“My goal in designing this program was to combine a celebration of Frescobaldi’s compositional diversity with a sampling of music by his mostly Roman contemporaries. Besides the arias, motets and madrigals mentioned above, two more rustic villanelle are included (Occhi che sète, In un boschetto), and vocal works by Luigi Rossi and Stefano Landi. On the instrumental side, Frescobaldi’s keyboard music is complemented by two pieces by Ferrini, a fellow harpsichordist and organist working in Rome, and with lute solos by the celebrated players Kapsberger and Piccinini. Inspired by Frescobaldi’s fondness for ground basses and his dance-like sensibilities, I couldn’t resist adding tunes from the dance collections of Zanetti and Milan-based Caroso, plus our own improvised divisions on the Ciaccone and the descending tetrachord bass of Rossi’s Mio ben.
We had a wonderful time putting this glorious music together for performance, and into this recorded form to reach a wider audience. As you listen, may you enjoy these little gems of the early Baroque as much as we do!”
– Alison Melville, Project Artistic Director
MARQUIS
Available through Marquis Music and Amazon.ca, as well as at our concerts
