• Giulio Caccini (1551-1618) was a celebrated Italian composer, singer, instrumentalist and teacher. The Duke of Tuscany, Francesco de Medici, was so impressed by the voice of the young man that he took him to his court in Florence, where Caccini stayed the rest of his life.

• Caccini’s new musical language changed the course of music history and laid the foundations for the modern Opera. In his “Le Nuove Musiche” (the New Music) he eschewed complex counterpoint in favour of a new monodic style, in which a solo voice is supported by a rich continuo, putting the expression of the poetry and its emotions to the foreground.

• This new recording contains arias for tenor and basso continuo on secular Italian texts. Italian tenor Riccardo Pisani is the ideal interpreter for this heart-wrenchingly beautiful music . He is supported by a continuo of violin, violone, lute, harp, theorbe and guitar.

• The booklet contains liner notes in English and Italian. The sung texts are available on the Brilliant Classics website.