Virtuoso Lute Music From Italy and England

Featuring

Jakob Lindberg
Laurencini da Roma
Anonymous
Orlando di Lasso
Simone Molinaro
Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger

Alessandro Piccinini
Bellerofonte Castaldi
Anthony Holborne
Peter Philips
Francis Cutting
Daniel Bacheler

Did you know?

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Composer's Artistic Vision

One distinctive feature of the English school of composition around 1600 was the importance of popular song as a constant source of inspiration.

Composer Biography

Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger, known as the "nobile alemanno," was perhaps the most famous virtuoso player of the lute and chitarone in Italy during the first decades of the 17th century.

Composer Biography

Francis Cutting remains the most obscure figure among the great Elizabethan composers for the lute, with uncertainty even about the attribution of some works.

Cultural Impact

The "Aria del Granduca," also known as "Aria (or "Ballo") di Fiorenza," was one of the most popular themes in Italy during the first half of the 17th century.

Compositional Technique

During this period, a new form of "monodic song" consciously opposed to vocal polyphony was born, along with its instrumental accompaniment, the "basso continuo."

Instruments

The chitarone, also called "tiorba" (theorbo), is a large lute with its first two courses tuned an octave lower than usual, making it better suited for accompaniment than solo pieces.

Historical Context

The music on this record was composed during a short period from the end of the 16th century to the first half of the 17th century, a time of significant change in Italian music style.