Lachrimae Caravaggio (2007)

"This is Savalls first non-soundtrack programmatic effort as well as the first recording devoted exclusively to his music. The program is divided into 7 Statios of 4 to 5 movements, each representing Savalls take on seven works by the Renaissance Italian painter Michelangelo Caravaggio. Sharing equal billing with Savall is French novelist Dominique Fernandez, who provides essays about each of the seven selected paintings in the accompanying booklet. This is one of the quietest, most meditative ensemble recordings Savall has ever made. The vast majority of the program is devoted to inordinately pensive string improvisations performed by Savall, violinists Riccardo Minasi and Xavier Puertas, and harpist Andrew Lawrence-King. Alia Voxs SACD sound is absolutely gorgeous; rich, well-balanced, and sumptuously detailed. The 168-page booklet (translated in six languages) also is typical of the care Alia Vox continues to take in its projects." (John Greene, ClassicsToday; artistic quality: 8; sound quality: 10)