Of Alessandro Scarlatti’s more than 600 solo and two-voice cantatas, Bella Madre de’ fiori for soprano (originally a castrato soprano), two violins, and continuo pops up more frequently on disc than any other, one reason being its near-ideal representation of the genre. It’s easy to see why a singer would love this music, which is so rich in melodic beauty and varied in its dramatic depiction of the poetic text, about the pain of a beloved’s absence. Soprano Maria Cristina Kiehr sings with a voice directly from the “early Emma Kirkby” school, her central plain tone edged with the slightest vibrato. Sometimes this quality is effective, especially in the most poignant passages; but it also becomes strained in the highest part of her range and in lyrical lines where we just long for more color and warmth. Not that this is a disagreeable sound by any means, but when one voice is carrying the whole program, it makes sense that it have just a bit wider range of hues and shades. Nevertheless, Kiehr fully understands the melancholy moods of these lovelorn laments–and gives us some real fireworks in the faster sections.
One of the best things about the recording is the instrumental ensemble that accompanies the singer, consisting variously of archlute, harp, cello, violins, and harpsichord. No matter what the configuration, the group’s sound is perfectly balanced and always sensitive to the voice and the text’s expressive demands. The instrumental players also get to perform alone–in the Sinfonia of Bella Madre and the Sinfonia and Balletto of the disc’s concluding work, Correa nel seno amato–and the stylish beauty of these relatively brief sections only makes us want to hear more. These works were written for entertainment–a kind of chamber theatre–and the performances and detailed, welcoming intimacy of the sound put us right where we should be as listeners.
