The Medici Castrato: A homage to Gualberto Magli

The exciting countertenor voice of Italian Raffaele Pe which has, in the last few years, been captivating audiences at concert and opera performances given by the likes of John Eliot Gardiner, Claudio Cavina, Christophe Coin and Paul McCreesh, is now provided with a CD release from Glossa of Pe's solo recital, 'The Medici Castrato'. Pe takes his lead from music written for Gualberto Magli, a castrato at the court of the Medicis in Florence in the first quarter of the 17th century who, through the encouragement of his teacher Giulio Caccini, became a master of the new vocal form of monody. Magli's prowess led him to be sought after for the Mantuan première of Monteverdi's 'L'Orfeo', sizeable portions of which are sung here by Pe. Alongside a modern homage to castrati such as Gualberto Magli written by Alessandro Ciccolini and seicento composers such as Francesca and Giulio Caccini and Sigismondo d'India appear monodies by more shadowy names such as Girolamo Montesardo and Johann Nauwach (compositions by the latter resulting from Magli working for the Elector of Brandenburg). The 17th century instrumental soundworld is conjured up on this recording (previously only available as a download) by harpist Chiara Granata and theorbo player David Miller.