Cecilia Bartoli Mission

Midway through her ambitious album Mission, Cecilia Bartoli sings, in vehement Italian, I take no counsel, except from fury. A desire for vengeance and zeal for honour care naught for Those words could have been an epitaph for Agostino Steffani, the man who wrote the music she s singing. Steffani, barely more than a footnote in music history these days, wrote reams of wellbuilt vocal music a generation before J. S. Bach and led an extraordinary life. When Steffani wasn t composing some 15 operas and 75 chamber duets, he accepted missions throughout Europe as a priest, diplomat and political operative. He rubbed elbows with German royalty, the Austrian emperor and the Pope. His life, according to Bartoli, was shrouded in mystery and conspiracy. Cecilia Bartoli s Latest Mission Rediscovers Agostino Steffani All of which is great fodder for Bartoli s record company, Decca, which must be having a blast promoting the album. Photos (see the slidesho