• Romanza; Il mio canto; Alba novella; Nel ridesarmi; Vita breve; Ninna nanna popolare savoiarda; Maria mare; Ave Maria; Bionda larva; Ave Maria da Tilda; Agnus Dei
  +Klavierwerke: Romanza; Badinage; Pensiero spagnolo; Fuga sul tema "Io son l'umile ancella" aus Adriana Lecouvreur

Throughout his long but ultimately frustrating career as a late Romantic lyric composer, Francesco Cilea adhered above all to one credo: "Be Italian". In L'Arlesiana and Adriana Lecouvreur in particular, he created masterpieces of the new verismo style, which kept drama sung in Italian at the center of broader ideas of what opera meant. Everything he wrote, from large-scale stage works and chamber pieces to the salon songs and miniatures collected here, expressed his typically Italian voice and aesthetic philosophy.

"The true instrument of expression of the passions is the divine human voice," he once remarked, "with which no instrument can ever compete." Thus, to complement his career as an opera composer, he wrote a small but exquisite collection of songs, compiled here by artists with considerable experience in the neglected field of Italian art song. This collection begins with the enchanting Romanza, which Cilea composed at the age of 17, obviously under the influence of Bellini's Norma.

The more complex harmony of 'Bionda larva' from three years later reflects Cilea's development as a stage composer, about to launch his first opera, Gina. Every line sung here is designed, as in Monteverdi's time, to heighten the appreciation of the text and its underlying emotions, with a madrigalian illustration that always colors and never obscures the words. There are expressions of heightened erotic passion alongside simple religious devotion - a typically Italian paradox.

As interludes, David Boldrini plays four impressive miniatures that essentially function as songs without words. He and Lenny Lorenzani have already put together a collection of Cilea's songs, but this new album from Brilliant Classics was recorded in 2023 and offers a different choice of repertoire.

- Francesco Cilea (1866-1950) went down in history as the composer of one opera, Adrienne Lecouvreur. However, this late Romantic Italian left behind a beautiful body of chamber and solo works, wonderfully evocative music full of subtlety and finesse in the style of early Debussy, studies in sonority and instrumental color.
- This new recording presents a selection of art songs and piano works. The songs are typically Italian in their simple, flowing and elegant vocal melodies. "The true instrument of expression of the passions is the divine human voice, with which no instrument can ever compete," said Cilea herself in an interview.
- Beautifully performed by Lenny Lorenzani (soprano) and David Boldrini (piano).