La Tempestad se ha presentado al público en Festivales como los de Aranjuez, Cádiz, Sevilla, Marbella, Murcia, Santillana del Mar, Valladolid, Almería, Daroca, Zaragoza, etc. Sus miembros, formados en importantes conservatorios europeos (Toulouse, Viena, Amsterdam, La Haya), han formado parte de Al Ayre Español, La Real Cámara, El Concierto Español, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Orchestra of the XVIII Century, European Union Baroque Orchestra, La Stravaganza, Orquesta Barroca de Sevilla, etc., con quienes han actuado por España, Europa, Israel y China.

An outstanding Italian musican, Stefano Demicheli has been René Jacobs' closest assistant for many years and with him has performed on Europe's main opera stages. A distinguished harpsichordist, who studied with Ottavio Dantone, he is now the leader of the Dolce & Tempesta ensemble, consisting of the best soloists from the European period instrument ensembles.This new recording on Fuga Libera gives us the world première of the three Notturni composed c.1740 by Porpora, Handel's strongest rival in London, for the All Souls Day in Naples. Carried by one of the most powerfully expressive texts in the Christian canon, this is an opportunity to hear two stunning soloists: Monica Piccinini and Romina Basso and also the Stagione Armonica of Padova.

Abandoned at the age of two months and taken in by the Ospedale della Pietà, Chiara (or Chiaretta) rose – within that enclosed charitable institution in Venice – to become one of the leading European violinists of the middle of the 18th century. No stranger to such acclaim himself from two and a half centuries later, Fabio Biondi, on his first release for Glossa, has devised a programme drawing on the personal diary of this remarkable musician – taught by Antonio Vivaldi, and later a virtuoso soloist on the violin as well as the viola d’amore – of concertos and sinfonias by composers who, like the prete rosso, taught at the Pietà: Porta, Porpora, Martinelli, Latilla, Perotti and Bernasconi are all musicians whose compositions charm and delight as much today as they will have done in the time of Chiara.

The convent of St Francis in Assisi is a place of pilgrimage and the founding location of the Franciscan order. In the baroque period novices hoping to enter the order were trained in music, and there is a long musical tradition there. Most of the performances here are world premiere recordings of baroque vocal compositions from the library of the convent of St Francis in Assisi. All the vocal pieces are for soprano solo (combined with solo alto in Finale's `Oh Quam Jubilat'), and it is thought that the solos may have been sung by young men. Here they are taken by very fine female singers, and the accompanying ensemble is made up of top players.

With I Viaggi di Faustina Glossa is launching a new collection focusing on famous Italian singers from the 17th and 18th centuries, whose travels bear witness to the intense level of artistic activity then taking place in the major cities of Europe. Faustina Bordoni, the brilliant diva with whom we begin this series pursued her career mainly in Naples (the principal focus of this CD) and Venice, but also in cities such as Bologna, Parma, Dresden and London. These were cities hosting – with great success – operas by Johann Adolph Hasse (Bordoni’s husband), Nicola Popora, Leonardo Vinci, Francesco Mancini and Domenico Sarro; most of these composers are represented on this first selection of wonderful arias.

En 1516 Ludovico Ariosto publicó su poderosa epopeya Orlando furioso, una secuencia de aventuras heroicas entrelazadas. La historia del caballero Orlando, enloquecido por un amor decepcionado por la princesa Angélica, sirve a toda la gama de emociones y rápidamente alcanzó un gran éxito en toda Europa. Se crearon decenas de óperas en torno a Orlando y otros personajes de la epopeya de Ariosto. El contratenor Filippo Mineccia ha reunido un variado programa de arias de óperas de Steffani, Porpora, Vivaldi, Handel, Mele, Wagenseil y Millico en torno a la figura de "Roland el Furioso", en el que despliega brillantemente todas las facetas creativas de su voz.

When one speaks today of the history of the Italian solo concert, one thinks first of Bologna (Torelli, Corelli) and Venice (Albinoni, Vivaldi). It is sometimes overlooked that important impulses for the further development of the genre also emanated from Naples. In addition, cellists in particular owe a lot to the Neapolitans, which this CD aims to clarify. The best known are probably the six concertos by Leonardo Leo (1694-1744) with their light, sometimes gallant tone; of them the A major concerto is represented here along with four individual works by Nicola Fiorenza (died 1764), Nicola Porpora (1686–1768) and Nicola Sabatino (approx. 1705-1796).

Senesino, the voice that inspired Handel's greatest operas showpiece arias by Handel, Lotti, Albinoni, Porpora and Scarlatti. One of the truly outstanding voices of today, star countertenor Andreas Scholl celebrates one of the 18th Century's greatest vocal superstars, the remarkable male alto known as Senesino. Senesino's place in history was secured by his extraordinary association with Handel, who after travelling to Dresden to hear him, brought him to London to join his Italian Opera Company, where he was greatly celebrated by the public, and much admired by the ladies.

Handels Queens features some of the most exquisite pieces of music written by G.F. Handel and his contemporaries for the two finest singers of the eighteenth century, Faustina Bordoni and Francesca Cuzzoni. Often wrongfully framed as rivals, these dazzling new recordings with Mary Bevan and Lucy Crowe reveal the distinctive yet versatile talent of the Italian vocalists. Led by London Early Opera Director, Bridget Cunningham, Handels Queens serves an example of the groups dedication to imaginative programming and outstanding period performance, placing them at the forefront of baroque research.

Maestro di cappella in two conservatories in Naples, Francesco Durante was one of the prominent representatives of the eighteenth-century Neapolitan school. A unique case in the history of Neapolitan music, Durante did not write any opera and devoted himself exclusively to pedagogical works and to the composition of sacred and instrumental music. His Concerti per archi are among the most significant contributions to the genre of the orchestral concerto. They represent a summa of the early eighteenth-century Neapolitan style.

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.

Italian composer Nicola Porpora is mainly a footnote in the history books these days, noted as Haydn's teacher, but in his day he was a rival to Handel and wrote a good deal of music for the celebrated castrato Carlo Broschi, aka, Farinelli. That music is sampled here by the startlingly soprano-like French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, and listeners are likely to feel that it's been unjustly neglected. Jaroussky sounds great, his creamy voice sailing through the mostly tuneful pieces. There are also a few big showpieces of the sort that Renée Fleming and others have recorded on their Baroque aria albums.

Porpora is best known for his open rivalry with Handel on the London operatic scene, and is remembered more for the ferocious controversies that raged between the two men than for his music. But this dazzling new disc from Auser Musici shows the composer to be a profound musician with a rich and wide-ranging output, a mastery of compositional technique and a keen sense of theatre and dramatic pacing. Stylishly performed and recorded, this disc will surely force a reappraisal of Porpora’s artistry and reawaken interest in this great composer.

Young countertenor Iestyn Davies makes his highly anticipated Hyperion solo debut with an enchanting disc of cantatas by the Italian composer Nicola Porpora. Porpora s ability to set the Italian language to music was widely acknowledged during his lifetime and his music is full of imaginative word painting. Davies luminous tone has a celestial purity and he performs with prodigious technical assurance. His astonishing breath control creates a seamless melodic line. Davies is accompanied by the ensemble Arcangelo in interpretations that go far beyond mere historical understanding.

With more than a million copies sold, the soundtrack of Gérard Corbiau's film 'Farinelli' contributed considerably to the international renown of Les Talens Lyriques, in 1994. Back then the voice of the castrato Carlo Broschi, known as Farinelli (1705-1782), was created using a computer to mix the voices of countertenor Derek Lee Ragin and soprano Ewa Mallas-Godlewska. On stage, in 2011, rather than a falsettist, world-renowned mezzo Ann Hallenberg, was chosen by Christophe Rousset to portray the first rock star in the history of music.