On wishful thinking: the old in the new

"One of the fundamental premises of science fiction is that the boundaries of time may, in certain circumstances, become fluid, and may thus give rise to improbable crossings. I wonder, on listening to this batch of recordings, whether we are in need of a new musical category, that of Musical Fiction. It cannot, of course, be said that we do not live in interesting times: crossover is certainly one characteristic of those times, and when done well it can offer some unusual insights, but I really wonder just how many would have predicted even ten years ago that 2014 would see the recording of two newly composed operas written largely in 17th-century style. This is exactly what we have in Elam Rotem: Rappresentatione di Giuseppe e i suoi fratelli (Joseph and his brethren) (Pan Classics PC10302, rec 2013, 86′) and Guido Morini’s Solve et Coagula (Alpha 537, rec 2014,..."