Aspromonte’s voluptuous, velvety soprano and vivid diction capture the emotional and rhetorical tensions of works that veer from grief to joy; my one caveat is that her colour palette and dynamic shading lack a little variety. She’s superbly partnered by I Barocchisti who, under Diego Fasolis, point up the affects that heighten these musical expressions of human and divine love.

All in all, this is a winning collection of arias of many moods—often unexpected—neatly performed by I Barocchisti and engagingly conducted by Diego Fasolis. But it is the enchanting voice of Francesca Aspromonte, and her sensitivity to words and music that neither weary nor oppress, that invites us to listen to these selections again and again with joy and great delight.

Imaginatively planned, brilliantly executed, this is a disc guaranteed to give pleasure to any lover of the Italian Baroque with a sense of adventure.

Stand-outs include Mary Magdalene's awestruck, joyous description of the Resurrection to John in Perti's Gesù al Sepolcro and the Virgin Mary's searing lament from Draghi's Il Crocefisso per Grazia. Wonderful work, too, from violinist Boris Begelman in the intricate dialogue with voice in 'Cor imbelle a due nemici' from Bononcini's La Converzione di Maddalena.