Weser-Renaissance - Complete Madrigals & Instrumental Works - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Various Artists - Christmas Carols Tuo Armon [COMPACT DISCS] date 11/20/2008

When someone goes on a journey, they have stories to tell. When the travelers are talented musicians with an open ear for foreign sounds, they will not just tell whimsical stories but will want to transform the impressions they receive into their own creations. This was the case with Cornelis Schuyt (pronounced S-chr-o-it), son of an organist. Born seven years before William Shakespeare in Leiden, the Netherlands, he had the opportunity to visit the land of blooming lemons, and the musical inspirations he brought back apparently stayed with him. Throughout his life, he composed four volumes of enchanting madrigals and published a collection of Padouanas and Gagliardes of breathtaking beauty. Manfred Cordes and the Weser-Renaissance ensemble present a successful mix of vocal and instrumental pieces you will want to hold onto.

With this album, we enter into the court of the Swedish Queen Christina (1626-1689), who distinguished herself with her passions for the arts and sciences, but also through her exceedingly extravagant court life. A few years before her spectacular abdication and return to Catholicism (1654), she had employed an Italian opera ensemble including the Roman singer Domenico Albrici and his 21-year-old son Vincenzo. The latter had already made a name for himself at home and, within a few years in Sweden, composed many excellent vocal works. Together with several instrumental pieces, these survive in the famous Düben collection at Uppsala University. From around three dozen titles, Manfred Cordes has selected a beautifully melodious anthology, which has become an unmistakable hallmark of Weser Renaissance.