Barbara Strozzi's determination to publish her works was significant, as most female composers of her time did not have their compositions printed or copied.
Performer Biography
Silvia Rambaldi, the harpsichordist, teaches at the Conservatorio di Musica 'G. B. Martini' of Bologna and has recorded numerous internationally acclaimed CDs.
Composition History
Barbara Strozzi's Op. 6, published in Venice in 1657, includes cantatas and stanza arias, showing the influence of Claudio Monteverdi.
Composer Biography
Barbara Strozzi, born in Venice in 1619, became a renowned composer and singer, publishing eight collections of vocal music without Church or noble patronage.
Compositional Technique
In most of the Ariette from Op. 6, Barbara Strozzi uses the descending tetrachord, a musical module conventionally identified with the rhetorical form of the 'lament' in 17th-century Venetian opera.
Recording & Production
The harpsichord introductions to the Ariette on this album are taken from the 17th-century manuscript Chigi Q.IV.27, preserved in the Vatican Library, which contains anonymous preludes reminiscent of Strozzi's style.
Performer Biography
Tadashi Miroku, the countertenor on this recording, has performed in Japan and abroad since 1999 and participated in all concerts and recordings of the Bach Collegium Japan from 1996 to 1999.
