Fiamma vorace

Featuring

Flavio Ferri-Benedetti
Daniela Dolci
Musica Fiorita
Geminiano Giacomelli

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Performer Biography

Flavio Ferri-Benedetti, the countertenor on this recording, holds a Piano Diploma, an MA in Translation Studies, and a PhD in Literature, and has performed across Europe and Japan.

Critical Reception

Giacomelli's music was largely forgotten after his death, only to be rediscovered by musicologists and early music pioneers interested in the repertoire of legendary 18th-century singers like Farinelli and Caffarelli.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Giacomelli's operatic writing is characterized by wit, invention, and melodic flair, with an honest attempt to portray the characters' emotions (affetti) through bel canto techniques.

Composer Biography

Geminiano Giacomelli, born in 1692, was a popular opera composer during his lifetime, serving primarily as maestro di cappella for the Farnese family in the Parma region.

Cultural Impact

Giacomelli's melodies were so popular that even Vivaldi borrowed some of his arias for his opera Bajazet, including the well-known 'Sposa, non mi conosci'.

Performer Biography

Daniela Dolci, the harpsichordist and leader of Musica Fiorita, has received international recognition, including being named a 'Peace Ambassador through Music' in Bolivia and awarded the 'Cavaliere dell'Ordine della Stella della Solidarietà Italiana' by Italy.

Compositional Technique

Giacomelli's vocal writing employs techniques like coloratura, intervallic jumps, long lines (canto spianato), dotted siciliana rhythms for sentimentality, and chromatic passages to express instability or emotionality.