Track Listing

1. Se il cor guerriero
2. O del mio dolce ardor
3. Dignare o Domine
4. Orribile lo scempio
5. Selve amiche
6. Che farò senza Euridice?
7. Frondi tenere, e belle - Ombra mai fù
8. Sorge infausta
9. Chi sprezzando
10. Già il sole dal Gange

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #189171 in Music
• Released on: 2005-05-24
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import

Album Description
Philips Classics. 2004.

Customer Reviews

The Best From the Best
I have a quite few of Hvorostovsky's works on CD, of both opera and Russian folk genre. "Arie Antiche" has become my favorite. The sensivity of this work is amazing, and Hvorostovsky's brilliant voice is allowed to shine. On some of the other operatic efforts, "Passione di Napoli" in particular, the orchestration is overwhelming and intrusive. "Arie Antiche" features very spare arrangements and the resulting effect is pure and uncluttered. The very short but exquisite "Si Mantiene Il Mio Amor" is a perfect example. Just a couple of violins and a guitar and the deeply expressive voice of Mr. Hvorostovsky, surely the best baritone in the world today.

average
This compilation is commendable for some reasons and open to criticisms for others.

Mr Hvorostovsky has a fine singing voice, unless he tries, as he does in some of the arias, to overdo it, inking and darkening it to scarce effect. A pity because where he keeps it light and soft, the lower voice of an accomplished baritone is ideal to trasmit the sheer sensuality of these pieces.
His pronounciation is excellent and he gives the impression of perfectly knowing the words he is singing.

A serious flaw lies in the choice of arias: it is never wise to mix sacred with mundane pieces, nor to juxtappose Handel's or Vivaldi's (who both require an individual compilation) opera excerpts with chamber pieces designed to entertain a small audience. The different styles clashes horribly even if the singing technique is distinguished.

Orchestration is heavy and the sound engineer has not done a good job.

Grab this re-issue
Hvorostovsky made almost 20 solo albums with Philips over 10 years starting 1990 or so. All those solos are being deleted by this company already. This re-issue of one of those solo albums in 2004 in Australia is precious in that the original release, together with all others, are no longer available, of which the invaluable Credo from the Eastern Church liturgy is one such.
DH is not an Italian native speaker. Even so, his Italian IS good - better in many ways than, say, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and even Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, just to name a couple of really famous non-Italian top singers.
The main thing, I think, for a non-Italian interpretor like DH as evident in this album, is that it is not purely in an Italianate style as Italian singers would do it (e.g. Cecilia Bartoli). The style is baroque, undoubtedly, without much of the flamboyancy of Bartoli and other native Italian singers. Hence the best ones are the 4 Haendel arias, really sung to great mastery and musicality. The coloraturas are all done in good bravodo and the intonation is better than Bartoli's. Reflective pieces like Pieta Signor and Amarilli were done to sheer perfection.
For baroque lovers, this album will surely please.