There’s no way around it. Arianna Savall sounds exactly like a young Emma Kirkby, and if you like that straight-toned, sharply focused soprano quality, with just the bare hint of a vibrato at the very ends of phrases, then you’ll find Savall very satisfying and you’ll easily appreciate her superb interpretations of these rarely heard vocal works from 17th-century Italy. She begins with a magnificent cantata by Marco Marazzoli that sets the tone for the whole program–a “moral canzona” that focuses on the “literary theme of the rose”–and her vocal prowess is evident in her ability to lend enough dramatic force to the work to keep us interested for its entire 13 minutes. She lends a particularly warm and ingratiating quality to the beautifully wrought final minutes of the same composer’s “moral cantata” O mortal, whose text refers to the fate of the Biblical Samson, and repeatedly urges, “Do you desire even greater glories? Then learn how to conquer yourself.”
Instrumental pieces, ideally performed by the viols, harp, organ, and theorbo of the Ricercar Consort, alternate with the vocal works, and the combination makes for a very satisfying, easy-to-listen-to program. Savall’s penetrating vocal style really does grow on you, even though there are times when her screechy leaps to higher registers can be bothersome. Overall, however, this singer shows great sensitivity to her material and draws us right in, so that we feel the words and melodies in complete sync with her interpretive vision. The viol and plucked-string playing is first rate, and the recorded sound brings us into intimate contact with this completely unfamiliar yet always engaging music.
