The recorders used on this album are by Francesco Li Virghi, including models after Ganassi and historical instruments from 1529 and by Claude Raffi.
Album & Artwork
The album cover features a detail from "The Three Ages of Man," attributed to Giorgione, with the person on the right possibly being Philippe Verdelot, a composer featured on this album.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Ganassi's talent as a painter explains his comments in La Fontegara on the rapport between painting and music, where he suggests imitating the human voice on instruments by varying colors.
Compositional Technique
Sylvestro Ganassi's treatise, La Fontegara, is unique for proposing four rules for divisions based on a medieval proportional system, creating extraordinarily complex rhythms.
Recording & Production
This album was recorded at the Château de Chambord in March 2016, with support from the Région Centre-Val de Loire and the FCM (Fonds pour la Création Musicale).
Interpretation
The concept of "sprezzatura," or studied nonchalance, was a musical ideal of the time, where complex virtuoso figures were played with an aristocratic disdain, making it seem effortless.
Composer Biography
Sylvestro Ganassi, born in Venice in 1492, was not only a musician but also a painter, a talent confirmed by contemporary dialogues on painting.
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