Ensemble Charneyron - Memoria Mortis - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Trained under the guidance of A. Scorpione, D.A. Giordani and F.A. Urio, Francesco M. Benedetti is Chapel Master in Assisi, friend of G. Tartini and confrere of Father Martini. The complex counterpoint of his music closely recalls Bachian characteristics which, however, give way to galant elements that in some points result in a pre-classical language. Dense and virtuosic ornamentations typical of the performance practice of the time support the theories on the ornamentation practice of the time. The young Berlin baroque ensemble Musica Colorata consists of seven musicians and is particularly dedicated to the baroque music of the 17th and 18th centuries. With a lot of passion they search for unknown Italian and German compositions and present them with all their wonderful timbres on historical instruments.

The phrase memento mori has it's origins in classical antiquity, but the injunction to remember one's own mortality has been a feature of different cultures and religions throughout the ages; just as death is universal, so is our need to adjust to this fact, and to consider our lives with it in mind. The arts are, and have been, an important means in helping us to do so, which is why the laments gathered on this album speak to us all. The Austrian ensemble klingzeug has gathered examples from some 500 years - from the Planh ('plaint') by Raimbaut de Vaqueiras, a Provençal troubadour of the early 13th century, to Locatelli's Sinfonia funebre. Two of the most famous of all musical laments have also found their way onto the disc, albeit not in the form we normally hear them; transferred to a violin Dido's Lament has become a song without words, while Dowland's Lachrimae is heard in one of the many arrangements made of it, here by the German composer Johann Schop.

Ens La Danserye / Capella Prolationum - Chanzonetas [COMPACT DISCS] date 02/02/2018