Episodes
| Series | Episode | First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 01 | 20081215 | Donald Macleod journeys through a century of music-making in Naples which put even its great rival Venice's culture in the shade. The death in 1725 of the great Alessandro Scarlatti offers new opportunities to Neapolitan musicians. Vinci: Sinfonia for strings (1st mvt) Cappella della Pieta de'Turchini Antonio Florio (conductor) NAIVE OP30274 - Tr 10 Vinci: Erighetta e Don Chilone (excerpt) Erighetta - Roberta Invernizzi (soprano) Don Chilone - Giuseppe Naviglio (bass) NAIVE OP30274 - Trs 6-9 Durante: Sonate per cembalo divise in studii e divertimenti (Study No 6) Laura Alvini (harpsichord) TACTUS TC680402 - Tr 11 Durante: Duet: Methilde, alma via Ensemble Concerto: Cristina Miatello (soprano) Claudio Cavina (contralto) Roberto Gini (cello) TACTUS TC680401 - Tr 7 Durante: Lamentations of Jeremiah - Lectio terza in fera sexta parasceve Monika Frimmer (soprano) Mechtild Bach (soprano) Margarete Joswig (alto) Kolner Kammerchor Collegium Cartusianum Peter Neumann (director) CPO 999 325-2 - Trs 14-21. Donald Macleod explores the effect of the death in 1725 of the great Alessandro Scarlatti. |
| 2008 | 02 | 20081216 | Donald Macleod explores the music of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, whose death at the age of 26 gave him a mythical status, causing many works to be falsely ascribed to him. Attrib. Pergolesi: Violin Concerto in B flat (1st mvt) Concerto Koln CAPRICCIO 10378 - Tr 4 Pergolesi: La Serva Padrona (opening) Serpina - Patricia Biccire (soprano) Uberto - Donato Di Stefano (bass) La Petite Bande Sigiswald Kuijken (violin/director) ACCENT ACC96123 - Trs 16-18 Pergolesi: Mass a 5 Ensemble Turicum Luiz Alvez da Silva, Mathias Weibel (directors) K617 K617159 - Trs 1-9 Pergolesi: Quando corpus (Stabat mater) Andreas Scholl (countertenor) Barbara Bonney (soprano) Les Talens Lyriques Christophe Rousset (director) DECCA 4661342 - Tr 12. Donald Macleod explores the music of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. |
| 2008 | 03 | 20081217 | Donald Macleod follows the lives of some of the young graduates of the conservatoire in Naples who carried their training across Europe, cementing the city's reputation as a cultural hothouse. Piccinni: Overture (Le donne vendicate) I Barocchisti Diego Fasolis (conductor) CHACONNE CHAN0705 CD1 - Tr 1 Jommelli: Don Trastullo (excerpt) Don Trastullo - Giuseppe Naviglio (bass) Arsenia - Roberta Invernizzi (soprano) Giambarone - Rosario Totaro (tenor) Cappella della Pieta de'Turchini Antonio Florio (conductor) OPUS111 OP30280 - Trs 8-11 Jommelli: Didone Abbandonata (conclusion) Didone - Dorothea Roschmann (soprano) Selene - Mechthild Bach (mezzo-soprano) Osmida - Arno Raunig (tenor) Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra Frieder Bernius (conductor) ORFEO C381953 CD3 - Trs 20-22 Porpora: Cello Sonata (London, c.1733) Musica Alta Ripa MDG 309 0779-2 - Trs 7-10 Jommelli: Miserere A Sei Voci Bernard Fabre-Garrus (director) AUVIDIS E8590 CD1 - Tr 1. Donald Macleod focuses on some of the young graduates of the Naples conservatoire. |
| 2008 | 04 | 20081218 | Donald Macleod explores some of the music that would have been heard at the new theatre dedicated to comedy that the king had ordered built in the 1770s. He discovers that the royal grip had not fully loosened when it came to the rulebook for audiences at the new venue. Paisiello: Overture (Don Chisciotte) Orchestra Filarmonica Italiania di Piacenza Valentino Metti (conductor) DYNAMIC CDS366/1-2 CD1 - Tr 1 Paisiello: Don Chisciotte (Act 2, excerpt) Don Chisciotte - Sergio Rocchi (tenor) Sancio Panza - Maurizio Leoni (baritone) La Contessa - Paola Quagliata (soprano) Soloists Orchestra Filarmonica Italiana di Piacenza DYNAMIC CDS366/1-2 CD2 - Trs 15-16 Fiorenza: Sinfonia in F minore a due violini e basso Dolce e Tempesta Stefano Demicheli (director) FUGA FUG526 Trs 7-10 Porpora: Notturni per I Defunti (No 2) Monica Piccinini (soprano) Romina Basso (alto) La Stagione Armonica FUGA FUG526 - Trs 11-16 Cimarosa: Armida Immaginaria (end of Act 3) Coro del Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari Orchestra del Teatro Bellini Eric Hull (conductor). Donald Macleod explores music that would have been heard at Naples's new comedy theatre. |
| 2008 | 05 LAST | 20081219 | Donald Macleod explores music by the prolific but unfortunate Domenico Cimarosa, who lost his father to a building accident in childhood, and had to overcome poverty to establish an international opera career, ended by political wrangling which saw him go into hiding fearing for his life. Cimarosa: Overture (L'impresario in angustie) Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia Alessandro Amoretti (conductor) NAXOS 8.570508 - Tr 12 Cimarosa: Deh, parlate (Il Sacrificio d'Abramo) Amanda Roocroft (soprano) Academy of St Martin in the Fields Neville Marriner (conductor) EMI CDC5553962 - Tr 7 Cimarosa: Sequentia (Requiem) Elly Ameling (soprano) Birgit Finnila (contralto) Montreux Festival Chorus Lausanne Chamber Orchestra Vittorio Negri (conductor) PHILIPS 422 489-2 - Tr 2 Traetta: Festa che termina lo spettacolo (Antigona) Maria Bayo (Antigona) Anna Maria Panzarella (Ismene) Carlo Vincenzo Allemano (Creonte) Laura Polverelli (Emmone) Gilles Ragon (Adrasto) Accentus Chamber Choir Les Talens Lyriques Christophe Rousset (director) DECCA 460 205-2 CD2 - Trs 28 to end Pergolesi: Salve regina in A minor Barbara Bonney (soprano) DECCA 4661342 - Trs 18-21. Donald Macleod explores music by the prolific but unfortunate Domenico Cimarosa. |