Search - Monteverdi, Figueras, Koopman :: Arie E Lamenti

Not perfect, but close enough

new music guy | NY, NY United States | 04/04/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is yet another exceptional performance from Montserrat Figueras. No one alive sings this music with greater depth of color and emotion while maintaining an absolute purity and clarity of tone. There are a few brief moments of slightly shoddy intonation, in particular in the more technical passages, but the overall singing is so beautiful that they're forgotten about moments later. The continuo, made up of some of the biggest names in early music, are excellent, with consistently intelligent choice of instruments and high quality of playing, both in sound and ornamentation. Especially notable is the simple but haunting "Si dolce è'l tormento." Those two minutes alone are worth the price of the disc."