Ivana Sanshia Ströde

He was as eminent in composing as in playing extemporanously. Among the musicians who were active in the first half of the seventeenth century, Girolamo Frescobaldi (Ferrara, 1583 – Rome, 1643) stands out not only as an organist whose virtuosity and technical skill were superlative and incomparable, but also as a formidable musician who was able to interpret the artistic stirrings in the musical language of his time and to incorporate them, in an effective and significant way, into his vast production for keyboard instruments.

In 18th-century Naples, one of the most fertile artistic centres in Europe, Francesco Durante was considered ‘supreme’, composing music that gave him an international status. His psalm settings stand out for their astoundingly modern contrapuntal tensions and expressive nuance. Coupled with Giovanni Salvatore’s uniquely inventive pieces for organ, these world premiere recordings revive sacred works by a composer lauded in his day as the ‘greatest master of harmony in Italy’.