This magical album brings together world premiere recordings of three works by one of America’s outstanding living composers, Dominick Argento (b.1927), and features the magnificent singing of mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade. "Everything Argento writes . . .originates in his love for the voice. His subject is self-discovery - the human condition illuminated by music of extraordinary lyric beauty." Casa Guidi, with Ms von Stade, is a set of five songs with orchestra based on letters of poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Argento’s Capriccio for Clarinet and Orchestra ("Rossini in Paris") is a delightful tribute to the spirit and melodic brilliance of the great 19th century composer of "The Barber of Seville". Finally, In Praise of Music: Seven Songs for Orchestra is a brilliant symphonic tribute to the glory of music itself, drawing inspiration from the spirit of music expressed by many cultures over the centuries. Pulitzer Prize winning Dominick Argento is the Composer Laureate of the Minnesota Orchestra and under the direction of Eiji Oue, that orchestra plays with passion, panache and tremendous sensitivity to this beautiful music.