Antonio Vivaldi

FURY / MERCY

Channa Malkin | La Sfera Armoniosa | Mike Fentross

Label: Challenge Classics
Format: CD
Barcode: 0608917200300

Catalog number: CC 720030
Releasedate: 03-10-25

- FURY / MERCY reframes Vivaldi's music through the lens of modern emotional introspection—especially around female rage and spiritual catharsis—creating a fresh, resonant connection between 18th-century music and 21st-century listeners.
- Led by award-winning conductor and lutenist Mike Fentross, La Sfera Armoniosa brings over 30 years of experience in historically informed performance, balancing scholarly insight with vivid musical expression.
- Engineered by Bert van der Wolf using the "High Quality Musical Mastering" approach, this album offers a pristine and immersive listening experience.

In FURY / MERCY, soprano Channa Malkin and early music ensemble La Sfera Armoniosa under the direction of Mike Fentross present a deeply personal and emotionally charged exploration of Antonio Vivaldi’s vocal and instrumental works. Moving seamlessly between operatic arias, sacred motets, and concerti, this album delves into the extremes of the human emotional spectrum—from searing rage to tender compassion.

The program opens with music from La fida ninfa, where betrayal and longing unfold through heartbreakingly intimate arias. It then journeys through the thunderous outcry of Armatae face et anguibus from Juditha Triumphans, into the serene and redemptive beauty of the motet In furore iustissimae irae. Along the way, the album draws on lesser-known Vivaldi gems—such as the Concerto in D Minor “Madrigalesco”—all chosen and interpreted with the intent to reveal the transformative power of emotion through music.