Claudio Monteverdi Di Crema - Francesco Cavalli: Hymns and Psalms

Cavalli was of great importance to the history of 17th-century Italian music, his fame having been established in the then new and swiftly evolving world of opera. Cavalli�s sacred music has often been compared to that of Monteverdi but, drawn from a wonderful anthology published at the apex of his career as a composer, the stylistic and expressive richness documented by the pieces in this programme delivers a strong overview of the variety and power of his musical language. The originality of Cavalli�s style was in finding an ideal means of expression for the feelings and emotions suggested by the text, breaking down the boundaries between sacred and secular music, and creating a more serene merging of artistic and religious sensibilities. Commenting on the performance interpretation, Massimo Loreggian (harpsichordist and composer in European/Baroque style) added: �The Hymns and Psalms of Francesco Cavalli are presented in this performance in a new interpretative form as regards the ornamentation of the pieces� vocal and instrumental parts. This type of artistic imprint is what we would have heard at the time... All in all, what has been recorded in this programme is unique, a version of Francesco Cavalli�s works never written or heard before.�