Composer and poet, virtuoso singer, creator of the title role of Monteverdi's Orfeo, embodiment of the clair-obscur of the Italian Renaissance and a character as complex as its era: Francesco Rasi (1574–1621) undoubtedly played an important role in the birth of the Opera at the beginning of the 17th century. With “Soleil Noir” the tenor Emiliano Gonzalez Toro and his ensemble I Gemelli (concentrated here in their most intimate formation with solo voice, viola da gamba, lute and harp) present a programme in his honour.

The album includes works by Giulio Caccini, Marco da Gagliano, Giuseppino del Biado, Sigismondo d’India, Andrea Falconieri, Carlo Gesualdo, Claudio Monteverdi and Jacopo Peri. Rasi sang his own melodies and accompanied himself on the lute or the harp – in part, the underlying poetry also came from him. Thanks to his in-depth study of the text and the versatile voice of Emiliano Gonzalez Toro, singing like that of Francesco Rasi is now at the centre of music, opening up a world of flashes of light beyond darkness to the listener.