All'amore Immenso - Sacred Music

Description

The two Maries and their great love for the Savior form the theme of "All'amore immenso": Mary, the Mother of God, and Mary Magdalene, the sinner who stands with the mother of Jesus at the foot of the cross and meets the risen Lord at the tomb. While the Mother of God already found great veneration in the Middle Ages, the figure of Mary Magdalene has been the subject of particular attention in many oratorios of the 17th and 18th centuries in Italy. There, the role of Mary Magdalene evolves in the tension between earthly love and heavenly love, thus providing wonderful material for highly emotional music. Massimo Mazzeo, director of the ensemble Divino Sospiro, has made a wonderful selection of arias from oratorios and combined them with three arrangements of Salve Regina - the compositions are by Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti, Bononcini, Caldara, Porpora, and Léo. The soloist of the recording is the Italian mezzo-soprano Josè Maria Lo Monaco, a regular guest at major operas as a specialist in baroque and especially bel canto. "All'amore immenso" is her first solo CD.