Omnia Fermenta

Recentemente si è rivalutata l”importanza di Alessandro anche come vero fondatore dell”importante «scuola tastieristica napoletana», della grande tradizione di una città, Napoli, «considerata come la capitale dell”armonia, la sorgente da cui si sono irradiati, in ogni altra parte d”Europa, il genio, il gusto e la cultura» (CHARLES BURNEY, The Present State of Music in France and Italy, London 1771).

May 2004 was the 400th anniversary of the death of Claudio Merulo (1533-1604), a great organist and composer of the Renaissance. We are pleased to present the world première recording of his complete organ works. These works represent the complete range of musical development of compositions for keyboard instruments in the 16th century. Since their quality had no equal at that time, Merulo's opus is of immense importance for the history of music. Tapping the full potential of the then usual forms of expression and structure, Merulo a contemporary of Gabrieli and his colleague as ''maestro di cappella'' at the Marcus Cathedral in Venice was groundbreaking in a highly creative era.

We are pleased to present volume 2 of the world premiere recording of the complete organ works of Merulo. These works represent the complete range of musical development of compositions for keyboard instruments in the 16th century. Since their quality had no equal at that time, Merulo's opus is of immense importance for the history of music. Tapping the full potential of the then usual forms of expression and structure, Merulo a contemporary of Gabrieli and his colleague as 'maestro di cappella' at the Marcus Cathedral in Venice was an important pathfinder in a highly creative era. And he opened up a new one: the Baroque period.

Active in Venice and Padua at the beginning of the 15th century, Johannes Ciconia was undoubtedly the most important composer of this transitional period. Born in Liège and trained in the principles of the French and Italian Ars Nova, he played a considerable role in the musical development that led little by little towards the Renaissance.

La grande lezione di Alessandro Scarlatti, un tempo oscurati notevolmente dalla considerazione unilaterale dell’imponente corpus sonatistico del figlio Domenico, si espandono – direttamente o indirettamente – sulla produzione tastieristica dei coetanei Gaetano Greco (Grieco; 1657ca-1728) e Francesco Mancini (1672-1737); e ancora, la sua azione si ravviva e acquista un significato pieno se messa a confronto con il successivo cembalismo virtuosistico di Francesco Durante e di Leonardo Leo.