“the main connection appears to be the sombre tone shared by both composers. To link them more securely, Wieder-Atherton has devised a narrative based around the character of Angioletta – after whom the longest and most satisfying of the madrigals was named – charting her path from infancy to an old age starkly depicted in the lowering clouds of Scelsi's "Ygghur I"” --The Independent, 18th March 2011 ***
Following her acclaimed recording ‘Chants d'Est’ (V5178) and the emblematic ‘Chants Juifs’ (V5226), cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton’s enterprising new album on Naïve, ‘Vita’ (‘Life’ in Italian), combines the music of two great Italian composers, one from the 16th century and one from the 20th. The disc includes transcriptions for cello of several of Claudio Monteverdi’s madrigals alongside excerpts from Giacinto Scelsi’s “Trilogy: Les Trois Âges de l’Homme” for solo cello.
Sonia Wieder-Atherton has played as soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras including the Orchestre de Paris, and the Israel Philharmonic. She has recently signed an exclusive contract with the record company Naïve. The first result of this collaboration was Chants d’Est, a voyage through the music of Russia and Middle Europe for cello and chamber orchestra with the Sinfonia Varsovia.
Wieder-Atherton decided to produce a disc combining the music of Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) and Giacinto Scelsi (1905-1988) because “I felt that the music of both of these two geniuses explored the forces within human nature”. She worked with Franck Krawczyk to transcribe for cello several madrigals of Monteverdi, mostly from the Eighth Book. Those madrigals, also performed by cellists Sarah Iancu and Matthieu Lejeune, are combined with excerpts from Scelsi’s Trilogy for solo cello Les Trois Âges de l’Homme.
