Musiche a Una E Due Voci

Sigismondo D'India (ca. 1580-1629) wrote his five books of "Musiche a una e due voce" (music for one or two voices) at the court of Turin, where he was Master of Chamber Music of Carlo Emanuele I, Duke of Savoy. In these works D'India introduced the new monodic style (as opposed to the 4 or 5 voice settings of the Madrigal) in which one or two voices sang in a different way: "using intervals out of the ordinary, moving with the greatest invention, from one consonance to the other, depending on the meaning of the words, by such means the songs would have greater impact and power to move the emotions of the soul" (as D'India himself wrote). The lyrics are by the most famous poets of the time: Tasso, Marini and Guarini, providing excellent material for the dramatic musical language of D'India. Excellent performances by one of the leading Early Music ensembles of Italy, the Ensemble Arte Musica, led by harpsichordist Francesco Cera, who already recorded a splendid performance of the Tenebrae Responsoria by Gesualdo for Brilliant Classics. Complete texts and English translations are included in the booklet.