Dramma per musica in three acts-La Calisto one of Cavalli?s most frequently performed operas today was premiered in Venice in 1651 but didn?t achieve its first real breakthrough until the 20th century.The foundation for this success may be the rediscovery of the dramaturgic and musically masterful construction: Faustini interwove several mythological models; the love between the Nymph Kallisto and Jupiter and between Diana and the shepherd Endymion as well as Kallisto?s transformation into a bear and his emanation as a well-known constellation. Numerous amusing minor roles are included and Cavalli succeeded in combining the various storylines and characters to produce an effective musically cohesive whole.This first volume of the new Bärenreiter series of the works of Cavalli presents a critical edition of the musical text and libretto complete with an English translation and provides a comprehensive insight into the development of the genre in Italian opera life of the 17th century.Performance material available for hire.

Charles Gounod's Requiem Op. Posth in C for SATB and Piano.Charles Gounod composed this Requiem under the impact of the death of his four-year-old grandson Maurice. According to information handed down while finishing the details of this work he was overtaken by death. It was published posthumously in various constellations by his pupil Henri Busser but the only complete version from the pen of Gounod is the version for large orchestra which is published here for the first time in a critical edition.Gounod?s Requiem unlike many contemporary settings of the Mass of the Dead is not characterized by darkness and terror. Rather with all of itstrepidation expressed through a marked chromaticism an atmosphere of hopeful expectation of trust in the grace and equity of the divine judge predominates. This confidence finds its expression in the choice of the fundamental key of C major which is rather unusual for a requiem. The work was given an impressive performance on the occasion of the first anniversary of Gounod?s death in the Parisian church of Sainte-Madeleine under the direction of Gabriel Fauré and it was highly acclaimed by the contemporary press.