The accompanying booklet for Sara Mingardo's new recital disc contains an impassioned essay on the androgynous fascination the alto voice has held for composers over the centuries, and it's certainly true that Mingardo's dark, distinctive sound transcends conventional ideas of gender.
Her programme consists of 17th- and 18th-century arias and cantatas, written for women and castrati, and covering subjects sacred and profane. The only flaw is her fondness for slow music, which leads to a sameness of pace, though not of mood. She gives a rapt performance of Endymion's monologue from Cavalli's La Calisto.
There is some ravishingly sexy Monteverdi and a tragic, intense account of Vivaldi's Pianti, Sosipri e Dimandar Merce. The high point is Tarquinio Merula's astonishing cradle-song, addressed by the Virgin Mary to the infant Christ. The Concerto Italiano under Rinaldo Alessendrini are unfailingly sensitive accompanists.