Simone Kermes - Inferno e Paradiso (2020) [Hi-Res]

"Lava", "La Diva", "Bel Canto" - these are the names of some of Simone Kermes' highly praised and successful albums. Their new album "Inferno e Paradiso" is thematically about "Heaven and Hell" about "Virtues and Deadly Sins" - musically illustrated with 14 titles from four centuries from baroque to rock, from Bach to Sting, from Vivaldi to Led Zeppelin

Each of the chosen arias or songs sings about a virtue or a sin. The main focus of the recording with the baroque ensemble Amici Veneziani is of course the baroque: Leonardo Vinci wrote the 'angry' aria 'In braccio a mille furie' (In the arms of 1000 furies), while Tomasi Albinoni sings 'Dopo i nembi e le procelle' (When thunderstorms and storms are over). Giovanni Bonincini's aria 'M'incateni e se mi scoglo' (Whenever you undo my chains) comes from an oratorio dedicated to Saint Nicholas, the symbolic hero of charity, while Antonio Caldara's 'Pompe inutili' denounces 'useless pomp', greed. With the world premiere recording of Johann Adolf Hasse's aria 'Non ha piú pace' Simone Kermes sings about envy, Antonio Vivaldi's 'Gelido in ogni vena' deals with the 'ice-cold blood in every vein', for Kermes the virtue of 'moderation'. Bach's famous 'Mercy' is for Kermes the epitome of humility. For Kermes, Riccardo Broschi's 'Qual guerrio in campo armato' is about the virtue of diligence. Of course, the music of George Frideric Handel, a composer beloved of Kermes, should not be missed: 'Tu del ciel ministro eletto' ('Chosen Messenger of Heaven') deals with chastity

With her new album Simone Kermes builds a direct bridge to our time by having current pop and rock titles transformed into baroque hits by the Finnish composer and arranger Jarkko Riihimäki: Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" is for lust, with Udo Jürgen's famous "But please with cream" Kermes thematizes gluttony, Sting's "Fields of Gold" is for Simone Kermes the song of love, of maximum benevolence. Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" deals with the pride before the fall (from the ladder to heaven)

"Some 'arias' by Sting and Led Zeppelin seem so baroque, as if they had lain dusty on London shelves since the 17th century," says Kermes. And so "Inferno e Paradiso" also sounds as if all of a piece, a diversified, exciting album, with virtuosic and contemplative music.