Admired for her remarkable creative imagination and exemplary musicianship, soprano Patricia Petibon, in her newest album for Deutsche Grammophon, offers a treasure-trove of fascinating Baroque curiosities guaranteed to enthrall both the Baroque aficionado and the casual listener.
Nouveau Monde is conceived as a journey from the Old to the New World, a spell-binding collection of arias, songs and pieces from European composers (Charpentier, Handel, Rameau, Purcell) that testify to their composers fascination with the exoticism of recently-discovered lands, as well as South American folksongs which boast exceptional rhythmic energy and colour.
Spectacularly accompanied by the La Cetra Baroque Orchestra under the excelling direction of Andrea Marcon who also stands out as a Baroque organist and harpsichordist - Patricia enchants our senses with a melange of 17th-century arias and folk songs from England, France, Spain, and Latin America.
Some of the numbers feature guest instrumentalists whose additions of unique and surprising strokes of colour enhance Patricia Petibons revelations of the expressivity of this past era.