<<  -- 2 --  Peter G Howell    GREAT CHARM

There is a useful booklet enclosed with the CD with a list of pieces giving their sources and origin. The disc contains works by such composers as Capirola (1517), Spinacino (1507), Borrono (1546), Bianchini (1553) and so on. Mostly these composers are not in Scholes' book The Oxford Companion to Music but could well come up on composers-classical-music.com. After all there were many professional musicians working in Venice and we cannot expect to know them all but it is certain, on the evidence you can hear on this CD, that they were very good. It is interesting that the sleeve illustration is a masterly portrait of Giovanni Gabrieli who is well known for his larger pieces but was also a first rate lute player. Most of the works were printed in Venice in the 16th century, the remainder being archived in Venice in manuscript form which makes the disc a useful document besides being a good listen.

This recording is not alone since Cristiano Nalesso has recorded other Venetian music, or more inclusively, music that would have been performed in Venice. For example he has recorded such titles as Italian music of the 18th century for organ, trumpet and oboe, The Vivaldi double cello concertos and Sonatas and madrigals for curtall. To record Venetian music is an immense task because there must be vast amounts of lesser known music of high quality that has not been heard for hundreds of years, for example for harpsichord, that should be made available in score and on disc.

For help listening to the sound extracts here, please refer to our questions & answers page.