The invention of new musical instruments during the Renaissance directly inspired composers, leading to new compositional techniques and performance styles.
Performer Biography
Skip Sempé, the director, moved to Europe in 1980 to study with Gustav Leonhardt, a renowned harpsichordist and organist, and to meet harpsichord maker Martin Skowroneck.
Recording & Production
This album, "Venezia Stravagantissima," is the first recording by the Capriccio Stravagante Renaissance Orchestra.
Interpretation
Skip Sempé, the director of Capriccio Stravagante, aims to create an interpretation that is as competent or even more compelling than previous recordings, viewing each interpretation as experimental and temporary.
Instruments
Many instruments now called 'Baroque,' such as violins, violas da gamba, lutes, recorders, cornetts, sackbuts, organs, and harpsichords, were actually inventions of the Renaissance.
Recording & Production
The harpsichord used on this recording was made by Martin Skowroneck in 1959, modeled after 17th-century Italian instruments, and the virginal by Skowroneck in 1971, after Ruckers.
Historical Context
Venice was a major European center for music printing and instrument making from the early 16th century, known for its distinctive 'brass' sound from cornetts and sackbuts.
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