Ionarts in Concert

Last year, I wrote about a new addition chez Ionarts. Thanks to a gift from a dear friend, we became the owners of a harpsichord made by J. C. Neupert in Bamberg and purchased by its previous owner in Germany in the 1960s. It is an example of Neupert's "Telemann" model, a one-manual harpsichord of four and a half octaves (54 keys), with 8' and 4' stops and a divided lute stop. Many people have expressed an interest in hearing this instrument in action, and with the help of technology here is your chance, thanks to this recording made here at Ionarts Central just before Easter for a friend's audition.

This track is a Baroque obscurity, the aria "Più m'affligge più disprezzo" from Il Trionfo di Camilla regina de’ Volsci, an opera premiered in 1696 in Naples by Giovanni Battista Bononcini (1670-1747). The libretto, by Silvio Stampiglia, was adapted from Virgil's Aeneid. The score required some on-the-fly adaptation, as it has an obbligato violin part and a figured bass line to be realized.

The soprano is Karoun Demirjian, with yours truly at the harpsichord.

Più m'affligge più disprezzo