Così Amor Mi Fa Languire

Così Amor Mi Fa Languire
Anne-Sophie Honoré, Julia Wischniewski, Andréas Linos, Benjamin Narvey
Evidence Classics EVCD095


Restless and exciting in equal measure, these committed performances are convincing from the first dramatic intake of breath as they tussle with the ardours of love. In fact, Sam Crowther says he wanted voices to capture “the full range of colours and registers” and this he has certainly achieved. Soprano Anne-Sophie Honoré thrillingly encapsulates the dawning dread of awakening from a sweet dream to face the disappointments of reality in the anonymous Dalle pene amorose (of love’s torments) exactly as if one has stumbled upon her tumultuous internal monologue.


[...]  But it was, perhaps, the final, anonymous cantata Cadute erano alfine (Fallen at last) where Helen of Troy confronts herself in a looking glass that moved me the most. With the precision of a pair of silver trumpets, the moralistic duet Deh, mirate, o ciechi amanti (Ah, see, blind lovers) is a reminder that such cantatas often spoke to a particular audience in-the-know. There are layers of reception history here we may never uncover, but with performances as good as this it’s fun to imagine the possibilities.

For the full text of this review please see Gramophone magazine (July 2023)