Magdalena Kožená        
Il giardino dei sospiri

REVIEWS

Václav Luks and his Prague-based Collegium 1704 are exemplary collaborators, relishing the unexpectedly flighty, flirtatious string-writing of Vinci’s Sinfonia from Maria dolorata and the vivacious opening to the Marcello, always alive as accompanists to the shifting currents of these musical streams of consciousness.

Alexandra Coghlan, Gramophone

There are many discoveries here, including a complete scene from Benedetto Marcello’s “Arianna abbandonata”, which makes one want to hear the entire piece, as well as wonderful orchestral jams such as Leonardo Vinci’s “Sinfonia from Maria dolorata” (tracks 8-10). Yet the best piece, quite naturally, is the Handel Cantata “Qual ti riveggio, oh Dio” (HWV 150), which closes the album and is given in full. Try track 24, the aria “Si muora, si muora” and you’ll find the album’s artists at their absolute best. A well planned, superbly executed program of unique Baroque music, this is a highly enjoyable album. Nice recording too, made at the Church of Saint Anne, Prague, with first-class documentation.

Tal Agam, The Classic Review

The Czech mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená returns to the baroque in her latest album, music for which she’s uniquely suited and which has always shown her off at her best. Time has barely touched her elegant, silvery voice, which has retained much of its richness and enviable evenness across the registers, and her interpretive instincts remain as sharp as ever. In happy partnership with Collegium 1704 under Václav Luks, she takes audiences through a captivating program of secular music, much of it rarer fare that comes up very well indeed.

Justine Nguyen, Limelight