Arias for GuadagniHyperion CDA 67924 *****

The history of great singers in the 18th century is not just that of the roles they were famous for, but also of the major creators who wanted to write for them. Gaetano Guadagni (1728-1792) worked with Handel and Gluck (creating the role of Orfeo), who are represented on this disc along with Hasse, Arne, and John Christopher Smith, with an aria by Guadagni himself for good measure. Guadagni was an anti-virtuoso, even refusing to interrupt an opera to encore an aria, and counter tenor Iestyn Davies is beautifully attuned to the delicacy and refinement of a singer whose manner was so reserved that the great Dr Burney said "his voice seemed, at first, to disappoint every hearer". Inwardness and pathos, and sophisticated melodic shaping are the order of the day. This magical disc also includes a wonderful performance of CPE Bach's Symphony in D, H663. url.ie/4qdb