It's hard to tell what this album is all about even if you read the booklet, but the artifact in sound is attractive. It has nothing to do with the southern Italian guerrilla leader who went by the name of Fra' Diavolo, even though he had considerable musical presence and was the subject of an entire opera by Auber. The subtitle of the album alone suggests the contents: "La musica nelle strade del regno di Napoli," music of the streets in the realm of Naples. The album consists of folk and traditional music and songs from Naples, which is not the modern sort of Neapolitan song made popular by
Caruso but medieval and Renaissance-era selections, sung by the remarkably expressive tenor
Marco Beasley and accompanied by a battery of lutes, strings, and percussion. Many of the texts are about love, but several pieces relate to the taratella dance, a few are sacred, and there's a truly gorgeous lullaby (L'Angiulillo, track 9). The sound, recorded in a church, is too precious for this mostly earthly (and earthy) music, but the booklet comes through with texts in five languages: the original old Neapolitan, modern Italian, English, French, and German. Those who enjoy
Jordi Savall's experiments with bodies of traditional southern European song will be intrigued with the slightly different flavor imparted by the group
Accordone and its director
Guido Morini, but these musicians could stand to take a lesson in presentation from
Savall.