Album

French soprano Sandrine Piau has been featured regularly on Naïve's exemplary Vivaldi series, and this disc of 18 arias and ensembles from his operas and sacred works have been culled from those previous releases. The album is organized around repertoire that the composer wrote for some of his favorite singers, who had widely diverse temperaments and vocal specialties, so it's a testimony to Piau's versatility that she pulls off these varied selections with such naturalness and panache. Her light, silvery voice is not large, but it has a gleaming purity and her formidably solid technique and effortless-sounding flexibility make her ideal for Vivaldi's outrageously demanding vocal lines. The composer has been criticized for writing for the voice as if it were an instrument, giving his vocal lines about as much thought about breathing as he gave his music for violin. That evaluation may not be entirely fair, but it's easy to see how the difficulty of the vocal lines could create that impression. Piau has the wherewithal not only to negotiate the lines, but to give them graceful shape and invest them with potent emotional substance. The florid virtuosity and agility of which she is capable is on full display in arias like the rapid-fire "Alma oppressa da sorte crudele" from La Fida ninfa, the opera that's the source of some of the most impressive material on the album, and two of the arias from the motet In furore giustissimae irae. She is equally impressive in the slower arias like "Tunc meus fletus," from the same motet, which require limpid, long-breathed, legato phrasing. Some of the most appealing tracks are the ensembles, in which Piau is joined by singers like soprano Verónica Cangemi, mezzo-sopranos Ann Hallenberg and Guillemette Laurens, and counter tenor Philippe Jaroussky. The quartets "Cosi, su gl'occhi miei?" from La Fida ninfa, and "Anima del cor mio," from La Candace, are real standouts. The accompanying forces—Jean-Christophe Spinosi leading Ensemble Matheus, Federico Maria Sardelli leading Modo Antiquo, and Ottavio Dantone leading Accademia Bizantina—are all stellar, providing exquisitely lively and sensitive support. The sonic ambience somewhat varies from track to track because of the source recordings, but the sound is never less than excellent, always immaculately clean, and well balanced.

© Stephen Eddins, Rovi

CD 1
Antonio Vivaldi Composer La fida ninfa, RV714 (opera in 3 acts) Work Ensemble Matheus Orchestra, Sandrine Piau Soprano, Jean-Christophe Spinosi Conductor
1	Aria. Alma oppressa da sorte crudele	4:51			$0.99
Antonio Vivaldi Composer In furore giustissimae irae, RV626 Work Ottavio Dantone Conductor, Sandrine Piau Soprano, Byzantine Academy Ensemble
2	1.Aria: In furore iustissimae irae	4:30			$0.99
Antonio Vivaldi Composer La fida ninfa, RV714 (opera in 3 acts) Work 9:13 Ensemble Matheus Orchestra, Sandrine Piau Soprano, Jean-Christophe Spinosi Conductor
3	Aria. Dalla gioia e dall'amore	3:21			$0.99
4	Aria. Il mio cor, a chi la diede	5:52			$0.99
Antonio Vivaldi Composer Laudate Pueri Dominum (Ps.112) in G, RV601 Work Ottavio Dantone Conductor, Sandrine Piau Soprano, Byzantine Academy Ensemble
5	8.Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui sancto	4:02			$0.99
Antonio Vivaldi Composer La Candace, o siano Li veri amici (opera in 3 acts; only 11 arias and 1 quartet extant), RV704 Work 7:50 Modo Antiquo Orchestra, Federico Maria Sardelli Conductor, Sandrine Piau Soprano
6	Aria. Usignoli che piangete	3:46			$0.99
7	Aria. Certo timor ch'ho in petto	4:04			$0.99
Antonio Vivaldi Composer L' Atenaide, RV702 (opera in 3 acts) Work Modo Antiquo Orchestra, Federico Maria Sardelli Conductor, Sandrine Piau Soprano
8	Aria. In bosco romito	6:08			$0.99
Antonio Vivaldi Composer La Candace, o siano Li veri amici (opera in 3 acts; only 11 arias and 1 quartet extant), RV704 Work Ann Hallenberg Mezzo-Soprano, Modo Antiquo Orchestra, Federico Maria Sardelli Conductor, Sandrine Piau Soprano
9	Quartetto. Anima del cor mio	4:59			$0.99
Antonio Vivaldi Composer Zeffiretti, che sussurrate, RV749.21 Work Ann Hallenberg Mezzo-Soprano, Modo Antiquo Orchestra, Federico Maria Sardelli Conductor, Paul Agnew Tenor, Guillemette Laurens Mezzo-Soprano, Sandrine Piau Soprano
10	Zeffiretti, che sussurrate, RV749.21	5:04			$0.99
Antonio Vivaldi Composer Laudate Pueri Dominum (Ps.112) in G, RV601 Work Ottavio Dantone Conductor, Sandrine Piau Soprano, Byzantine Academy Ensemble
11	3.A solis ortu usque ad occasum	3:31			$0.99
Antonio Vivaldi Composer La fida ninfa, RV714 (opera in 3 acts) Work Ensemble Matheus Orchestra, Marie-Nicole Lemieux Contralto, Veronica Cangemi Soprano, Sandrine Piau Soprano, Philippe Jaroussky Countertenor, Jean-Christophe Spinosi Conductor
12	Quartetto. Cosi, su gl'occhi miei?	2:49			$0.99
Antonio Vivaldi Composer La Silvia (opera in 3 acts; dramma pastorale, only 9 arias known to survive), RV734 Work Modo Antiquo Orchestra, Federico Maria Sardelli Conductor, Sandrine Piau Soprano
13	Aria. Quell'augellin	4:01			$0.99
Antonio Vivaldi Composer L' Atenaide, RV702 (opera in 3 acts) Work Modo Antiquo Orchestra, Federico Maria Sardelli Conductor, Sandrine Piau Soprano
14	Aria. Della rubella	3:51			$0.99
Antonio Vivaldi Composer In furore giustissimae irae, RV626 Work 7:52 Ottavio Dantone Conductor, Sandrine Piau Soprano, Byzantine Academy Ensemble
15	3.Aria: Tunc meus fletus	6:10			$0.99
16	4.Alleluia	1:42			$0.99
Antonio Vivaldi Composer L' Atenaide, RV702 (opera in 3 acts) Work Modo Antiquo Orchestra, Federico Maria Sardelli Conductor, Sandrine Piau Soprano
17	Aria. Son colpevole a' tuoi lumi	4:37			$0.99
Antonio Vivaldi Composer La fida ninfa, RV714 (opera in 3 acts) Work Topi Lehtipuu Tenor, Ensemble Matheus Orchestra, Marie-Nicole Lemieux Contralto, Sandrine Piau Soprano, Jean-Christophe Spinosi Conductor
18	Trio. S'egli è ver, che la sua rota	3:17			$0.99