrical spaces, or, as we did, one can search for the essence of each drama with voice, just one plucked instrument and a special space.” (Dame Emma Kirkby, 2012)
[1] Amarilli mia bella (Giulio Caccini) 2:32 [2] Amarilli mia bella (Giulio Caccini/Johann Nauwach) 3:04 [3] Tempesta di dolcezza (Johann Nauwach) 1:44 [4] Parlo, misero, o taccio? (Guilio Caccini /Angelo Notari 4:07 [5] Ahi, che s’accresce in me (Angelo Notari) 2:45 [6] Toccata (Claudio Saracini) (lute solo) 3:25 [7] L’Astratto (Barbara Strozzi) 8:33 [8] Lamento di Maria Stuarda (Giacomo Carissimi) 9:04 [9] Ariadne’s Lament (Henry Lawes) 10:03 [10] Sappho to the Goddess of Beauty (John Blow) 5:21 [11] The blessed Virgin’s Expostulation (Henry Purcell) 6:18 [12] Nature Framed Thee (John Weldon) 6:25
