Music in Europe at The Time of The Renaissance

Under the label Alia Vox Diversa , Jordi Savall invites the ensemble Tasto Solo, founded in 2006, whose first albums were critically acclaimed : Diapason d’or, Amadeus “CD du Mois”, Ritmo & Audio Clásica “Excellent”, Pizzicato “Supersonic”, Scherzo “Exception- Nel”, France Musique “Coup de Coeur”… It brings us back to the Europe of the XVIIth Century , which experienced an unparalleled development of treatises about the art of instru- mental and vocal performance. Italy was the epic enter of a new style derived from the world of dance. This album revolves mainly around the work of composer Vincenzo Ruffo and his contemporaries. The instruments used in the present recording are typical of the Italian culture of the early Renaissance in chamber music : a small harpsichord without damper in the upper register, a simple harp, a viola da gamba and a lute.

One of hard rock's most influential guitarists has opted for the cultural upheaval and regality of the Renaissance era, as Ritchie Blackmore and vocalist Candice Night spearhead a band who abides by a hearty cross-pollination of English folk, 16th century melodies, and progressive rock. Here, Blackmore injects tasteful electric lead lines into a mix consisting of buoyantly executed rhythmic structures and Ms. Knight's whispery, and at times, satiny vocalizations…

The Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge, an exclusive Chandos artist, here presents its third release on the label. Established in the 1670s, the choir has a long and distinguished tradition of performing religious music and here offers distinguished interpretations of sacred works by Orlande de Lassus. Of its most recent release, Hear My Words: Choral Classics from St John’s (CHSA5085), The Telegraph wrote: ‘The boy treble voices bring lustre and freshness to the sonority and the singing throughout is stirring and polished.’

Laughter, derision, parody, jokes and satire: all 'tools for social survival' (Éric Smadja). The comic, parodic and satirical poetry presented on this CD provides, in performance, a thematic backdrop to a rich feast of medieval music. While at its heart lies a group of earthily humorous 15th-century sonnets in Paduan dialect — whose local flavour is typical of folk tradition but whose literary qualities are skilfully exploited — this collection of music, songs and courtly dances can only be defined as European (in the sense that these works are cross-cultural, rather than having anything to do with the modern political entity).

One can only marvel at the huge number of melodies and texts from past centuries that have been preserved by folk tradition. 20th-century folk music collections abound with songs already known from earlier written sources, e.g. the Peer-, Paix-, Kájoni-, Vietorisz-codices, 17th-century songbook manuscripts, the Vásárhely Daloskönyv, different psalm collections, the Énekes poézis…