Il gioco della cieca. Madrigali, Canzoni & Villanelle per cantare, et sonare

Featuring

Concerto di Margherita
Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi
Claudio Monteverdi
Giovanni Gabrieli
Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger
Giaches de Wert

Girolamo Frescobaldi
Sigismondo d'India
Andrea Gabrieli

Did you know?

1/7

Performer Biography

Concerto di Margherita, the ensemble on this recording, is named for Margherita Gonzaga, the last Duchess of Ferrara and patron of the historical Concerto delle dame.

Instruments

The double harp used in this recording was built in 2018 by Simon Capp, modeled after the Este Harp from 1581, which is now housed at the Gallerie Estensi in Modena.

Interpretation

Concerto di Margherita systematically approaches Italian monodic repertoire as an ensemble of self-accompanists, creating a coordinated pursuit of 'affetti' (deep emotional states) that is unprecedented in modern times.

Composer's Artistic Vision

The 'new music' of the early 1600s, as described by the word concerto, combined expressive resources like instruments, voices, solos, and ensembles to elicit deep emotional states (affetti).

Album & Artwork

This recording is named after Act III of Giovan Battista Guarini's 'Il pastor fido', a 'pastoral tragicomedy' that inspired many musical settings of the time.

Historical Context

The term 'concerto' had a longer history, with one of its first associations being with a group of professional singers-instrumentalists, mostly women, known as the Concerto delle dame at Ferrara in the 1570s-1580s.

Compositional Technique

The basso continuo notation, an innovation from the first decade of the 1600s, allowed composers to specify instrumental self-accompaniment and indicate melodic use of instruments alongside voices.