Roland Wilson, founder and leader of Musica Fiata, is known for his historical accuracy combined with artistic inspiration, and has reconstructed many incomplete 17th-century works.
Compositional Technique
The use of 'walking basses' was common in 17th-century secular and sacred music; Rovetta's Beatus Vir uses an unusually long 16-bar basso ostinato that maintains variety despite its continuous flow.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Monteverdi's musical language in his later sacred works is theatrical, rich in affects, and shows a preference for strong contrasts, making it largely indistinguishable from his late madrigals and operas.
Historical Context
While Monteverdi wrote great works for St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, much music was also composed for other venues, including private palaces, where sacred music was often performed.
Compositional Technique
Dario Castello's 'Sonate concertate in Stil moderno' were revolutionary, making extensive use of tempo markings, sudden dynamic changes (including echo effects), and frequent meter changes.
Compositional Technique
Giovanni Rovetta, Monteverdi's deputy, and Giovanni Antonio Rigatti, his pupil, integrated instruments more closely with singers in their music, sometimes imitating vocal lines or filling out tutti passages.
Performer Biography
Musica Fiata, founded in 1976, performs 16th and 17th-century music on historical instruments, developing a 'speaking playing style' and characteristic sound through extensive study of performance practice.
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