Paying tribute to the short-lived 18th century Italian composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736), this ECM debut from Italian vocalist, composer and arranger Maria Pia De Vito scores highly for its daring and its judicious reshaping of the source material. Joining the singer are three terrific musicians, all of whom have previously recorded on ECM: German cellist Anja Lechner, French pianist François Couturier and Italian percussionist Michele Rabbia. The scenesetting ‘Ogni pena piú spietata’, from Pergolesi's three-act comic opera Lo Frate ‘nnamorato (‘The Enamoured Brother’) is lit up by the crystalline purity of De Vito's voice. Staking out quite different ground, but no less beautiful, is Couturier's ‘Amen’ (itself inspired by Pergolesi's ‘Stabat Mater’), while the Couturier/Lechner feature, ‘Sinfonia for violoncello’ is subtly interlaced with ghostly electronics and De Vito's virtuosic, wordless interjections. Lovers of Stravinsky will recognise both the ‘Sinfonia’ and the following piece, ‘Chi disse ca la femmena’, from his ‘Pulcinella’. Of the three group improvisations, ‘In compagnia d'amore I’, with its juxtapositions of acoustic and electronic sounds, is especially striking.