Luzzaschi: Concerto delle Dame
Roberta Mameli, Emanuela Galli, Francesca Cassinari (sopranos)
La Venexiana, Claudio Cavina (direction)
this is music of intimate emotion and subtle embellishment, with two or three voices intertwining above an instrumental accompaniment – in stark contrast to the usual a cappella style of madrigal...
Luzzaschi: Concerto delle Dame
Roberta Mameli, Emanuela Galli, Francesca Cassinari (sopranos)
La Venexiana, Claudio Cavina (direction)
Purchase product
this is music of intimate emotion and subtle embellishment, with two or three voices intertwining above an instrumental accompaniment – in stark contrast to the usual a cappella style of madrigal...
About
Claudio Cavina and La Venexiana now return to the end of the 16th century, following the 'Poppea' of Monteverdi with the 'Artemisia' by Cavalli.
They put their distinctively Italian mark on what was, for a long time, 'secret' music: that composed by Luzzasco Luzzaschi when he was serving the ducal court of Alfonso II of Ferrara. Alfonso brought together 'singing ladies', the Concerto delle Dame, virtuoso performers on instruments as well as with the voice, to delight and entertain the duke’s wife, as well as privileged members of the court. Apparently rival courts sent composer-emissaries to find out what was going on! Kept under lock and key, the music written for the Dame by Luzzaschi and others was only released and published on the Duke’s death.
With Emanuela Galli, Roberta Mameli and Francesca Cassinari, Claudio Cavina has assembled a superb modern-day trio of singers in a further display of La Venexiana’s magisterial control of Italian music as it shifts gears from the Renaissance to the Baroque.
Contents and tracklist
- Cristiano Contadin (viola da gamba), Emanuela Galli (soprano), Francesca Cassinari (soprano), Roberta Mameli (soprano), Davide Pozzi (harpsichord), Marta Graziolino (harp), Gabriele Palomba (lute)
- La Venexiana
- Claudio Cavina
- Gabriele Palomba (lute), Marta Graziolino (harp), Davide Pozzi (harpsichord), Emanuela Galli (soprano), Francesca Cassinari (soprano), Roberta Mameli (soprano), Cristiano Contadin (viola da gamba)
- La Venexiana
- Claudio Cavina
- Roberta Mameli (soprano), Cristiano Contadin (viola da gamba), Davide Pozzi (harpsichord), Emanuela Galli (soprano), Francesca Cassinari (soprano), Marta Graziolino (harp), Gabriele Palomba (lute)
- La Venexiana
- Claudio Cavina
Awards and reviews
16th December 2011
this is music of intimate emotion and subtle embellishment, with two or three voices intertwining above an instrumental accompaniment – in stark contrast to the usual a cappella style of madrigal singing...The sopranos Roberta Nameli, Emanuela Galli and Francesca Cassinari turn this almost-forgotten music into a strangely compelling feast.
27th October 2011
As the three sopranos of La Venexiana show, they are wonderfully supple, ornamented settings, with striking contrasts between the single-voice numbers and the gorgeously rich textures of the three-voice ones, while the viola da gamba, lute and harpsichord provide the most tactful continuo support.
28th October 2011
The three sopranos are accompanied by a small ensemble who offer sombre settings for the ornamentation and serpentine monody of the romantic laments. Masterpieces such as "Troppo ben può" and "O dolcezz'amarissime d'amore" are the 16th-century equivalent of soul-diva showboating.
