la Notte Sopra

Bojan Čičić and the Illyria Consort’s latest Delphian recording revels in the great variety of musical styles and traditions that grew up around Christmas and its related feasts in Catholic Europe in the seventeenth century – a time when the introduction of ‘rustic’ effects into instrumental music changed the sound of Christmas forever.

Sébastien de Brossard, an enthusiastic collector of music, pedagogue and author of the first dictionary of music, was also a very talented composer. This champion of Italian music and great connoisseur of the music of Carissimi probably took the Roman master as the model for his two oratorios. Leandro, a dramatic work in Italian, is a miniature masterpiece and one of the earliest cantatas by a French composer.

Una notte onirica is an enchanting musical journey, dedicated to the sacred and profane passions of 17th-century Italy. A soprano and six instrumentalists set up a nocturnal, intimate and sometimes disturbing atmosphere thanks to motets and sonatas by Cazzati, Turini, Marini, Rossi, Cesti and others. The torments of a jealous lover follow the luminous antiphons for the Virgin and sinfonie and lamenti compete in virtuosity. Una notte onirica is the illustration of an abundant and colourful Italian night, like a new carnival dedicated to Nyx, the goddess of the night.