La Novia

An album of Sephardic and traditional songs from Puglia’s La Cantiga de la Serena, a trio made up of Fabrizio Piepoli and Adolfo la Volpe on various guitars and lutes, and Giorgia Santoro on flutes, with each of them contributing to the vocals. Given their origins, it is perhaps unsurprising that a lively tarantella comprises two of the tracks, though whether the vocal skills are quite up to some of the coloratura is debatable. The traditional close harmony singing at the beginning of ‘La Novia’ from vocal group Faraualla is striking and the restless and driving playing on the rest of the track makes this stand out.

The trio are at their best when showing off their instrumental skills, and Giorgia Santoro is a very fine flautist indeed. The inclusion of the Egyptian ‘Longa Farahfaza’ by Riad Al Sunbati gives her space to show off her skills and is perhaps the highlight of the album. I was less sure about some of the vocals on the traditional Sephardic songs, which tend towards the overtly emotional. While this may be appropriate for some of the traditional songs, I’m unconvinced that they added much to the reworking of Monteverdi’s ‘Si Dolce è’l Tormento’ which closes the album.