** 1/2 ALESSANDRO SCARLATTI: Cantatas, Vol. 1. Christine Brandes, soprano; Nicholas McGegan and the Arcadian Academy. (Conifer Classics)

The father of Domenico, Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) was a famed and prolific composer in his own right, author of more than 100 operas and well over 600 cantatas. The latter have been barely explored on disc, but McGegan and company mean to fill the gap with a series devoted exclusively to them. Composed for private, aristocratic gatherings, the four secular, chamber cantatas included here are intimate and doleful affairs--graceful recitatives alternating with poetic arias and centered on emotions of loss and yearning (of Ariadne, of Orfeo) rather than dramatic deeds. Christine Brandes, the impressive Amor last season in Mark Morris’ “Orfeo and Euridice,” sings with an abiding vibrancy and taffy-pulling expressiveness, though she softens consonants to achieve silky smooth lines. McGegan and the four-member Arcadian Academy match her nuance for nuance, perfectly tuned and purely toned, and the recording captures it all in radiant close-up.

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