Amanti, io vi sò dire

Featuring

Michel Angers
Peggy Bélanger
Alessandro Piccinini
Benedetto Ferrari
Bellerofonte Castaldi
Girolamo Viviani

Did you know?

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Compositional Technique

Benedetto Ferrari's Third Book of Musiche Varie, from which many pieces on this album are taken, contains seventeen pieces for solo voice and basso continuo, with four considered early examples of the cantata form.

Historical Context

A new practice of singing solo with an instrument emerged in the late Renaissance, moving away from complex contrapuntal forms.

Composer Biography

Despite being described as an 'excellent theorbo player', Benedetto Ferrari, the composer, never wrote any solo music for the instrument.

Composition History

The concept of 'recitar cantando' (singing while reciting) was introduced by intellectuals in Count Bardi's Florentine Camerata, aiming to recreate ancient Greek musical styles.

Composer Biography

Benedetto Ferrari, the composer of many pieces on this album, was a librettist and composer whose opera Andromeda was the first public opera requiring purchased tickets in Venice in 1637.

Instruments

The theorbo, a large lute, was primarily used as an accompaniment instrument throughout Europe, with its solo repertoire being much smaller than that of the lute.

Composer's Artistic Vision

In 'recitar cantando', music was entirely at the service of the text, aiming to affect the listener's mind and spirit, unlike earlier polyphony where the text's meaning was often lost.