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Max Cencic, Yuri Minienko, Valer Sabadus, Xavier Sabata, Vince Yi, Armonia Atenea, George Petrou – The 5 Countertenors (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:03:45 minutes | 1,16 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Decca Music Group Ltd.
‘The 5 Countertenors’ draws together five of the world’s most renowned countertenors, who bring the rich world of baroque opera to life.
Described in their heyday as “beyond all creatures upon earth.” (William Congreve, 1700), countertenors are once again firmly established on concert platforms, opera stages, the covers of music magazines – and the subjects of heated on-line debate and of fan-pages on social media.
These world-class performers showcase the expressive variety of this unique genre. This album also celebrates the individuality of each singer’s voice and in turn the art of the countertenor. The countertenors are accompanied by the brilliant, ECHO-Klassik winning baroque group, Armonia Atenea, under George Petrou.
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Xavier Sabata, Latinitas Nostra, Markellos Chryssikos – I Dilettanti (2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 58:20 minutes | 1014 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Aparté
Music is the very soul of Venice. ‘In every square, street, and canal, singing is to be heard,’ wrote Goldoni. Musical dilettantes were non-professionals who played for their own pleasure and enjoyment, to entertain themselves.
This programme is devoted to a number of composers who, without being professionals, left their own very personal mark on the history of music.
After ‘Bad Guys’, his first album for Aparté (2013), Xavier Sabata presents ‘I Dilettanti’, accompanied by the lively ensemble Latinitas Nostras. This recording, made in the singer’s native Spain, bears witness to the sincere friendship between these artists, brought together by a passion for music, and to their dilettante spirit.
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Xavier Sabata – L’Alessandro amante (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:01:29 minutes | 1,16 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Aparté
This recital by the countertenor Xavier Sabata, accompanied by Arnadí’s Vespres ensemble, takes its title “L’Alessandro amante” from a lost homonymous opera by Giovanni Boretti. Why Alexander the Great? He is the most exploited historical figure in the history of opera, especially in the Baroque period, with Metastasio’s librettoAlessandro nell’Indie basing some sixty-five operas on the figure. Moreover, the historical Alexander was a complex figure, a mixture of violence, arrogance and ambition, but also a generous man, knowing how to recognize the humanity of an enemy by considering them his equal. The journey onto which his figure invites us is twofold: a biographical journey through battles, conquests and achievements first (not always historically accurate, mind…), as well as a musical journey through a hundred years, from 1660 to 1760, at a time when immense changes were occurring almost every twenty years. We therefore travel from Antonio Draghi to Nicola Porpora, via Handel, Leo, Bononcini and a few others in the same vein. The recital offers as many different “Alexanders” as it does pieces, though two major groups emerge: Alexander the warrior, reserved for higher voices, and Alexander the lover, whose melodies are entrusted to the alto register. Of course, Sabata can cover both poles.
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Xavier Sabata, Il Pomo d’Oro, Riccardo Minasi – Georg Friedrich Händel – Bad Guys (2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 53:02 minutes | 950 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Aparté
This ranks among the most intelligent and striking recital discs of recent years. Spanish counter-tenor Xavier Sabata,, along with the Italian ensemble Il Pomo d’Oro – conducted by Riccardo Minasi, explores the worlds of Handel’s villains – the tyrants, hypocrites and sensualists who are integral to his dramatic and moral vision, but whose music is rarely heard outside of the theatre. The album reminds us that Handel characterises evil with the same complexity and insight with which he depicts good; and it forms a superb showcase for an exceptional singer, who’s never received the attention he deserves.
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