The success of the 'Ladies of Ferrara' (Concerto Delle Donne) helped pave the way for women to become musicians in their own right, establishing the female voice as distinct from the treble or castrato.
Composer Biography
Claudio Monteverdi, regarded as one of the 'Giants' of his age, published his first collection at age 15 in 1583 and served as maestro di cappella at Saint Mark's in Venice from 1613.
Composer's Artistic Vision
During the early Baroque era, musical trends favored a more florid style of composition where dramatically expressive adherence to the text was considered paramount.
Composer Biography
Girolamo Frescobaldi, a pupil of Luzzaschi, was considered the greatest trendsetter of keyboard music of his time, influencing later composers like Henry Purcell and J.S. Bach.
Compositional Technique
Giacomo Carissimi's work was crucial to the development of recitative, a vocal style introduced by Monteverdi, and he wrote treatises on setting text and using speech rhythms.
Historical Context
The group Galàn was inspired by the Concerto Delle Donne, a female trio that performed in Ferrara at the end of the sixteenth century, which helped gain acceptance for the female voice in public performance.
Performer Biography
Galàn is a young ensemble specializing in European Renaissance and Baroque music, accompanied by theorbo and harpsichord, and takes its name from an old English term for 'enchantment' and 'to sing'.
