Various Composers - Une Vénitienne à Paris (William Shelton; Salomé Gasselin; Léo Brunet)

Information

1. Maddalena Casulana - Madrigali a 4 voci, Libro 2: No. 4, Ahi possanza d’amor
2. Barbara Strozzi - Cantate, ariette, e duetti, Op. 2: No. 3, Il Romeo
3. Robert de Visée - Prélude et Allemande in E Minor
4. Maddalena Casulana - Madrigali a 4 voci, Libro 2: No. 19, Il vostro dipartir
5. Barbara Strozzi - Cantate, ariette, e duetti, Op. 2: No. 5, La fanciuletta semplice
6. Barbara Strozzi - Cantate, ariette, e duetti, Op. 2: No. 6, L’amante consolato
7. Francesco Cavalli - Gli amori di Apollo e di Dafne: Lamento d’Apollo
8. Francesco Corbetta - La guitarre royale: Caprice de chaconne
9. Antonia Bembo - Produzioni armoniche: No. 16, Habbi pietà di me
10. Francesco Cavalli - L'Erismena, Act II: "Uscitemi dal cor"
11. Maddalena Casulana - Madrigali a 4 voci, Libro 2: No. 2, Amor per qual cagion
12. Johannes Kapsberger - Intavolatura di chitarone, Libro 4: Toccata nona
13. Antonia Bembo - Produzioni armoniche: Lamento della Vergine
14. Maddalena Casulana - Madrigali a 4 voci, Libro 2: No. 6, Morte te chiamo
15. Marina Valmaggi - Elegia a Venezia

William Shelton, countertenor

Salomé Gasselin, viola da gamba

Léo Brunet, theorbo, baroque guitar & lute

Date: 2025

Label: Oktav Records

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This debut album by French-British countertenor William Shelton presents a compelling portrait of the seventeenth-century Venetian-born composer and singer Antonia Bembo (1640–1720). Dividing her life between Venice and Paris, Bembo was shaped by the Venetian operatic tradition of Francesco Cavalli and later refined her compositional voice in France under the patronage of Louis XIV. The album highlights her expressive laments alongside works by contemporaries such as Barbara Strozzi and Maddalena Casulana. Through historically informed performance, Shelton evokes the emotional depth, stylistic diversity, and cultural transitions that defined Bembo’s remarkable yet turbulent career.

William Shelton is a French-British countertenor trained in horn, organ, and voice at the Besançon and Dijon conservatoires, graduating with highest honours. He performs regularly as a soloist with leading French and international early-music ensembles and has appeared in a wide range of operatic and concert roles across Europe and abroad. An award-winning chamber musician, he has received prizes at several international competitions and collaborates frequently in recital projects. Artist-in-residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel since 2021, he previously studied at the Académie Philippe Jaroussky and is represented by RSB Artists.

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