Picchi: Canzoni da sonar con ogni sorte d'istromenti

Featuring

Giulia Genini
Concerto Scirocco
Giovanni Picchi

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Composer Biography

Giovanni Picchi, the composer, was born in Venice in 1572 and worked most of his life in the parish of San Tomà, a strategic district with important institutions like the Basilica dei Frari and the Scuola Grande di San Rocco.

Composer Biography

Picchi's maternal grandfather, Iseppo, a harpsichordist, likely introduced him to the harpsichord and dance music, while Giovanni Croce, a prominent maestro di cappella at St. Mark's Basilica, probably oversaw his musical education.

Composition History

Picchi's collection, Canzoni da sonar con ogni sorte d'istromenti, published in 1625, contains 19 compositions for various instrumental groupings and belongs to the Venetian tradition of the canzone-sonata.

Compositional Technique

The Canzoni da sonar collection shows influences from Giovanni Gabrieli's instrumental works and incorporates the concertante style of Dario Castello, while also featuring Picchi's own unique flair.

Interpretation

The title of Picchi's collection, 'Canzoni da sonar con ogni sorte d'istromenti' (Canzonas to be played with all sorts of instruments), allows for flexible instrumentation, reflecting the Venetian practice of integrating wind and string instruments.

Composer Biography

Picchi's fame as a performer of dance music is confirmed by his likeness appearing in the frontispiece of Fabrizio Caroso's Nobiltà di dame, the most important dance treatise of the time, in 1600.

Recording & Production

This recording was made in August 2018 at the Chiesa di Santa Marta in Carona, Switzerland, and in December 2019 at the Sala della Carità in Padua, Italy.