Giovanni Battista Vitali is finally getting his due — thanks to this series from Tactus. The Italico Splendore Ensemble has been steadily making its way through Vitali’s published compositions. This release — the sixth — features the Soante a due violini, Op. 9, published in 1684. These are sonatas da chiesa (church sonatas). At the […]
Tactus
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Anonima Frottolisti demonstrate Humanism in music
I first fell in love with early music through recordings of David Munro. In many ways, the Anonima Frottolisti reminds me of those recordings. The ensemble performs with enthusiasm and energy. The album is a survey of music heard in 15th Century Italy. The Humanist movement grew out of a rediscovery of ancient Greek writings […]
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Early Baroque gems from Varie Sonate of Giovanni Battista Vitali
For the average person, I think, the term “Italian Baroque” conjures up the music of Vivaldi. But the Italian Baroque really began around 1600, and it took a while for the music — and the instruments — to complete the transition from the Renaissance. What struck me most about this collection of sonatas by Giovanni […]
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Pugnani Violin Concertos As They Were Meant To Be Played
This recording is more remarkable then it appears at first hearing. Gaetano Pugnani was one of the most brilliant violinists of his age. At age ten he joined the Royal Chapel of Turin — as first violinist. And his career just kept getting better. As a virtuoso, he performed with the leading orchestras of […]
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Maggalena Lombardini String Quartets deserve a second hearing
Maddalena Lombardini lived quite a life. Born in Venice in 1735, she was a renowned violinist by the age of 14. Guiseppi Tartini took her under his wing, and soon she had a thriving career as a performer and an instructor at the Mendicanti of Venice. At 31 she married violinist Ludovico Sirmen and the […]
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Cherubini and Cambini String Trios
This collection of world premiere recordings makes for an appealing program. Luigi Cherubini and Giuseppe Cambini, though contemporaries, occupied different roles in the Parisian music scene of the early 1800s. These works show both the connections and the distinctions between the opera composer (Cherubini) and the master of chamber music (Cambini). Cherubini spent most of […]