Vincenzo Davico (1889-1969)
Extraits de "Ninna nanne popolaresche"

Manuel de Falla (1876-1946)
"Duèrmete, nino duerme", extrait de "Canciones populares"

Darius Milhaud (1892-1974)
"Dors, dors, dors", extrait de "Chants populaires hébraïques"

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
"Dormi mio dolce tesor", extrait de "Wiegenlieder", K 350

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
"Guten abend gut nacht", extrait de "Wiegenlieder", op. 49 n° 4

Tarquino Merula (1594-?1625)
"Hor ch’è tempo di dormire", extrait de "Canzonetta sopra la nanna"

Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944)
"Viens prè de moi", extrait de "Berceuse"

Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
"El'uccellino", d'après un poème de R. Fucini

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
"Schlafe, schlafe", extrait de "Wiegenlied", op. 98 n° 2

Max Reger (1873-1916)
"Maria sitzt am Rosenhag", extrait de "Wiegenlied", op. 76 n° 52

Paolo Tosti (1846-1916)
"Ninna nanna mio figliuolo ", d'après un poème de G. D'Annunzio

Anna Filippone del Bono (?)
"Ninna nanna del grillo", d'après un poème de R. Sorbelli
"Ninna nanna di guerra", d'après un poème de R. Sorbelli

A. Cartoni (?)
"Ninna nanna, ninna nanna", d'après un poème de G. Pascoli

Letizia Calandra, soprano
Mirella de Bono, piano
Emanuele Lippi, piano
Rino Alfieri, piano
Cecilia Andreis, harpe

This collection of 17 lullabies constitutes a particularly charming selection of songs for children, songs about children and indeed songs to send them to sleep. Alongside old favourites such as Wiegenlieder by Schubert, Brahms and Reger, Letizia Calandra has programmed much less frequently encountered examples of the genre. The album opens with two lullabies by Vincenzo Davico (1889-1969), a one-time student of Reger who wrote in a direct and appealing idiom. These form part of a minicycle of songs, Ninna nanne popolaresche, completed in the penultimate track. There are one or two older works by Merula and Mozart, but by and large the collection focuses on the 20th century, with memorable melodies and tender expressions by Puccini, Chaminade and Tosti. There are also two lullabies by another lesser-known Italian composer of the last century, Anna Filippone Del Bono. The first was written for the birth of her grandson Lello, while the second, the Ninna nanna di guerra, is a more lyrical piece in which the instrumental part and vocal line are deliberately separate, with a text full of echoes of the First World War and a sense of ineluctable sadness. The delight of this recording owes much to the art of soprano Letizia Calandra, who interprets the individual songs with great intelligence and empathy, delicately differentiating between the moods and intentions of the various composers. A graduate of the Accademia della Santa Cecilia in Rome, Calandra has worked with many of Italy’s foremost early-music directors such as Diego Fasolis and Claudio Cavina. ‘Scarlatti and the Neapolitan Song’ was Letizia Calandra’s debut album for Brilliant Classics (BC94488). According to MusicWeb International, ‘The performances are convincing in every respect‘. Letizia Calandra is a singer who specialises in early music and has a particular interest in Neapolitan song. That is a prerequisite for a good performance of this repertoire in the Neapolitan language. Ms Calandra's performance is very natural.