Chamber Lieder

With “Liriche da camera,” baritone Matteo Mencarelli and pianist Filippo Farinelli devote themselves to a repertoire that is still rarely found on concert programs today. The selected songs by Francesco Morlacchi, Giovanni Sgambati, Giuseppe Martucci, Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Ottorino Respighi, and Alfredo Casella trace the development of the Italian art song from the 19th into the early 20th century.

These settings of texts by Dante Alighieri, Gabriele D’Annunzio, Francesco Petrarca, and others reveal the Italian composers’ search for an independent song language beyond the great opera stage. The works combine melodic richness with exquisite textual treatment and offer a fascinating perspective on an often-overlooked side of Italian music history. Of particular interest is the world premiere recording of Francesco Morlacchi’s “Venite a intender li sospiri miei,” which enriches the program with yet another remarkable discovery.