Jamie Warkentin sang several years’ worth of music in one hour last Sunday, and I had the privilege of listening in on it. She did several opera selections, and one of her choices was the aria from Monteverdi’s ”Lamento D’Arianna”. As I listened, I realized that I had heard this many times before in a different context, as it is also the opening cut from Cafe Del Mar’s Aria 2 compilation. Cafe Del Mar is probably better known for their summer Ibiza chill-out lounge/downtempo/world music DJ sets, but I have collected the Arias as well and they are thoroughly enjoyable. The idea behind Arias is to take the 400-year-old opera music and reframe it in a modern popmusik setting. The strings and orchestration and lush harmonies are underscored by a sometimes delicate, sometimes pompous drum and synth backing. It can be opera “lite”, but I like it.
Download Arianna here.