Rappresentatione Di Anima Et Di Corpo

Composed at a time when neither oratorio nor opera existed, Emilio de' Cavalieri's musical drama Rappresentatione di anima et di corpo combines song, stage action, dance, and instrumental music in perfect harmony. The work's libretto, attributed to Agostino Manni, presents a musical morality play in which soul and body dispute, with the participation of other allegorical characters and angels and souls both in heaven and hell. On this new recording, maestro Rene Jacobs illuminates this key work, which was written at the dawn of the Baroque revolution.