**** She remains one of my favourite singers, Magdalena Kožená, and she enchants with her latest recording once again with beautiful and barely known baroque repertoire. Il giardino dei sospiri is the name of the cd and the mezzo lets us share in a range of emotions of – mostly tragic - ancient heroines.
Kožená succeeds in conveying the rich imagination of the baroque composers with her colourful voice. It is not only admirable, but also provides an hour and twenty minutes of vocal listening pleasure. Moreover, we get no nth repetition of the same repertoire, but discover composers who rarely receive attention, such as Benedetto Marcello, Leonardo Vinci or Francesco Gasparini. Their cantatas can certainly stand next to one by Georg Friedrich Händel, as on this cd. The cantata Arianna abbandonata by Benedetto Marcello is a model in the expression of affetti, from fear and sadness to joy and comfort. Kožená employs all the colours of her voice. In the sombre, hectic Ombre, cure, sospetti by Francesco Gasparini she sounds almost compelling. In Or ch'é dal sol diffesa by Leonardo Leo she then has a nuance of gentleness. She uses a light vibrato where necessary for text expression and uses the sound of her beautiful voice as a painting of emotion. Her coloratura is flawless, for example in riposar in Leonardo Leo's cantata. Also in Händel's cantata, the change of mood through the rich variation of her timbres is beautifully executed. The accompaniment by Collegium 1704 under the direction of Václav Luks is restrained and precise.
Magdalena Kožená may be convinced that the listener indeed enjoys listening to this music as much as she enjoyed singing it. It is a wish she gives at the end of her brief intro to the cd, and which with its baroque arias is for her as it were a return to a cherished past. This review was planned as a duo-review with her recital at the Munt on 11 May, which unfortunately could not take place due to the singer's illness. Although a completely different programme, this cd can certainly offer a beautiful consolation.
- WHAT: Il giardino dei sospiri
- WHO: Magdalena Kožená (mezzo), Collegium 1704 conducted by Václav Luks
- RELEASE: Pentatone PTC5186 725