Recordings

Few instruments are as viscerally associated with the idea of grace and beauty as the harp, and few are as apt to express a sense of yearning as the oboe. So what could possibly capture the feeling of love better than a duo composed of these two instruments? Possibly nothing, as harpist Rita Costanzi and oboist Alex Klein rivetingly demonstrate on AMOROSO, an archetypally romantic album of intimate chamber music. Well-known classics by Debussy, Fauré, Massenet, Rachmaninoff, Piazzolla, and Rodrigo shine in a new light, and two new, fittingly romantic pieces by contemporary composers Michael Cohen and Michael Amorosi perfectly complete this wonderful picture.

The expansive opening Serenade for Violoncello and Harp is constituted by a single sweeping movement. Melodic materials presented by the cello are built around the expansion of two central themes. These themes, described by the composer as “simple,” are explored and transformed until they become anything but. This melodic transformation, rendered here by Ovidiu Marinescu, exists atop a virtuosic harp tapestry of harmonic filigree admirably played by Rita Costanzi.

The harp is one of those instruments that has universal appeal. Combine that fact with the musical artistry of Rita Costanzi, and the results are truly heavenly. Costanzi’s star shines very brightly indeed in this first solo disc for CBC Records. She presents a constellation of cultures and traditions, with appropriate favouritism to French repertoire, the harp most closely identified with the French. The disc takes its title from Canadian composer, Jean Coulthard’s, Of Fields and Forests.

Rita Costanzi, harpist with the CBC Vancouver Orchestra, has assembled a program of music that interprets the entire Nativity Story – which is not unusual for Christmas songs. What makes this CD unusual is that Costanzi has found enough pieces to do it in purely instrumental terms.

“This local label seems to be carving out a Christmas niche. The best is by superb harpist Rita Costanzi. Here she weaves a hypnotic spell with her deft combination of expected classics and rarer items.”
– Robert Jordan, The Georgia Straight

Elektra sings three Christmas works with harpist Rita Costanzi.

Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten—surely the most famous piece ever written for choir and harp—is a series of musical gems that is exuberant, innocent, and moving. Concierto di Navidad by Paul Csonka features Spanish sensuousness and catchy Cuban rhythms. In Dancing Day, John Rutter retells the central event of Christmas simply and vividly in a tapestry of dance tunes.

Song of the Stars, an album of Celtic Solo Harp music for contemplation and healing has received international acclaim and a five-star rating from CBC Radio’s Sound Advice.

Rita Costanzi’s album Song of the Stars was recorded in response to the increasing demand for assistance in the care of pre-palliative and palliative patients. Rita lends her immense talent and artistry to a cause that is close to her heart. This album is not only in memory of a friend, but for all who are troubled, ill, in fear, pain or dying – and to all who accompany them.

Composer Michael Cohen delivers an enticing follow up to his 2022 Navona Records release with ARIA, his second full album of original chamber works. Featuring a mix of studio and live recordings captured from various points in his diverse and expansive career, Cohen’s music emanates a thorough line of vitality and fervor. While strikingly rooted in tonal principles, these works embrace an elegant, confident, and ebullient character, permeated by a magnificent, effervescent spontaneity throughout.