Early in 1709 Antonio Caldara became maestro di cappella to the Marchese Francesco Maria Ruspoli in Rome. If the appointment brought new stability to his personal life, it also inspired him to remarkable creative effort. The two cantatas recorded here afford only a brief glimpse into a veritable musical treasure chest, the legacy of the seven years he held sway over an array of entertainments given by one of Rome's most lavish patrons of the arts.

The Stabat Mater by the Italian late baroque composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710- 1736) invariably holds the number one position in many western classical music charts. In Pergolesis own era, his composition received enormous acclaim and was frequently a source of inspiration for the many tone poets who wanted to follow in his footsteps. For this version, we brought together two wonderful vocalists who are symbiotic and complementary both in terms of personality and musical interpretation: soprano Amaryllis Dieltiens and countertenor Clint van der Linde.

John Beard, Francesco Borosini, Annibale Fabri: these three men helped to revolutionized music in the 18th century. Their voices moved the greatest composers of the time to increasingly write for tenors, a move from the Castrati, which had dominated opera since 1600. Now, three centuries since this trio’s brilliance encouraged a surge of new repertoire for the vocal range, world renowned tenor Ian Bostridge celebrates their legacy with his stunning new release, Three Baroque Tenors.

SEON (Studio Erichson) is a period music label by the legendary producer Wolf Erichson. Erichson founded the label in 1969 as one of the first labels dedicated only to authentic music. The recordings were made with the best available recording techniques of the time and still deliver a high quality product in line with today's standards. This special boxset offers all SEON CD reissues from the late 90s on 85 CDs in a limited edition boxset.

The history of opera is inseparably linked with the biographies of singers; audiences have always been fascinated by both musical prowess and behind the scenes goings-on. The battle for prestige and fame was heated and passionate in the Baroque era, with legendary rivalries. Fiercely competitive, Cuzzoni and Bordoni were among the most acclaimed divas of the age, resorting to fisticuffs on stage. Present-day prima donnas Genaux, Prina, Nesi and Basso now follow in the footsteps of their fervid predecessors, presenting on disc a tongue-in-cheek survey of standout arias for mezzo soprano and contralto.

"Lava", "La Diva", "Bel Canto" - these are the names of some of Simone Kermes' highly praised and successful albums. Their new album "Inferno e Paradiso" is thematically about "Heaven and Hell" about "Virtues and Deadly Sins" - musically illustrated with 14 titles from four centuries from baroque to rock, from Bach to Sting, from Vivaldi to Led Zeppelin.

Renowned for portraying the music of the baroque like no one else, Cecilia Bartoli presents her new recording of arias famously performed by legendary castrato, Farinelli. Exploring the complex gender roles of the world of baroque opera, and highlighting the phenomenon of the castrati, a horrifying practice which led to some of the most celebrated work of the period. Featuring works by Farinelli’s brother, Riccardo Broschi, and his mentor, Nicola Porpora, as well as Hasse, Caldara and Giacomelli. Including two new world premiere recordings, from Porpora’s Polifemo and Broschi’s La Merope.

Concerto Köln – the silver-toned Rolls-Royce of period ensembles – handles this journey with suave style and flawless control…Valer Sabadus makes for a refined Farinelli, and where his smoky voice lacks in power, it gains in agility. He breezes through the coloratura arias, with their virtuoso roulades and vertiginous leaps…He really shines, though, in the more intimate arias.

With this album, Stile Galante continues its work in the world of the Italian solo chamber cantata - here Stefano Aresi’s ensemble joins forces with baritone Sergio Foresti in order to bring us a selection of cantatas by Antonio Caldara (1670 - 1736) for bass. These unusual pieces are preserved in precious manuscripts in Bologna and Vienna and are extremely demanding for the singer, asking for great skills (both vocal and theatrical). The seven cantatas recorded here offer a welcome, unusual view on Italian vocal chamber music, especially as linked to the Viennese court.

Interesting, off-the-beaten-path items like Antonio Caldara's Il Giuoco del quadriglio (The Card Game) are great attention-getters. After all, who with even a passing interest in early music wouldn't be curious about a chamber opera from the 1730s consisting of nothing but contentious women playing cards? But if there's magic to be found in the piece – a beauty, energy, or comedy to make it something of more than academic interest – you are unlikely to find it in this recording, which is hampered by cautious vocalism and a lack of expressive imagination.

Hungarian conductor Pál Németh seems to be starting a series of larger-sacred works by Viennese composer Antonio Caldara. Coming on the heels of his Paschal work La passion di Gesù Cristo , likewise on Hungaroton, this particular oratorio features something that should resonate in Budapest, since it focuses on King Stephen, the country’s patron saint. Regardless of the subject matter, however, the work conforms to the typical Italian oratorio of the early 18th century, that is to say, a sacred mirror of the opera seria consisting of a series of da capo arias following recitatives.

Antonio Caldara’s (1670-1736) pastoral fable L’Amor Non Ha Legge (Love has no laws) was a commission by the wealthy Johann Adam Questenberg. Its characters portray shepherds, nymphs, fantasy figures and gods. Although written for a local cast, the music looks forward to the more complex structures and musical technicalities of Mozart. It took Caldara two weeks to compose this extraordinary work. It occupies three CDs and Arta add a bonus All Region DVD with highlights from Caldara’s opera and other recent productions at Questenberg’s Baroque mansion.

Thibault Noally and Les Accents present a celebration of the Venetian Sonata. The term sonata was first coined at the end of the 16th century by Giovanni Croce and Andrea Gabrieli but it was Tartini, born and active in the Venetian Republic, who created some 200 sonatas for violin, the largest body of work in the form, followed by Vivaldi with 80. If Vivaldi borrowed from all an sundry [Caldara, Corelli, Matteis, Bonporti, Albinoni] then others were quick to borrow from him too and the Venetian sonata spread through competing musicians to Germany, via Pisendel and the Dresden court; France with Leclair and Guignone; and Russia with the Venetians Madonis and Dall'Oglio. Thibault Noally is a recognised name on the international baroque stage. He best-known as the solo violin of Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble with Marc Minkowski, with the Concerto Köln, Pulcinella or the Ensemble Matheus.

Alongside the famous Quattro Stagioni, La Notte, and so on, Vivaldi wrote no fewer than 27 concertos for the cello – an instrument which at the time was generally limited to playing basso continuo. With the genuine virtuosi he had available to him at the Ospedale della Pietà, the Red Priest played a key role in the emancipation of the cello, which so readily inspired him to invent varied figuration. The musicians of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin have chosen to add highly expressive pieces by Caldara to punctuate the sumptuous feast of sound offered by maestro Queyras.

Venice was one of the most fertile centres of Italian Baroque music. The serenity of its inhabitants and their immoderate taste for celebration, carnivals, entertainment and pleasure were the envy of the whole of Europe, as were the beauty of the city and its fine situation, its prestige and its magnificence. In the City of the Doges music was a necessity. ‘There are concerts somewhere almost every evening,’ wrote the French scholar and politician Charles de Brosses in 1740.