Catalogue # 4702962
Nymphs and shepherds are the main subject of Andreas Scholl's latest recording which presents cantatas by composers associated with the Arcadian Academy. This academy was founded in 1690 by the colourful Queen Christina of Sweden who had abdicated, converted to Catholicism and moved to Rome. Surrounded by composers such as Gasparini, Marcello, Pasquini, Corelli, Bencini and Alessandro Scarlatti, whose works appear here, Christina hoped to strip music of its baroque excesses and return it to a simpler, more pastoral style. This Utopian experiment produced much appealing music that Scholl and the Accademia Bizantina under Ottavio Dantone bring to life with much panache.
