Canzoni da Intorto

El soto dei Frari ,the lame man of the Frari: this was the nickname given to the Venetian Giovanni Picchi, perhaps a pupil of Giovanni Croce, in the charges pressed against him in 1610 for teaching music to the nuns in the Spirito Santo without a licence.

El soto dei Frari ,the lame man of the Frari: this was the nickname given to the Venetian Giovanni Picchi, perhaps a pupil of Giovanni Croce, in the charges pressed against him in 1610 for teaching music to the nuns in the Spirito Santo without a licence. In 1612 we find him intent on initiating an appeal against the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, after the appointment of Giovanni Battista Grillo as organist.The appeal is successful, obliging the powerful institution to repeat the examination. We also find this original and hot-tempered personality in his 19 Canzoni da sonar con ogni sorte d istromenti (Venice 1625): a collection which reveals the brilliant flair of this still little-known composer.The detailed instrumentation given by the author allows us to recreate the typically Venetian aural splendour, with glorious sackbut choirs and virtuosic violins, recorders, cornetts and bassoon. With the Canzoni da Sonar, presented by Concerto Scirocco in the first ever complete recording of the work, Giovanni Picchi sculpts his mastery into music with a variety of vivid colours and pulsating affects, earning a place of honour in the world of the Venetian school.

Girolamo Frescobaldi, jeune organiste de Ferrare, publie son premier recueil de canzoni en 1608, juste après l'obtention d'un poste prestigieux d'organiste à la basilique Saint-Pierre de Rome. Ce genre musical, né peu avant lui et qui s'éteindra à sa mort, est le fil rouge de son oeuvre. Le recueil sur lequel est basé cet opus, intitulé le Primo libro da Canzoni, a été publié en 1634, et il constitue l'aboutissement de ce travail. Ces oeuvres « à une, deux, trois ou quatre voix, accommodées pour être jouées par toutes sortes d'instruments », ont fait l'objet d'un minutieux travail de recherche par la Guilde des Mercenaires, qui nous en livre dans cet opus une interprétation magistrale.

Beautifully balanced, marvelously flexible in phrasing and tempo, with much well-judged space in the phrasing. In addition there is lots of variety in the playing style, with many touches of lightness and humour. The recorded quality is also of the best: everything is crystal-clear all the time, though always favoring the often jaw-dropping performances of the Norwegian/English/Croatian lutenist Jadran Duncumb.Listeners are spoilt for choice in this music, but what makes this new recording stand out, apart from the striking excellence of the recorded sound, is the nimble playfulness of Duncumb’s lute playing and the warm Italian sun which Rasi and friends shine upon Dowland’s inspiration.

Beautifully balanced, marvelously flexible in phrasing and tempo, with much well-judged space in the phrasing. In addition there is lots of variety in the playing style, with many touches of lightness and humour. The recorded quality is also of the best: everything is crystal-clear all the time, though always favoring the often jaw-dropping performances of the Norwegian/English/Croatian lutenist Jadran Duncumb.Listeners are spoilt for choice in this music, but what makes this new recording stand out, apart from the striking excellence of the recorded sound, is the nimble playfulness of Duncumb’s lute playing and the warm Italian sun which Rasi and friends shine upon Dowland’s inspiration.