Dolce Duello Andres Gabetta, Cappella Gabetta

• Antonio Caldara (1670 - 1736): Nitocri:
• 1 “Fortuna e speranza” 10:05
• Tomaso Albinoni (1671 - 1751): Il nascimento dell’Aurora:
• 2 “Aure andate e baciate” 03:23
• Domenico Gabrielli (1659 - 1690): San Sigismondo, re di Borgogna:
• 3 “Aure voi de’ miei sospiri” 06:44
• Antonio Vivaldi (1678 - 1741): Tito Manlio, RV 738 / Act 1:
• 4 "Di verde olivo" 05:22
• Georg Friedrich Händel (1685 - 1759): Ode for Saint Cecilia's Day, HWV76
• 5 "What Passion Cannot Music Raise and Quell" 07:35
• Antonio Caldara (1670 - 1736): Gianguir
• 6 “Tanto e con sì gran pena” 06:28
• Georg Friedrich Händel (1685 - 1759): Arianna in Creta
• 7 “Son qual stanco pellegrino” 09:23
• Nicolai Porpora (1686 - 1768): Gli orti esperidi
• 8 “Giusto Amor tu che m’accendi” 05:30
• Luigi Boccherini (1743 - 1805): Cello Concerto In D Major Op. 34:
• 9 1. Allegro e con moto 08:14
• 10 2. Andante lentarello 07:04
• 11 3. Allegro maestoso 06:58
• Total Runtime 01:16:46

Info for Dolce Duello

Cecilia Bartoli and Sol Gabetta – two of the most captivating women in classical music – are joining together for a new album ‘Dolce Duello’ to be released on Decca Classics on 10th November. It is a collection of Baroque masterpieces which showcase the stunning combination of voice and cello in a series of dazzling duels and wondrous arias. To coincide with the release, Bartoli and Gabetta will be performing on a European tour with Cappella Gabetta and conductor and violinist Andrés Gabetta.

‘Dolce Duello’ covers almost a century of music. The new album features works by Antonio Vivaldi, George Frideric Handel, Domenico Gabrielli, Tomaso Albinoni and Luigi Boccherini, as well as three world premiere recordings: Nicola Antonio Porpora’s ‘Giusto Amor, tu che m’accendi’ from the serenata Gli orti esperidi, and two compositions by Antonio Caldara – ‘Fortuna e speranza’ from his opera Nitocri and ‘Tanto, e con sì gran piena’ from Gianguir.

The composers of these works make a variety of requirements on their soloists, demanding equal commitment from both singer and instrumentalist – engaging them in a friendly duel. If the concerto is the most elaborate and extended of musical duels, the 18th century’s obbligato aria, with its pugnacious instrumental solo part, is easily the most spectacular. From the dawn of the Baroque, the voice and cello were inseparable companions, whether they appeared together for practical reasons (the cello being part of the continuo) or for expressive purposes. The sound of the cello is often considered to be the closest to the human voice, one elegantly complimenting the other. But when they are pitted against each other something extraordinary happens – the cello pushes the voice to its physical limits, while the singer demands raw emotion from wood and strings as if it were nature’s own instrument.

Reflected in the music of ‘Dolce Duello’ is the great friendship between Bartoli and Gabetta. They have known each other for years and had long been looking for a project to collaborate on. Together with a musicologist, they unearthed some beautiful works for voice and cello – three of which had never been recorded before. There are touching laments, as in Handel’s Ode for St Cecilia’s Day, as well as more energetic arias such as ‘Di verde ulivo’ by Vivaldi. Bartoli and Gabetta sparkle when they play together.

While it maybe an album of duels, the true winner is surely the listener – who can bask in the joyous music from two wondrous women. ‘Dolce Duello’ is full of sweet treats for every taste.

Cecilia Bartoli, mezzo-soprano
Sol Gabetta, cello
Cappella Gabetta
Andres Gabetta, violin, direction

Andres Gabetta & Cappella Gabetta
The «Cappella Gabetta» has enabled Sol Gabetta to make one of her musical dreams come true. She, her brother – concertmaster Andres Gabetta – and a hand-picked team of highly qualified musicians from the same musical background devise repertoires of baroque and early classical music which they perform on original instruments at concerts and in the studio.

The ensemble was established in December 2010, and has already made very successful guest appearances in Paris (Salle Gaveau), Hamburg (Musikhalle), Munich (Prinzregententheater), Zurich (Tonhalle), Berlin (Philharmonie) and Istanbul, as well as at illustrious festivals such as the Bremen Music Festival, Festival Baroque de Lyon, Rheingau Music Festival and others.

Since 2011, the Cappella Gabetta has made two recordings for Sony Music; one of its Italian baroque repertoire featuring Sol Gabetta (which includes several world premiere recordings of works by Giovanni Platti), and another on which the mezzo-soprano Vivica Genaux performs music by Handel and Hasse. The plaudits received by the orchestra for these CDs have included being selected as the «Recording of the Month» by Gramophone magazine, and as the «CD of the week» on the NDR-Kultur, BR-Klassik and RBB (Berlin) radio stations.

The Cappella Gabetta has, to an increasing extent, been inviting other distinguished instrumentalists and vocalists to participate in joint concert and recording projects in the area of baroque and early classical music, including the soprano Simone Kermes, the aforementioned mezzo-soprano Vivica Genaux, the soprano Nuria Rial, the trumpet virtuoso Gabor Boldoczki and the violinist Giuliano Carmignola.

As well as performing masterpieces by famous baroque and early classical composers, the Cappella is also keen to introduce audiences to rare gems by lesser known composers such as Giovanni Platti, Fortunato Chelleri, Andrea Zani and Johann Adolph Hasse. It has developed a particularly close working relationship with Schloss Wiesentheid music archive.

The members of the Cappella Gabetta are hand-picked specialists from the early music scene who met while working together at «kammerorchesterbasel», the «Orchestre Baroque de Limoges», «Il Giardino Armonico», «La Chimera» and elsewhere.

Its future plans include touring with Sol Gabetta and showcasing the repertoire from its third CD of works by Vivaldi and his contemporaries, as well as collaborating with trumpet virtuoso Gabor Boldoczki and vocalists Simone Kermes and Vivica Genaux on a programme of concerts and studio recordings.

Concertmaster Andres Gabetta is recognised as a brilliant baroque violinist. He is one of the closest musical associates of the prominent cellist and conductor Christoph Coin, in whose orchestra, the Orchestre Baroque de Limonges, Gabetta is the concertmaster. He also appears regularly as concertmaster of the kammerorchesterbasel. He was nominated for a Grammy in 2008 for his recording of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos (Naxos) featuring his own ensemble, the Swiss Baroque Soloists.

Booklet for Dolce Duello