The group Affetto aims to bring alive Early Baroque music with dramatic intensity, reflecting the allegorical and poetic song texts.
Performer Biography
Affetto is a New Zealand-based Early Music Group formed in 2010, which has earned awards and performed across New Zealand.
Instruments
The album features a variety of period instruments, including a treble cornetto by John McCann, a harpsichord by Peter Mirams, and a theorbo by Jason Petty.
Album & Artwork
The group's name, Affetto, is an Italian word meaning mood, emotion, or to affect, and reflects their goal to take the audience on an emotional journey.
Compositional Technique
Early Baroque composers like Claudio Monteverdi experimented with daring harmonies and expressive chords, previously considered too bizarre, to create a new dramatic approach to music.
Compositional Technique
The Ciaccona, a 4-bar recurring bassline, was immensely popular across Europe in the Early Baroque period and is used in pieces on this album by Claudio Monteverdi and Giovanni Felice Sances.
Historical Context
The Early Baroque period, the focus of this album, was a 'golden age' for music, seeing a transition from strict religious compositions to a more intimate, humanistic style.
