Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

This recording left me wanting more: partly for the good reason that I enjoyed listening to it but also for the negative reason that, in my opinion, all CD releases should exceed one hour, unless they are at a super-budget price. When we remember that Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801) was a very prolific composer we find ourselves wondering why the producer could not find something appropriate to extend the timing from 54-minutes to up above the hour mark. It is true that Cimarosa is better known as a composer of secular music, playing a significant part in the development of opera and that the piece recorded here does stand entire and of itself but I do not think that I am being greedy in asking for a few minutes more. Cimarosa was a talented son of poor parents who managed to work his way up to the position of music director in Imperial St Petersburg, where he stayed for four years until he could stand the climate no longer and returned home to Italy after a brief interlude as court music director in Vienna, where he replaced Antonio Salieri. Both Haydn and Mozart thought a great deal of Cimarosa and these two masters probably make the best point of comparison: if you do not like them then you should not bother with this release. However, for those willing to travel further off the musical track there is much to enjoy on this release, not least the fine singing by the soloists Cinzia Rizzone (soprano), Sylvia Rottensteiner (mezzo-soprano) and Gregory Bonfatti (tenor).