Elisa Baciocchi Ensemble
72:42
Tactus TC 680706
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Geminiani’s La Forêt enchantée is a theatrical pantomime inspired by Torquato Tasso’s epic poem Gerusalemme liberata, most famous perhaps as the source of Monteverdi’s Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda. It is an entirely instrumental piece designed to accompany dance and mime, but this presentation interpolates extracts from the Tasso to provide context for the music. This and the addition of a flute to the original string texture seem reasonable liberties in the circumstances, particularly as the recording has the feel of a record of a staged performance. My only reservation regarding this interesting and informative project is that a combination of the recording quality and the standard of the playing suggests a good amateur performance rather than a polished professional one. Nevertheless, this CD opens an interesting window on an unfamiliar Baroque genre, and adds another dimension to our understanding of the enigmatic and prolific Geminiani.
D. James Ross