C 9628 A MANY COLOURED COAT [11,99 Euro]

As we already said in the presentation of our album C 9606 Musica Transalpina, a CD that is the perfect companion and complement to this one, there are not many records available as a soloist of one of the greatest figures of early music in the world, Evelyn Tubb. With this second recording edited at Cantus, we take another step forward in our tribute to this extraordinary artist. And, of course, to the inexhaustible capacity of Anthony Rooley to dive in the less known repertoires and to propose us programs full of timeless jewels.

In this occasion, Evelyn and Anthony's journey takes us on a travel through music associated with the great religions: Christianity, Islam, Judaism and even neo-Platonism. And they will take us to different territories: to Renaissance Spain, to medieval Provence, to the England of the great Dowland and Henry Purcell, to the Abbey of Hildegard in Bingen, to the Venice of Petrucci, but also to that of Monteverdi, and to the Rome of Luigi Rossi... There are many little-known pieces on this CD which are combined with more familiar pages but, as always, Evelyn and Anthony give them a completely different dimension. The antiphon O viridissima virga by Hildegard of Bingen has never sounded as dramatic as in this version, nor the monumental improvisation that both Evelyn and Anthony build on that piece of unparalleled beauty and emotion that is Se mai, per maraveglia, the only surviving example of a lost musical style. And these are not the only extremely exciting works on the album, because you rarely hear the two pieces by Henry Purcell that are included (in addition to Anthony Rooley's lute arrangements of sonatas by his brother Daniel Purcell or William Babell, which function as "interludes"), and very rarely will the most demanding listener have the opportunity to hear one of Dowland's most sovereign masterpieces, his extensive and wonderful song Tell Me, True Love, from his final collection of 1612, A Pilgrim's Solace. In short, it is one of those albums that the true music lover will be able to savor from beginning to end, with a heart pounding...

Evelyn Tubb's singing style is absolutely individual, she is the "perfect early music singer": based on her extraordinary stylistic preparation, Evelyn transcends any definition of what the voice should be like in this or that repertoire, and proceeds with a skill based on her dazzling technique to make the music her own, from within and heartfelt. That is why the listener is so often amazed at her audacity, her delicacy, her tenderness, at her gift for giving the exact expression to each word, for underlining each emotion and each feeling in a masterly, precise and perfect way. "Evelyn Tubb has the skills of virtuoso singer, and she shows it right from the start" (Gramophone magazine, UK).

The present album is then a perfect companion to another of our new releases, C 9606 Musica Transalpina, another fascinating tribute from Evelyn Tubb and Anthony Rooley to the uncomplexed journeys through little-known repertoires, or to those they give a completely unique perspective full of passion, knowledge and sensitivity. In both cases, a special microphone technique has been chosen which is not only extremely natural, but also allows Evelyn Tubb using the stage space of Forde Abbey as if it were a live concert, thus increasing the nuances and the sensation of spatiality, creating a unique and different sensation.