Tasto Solo under the direction of Guillermo Pérez brings the atmosphere of a renaissance banquet to life. With their new album Eros & Subtilitas they combine instrumental works interspersed with vocal madrigals. The theme: the eternal dialogue with the universe. Instrument and voice are "visible stars and firmaments" of what has been handed down to us from the renaissance.
The cd opens with the dance-like La Gamba by Vincenzo Ruffo (ca.1508-1587). The lute opens with the melody. This is taken over by harpsichord and harp after which the organetto and finally also the viola bastarda join in the dance. Tasto Solo plays with such liveliness that you can easily imagine the dance steps. If you close your eyes, you see the renaissance ball in full swing.
This opening dance is followed by three settings of the poem Dormendo un giorno. The first version is by Philippe Verdelot (ca.1485-ca.1540) and is sung by soprano Anne-Kathryn Olsen. After this vocal version, an instrumental performance of Ruffo's setting sounds. The third time this love poem sounds as a dialogue between Anne-Kathryn and baritone Riccardo Pisani. This triptych of capricci with always the same poem as a basis, however, does not feel like the same piece three times in a row. Through the difference in counterpoint, instrumentation and embellishments, you experience each version as new and fresh.
Other capricci — such as those on the poem O felici occhi miei — also appear in different versions on the album. Others such as Madonna io v'amo [track 08] and Martin menoit [track 19] appear only once. On the cd two poems by the master Petrarca (1304-1374) are also sung: Gentil mia donna [track 13] and Da' bei rami scendea [track 23]. A name that must not be missed when it comes to Italian poetry from the renaissance.
The vocal capricci and madrigals on this cd are supplemented with instrumental dances from the Castell'Arquato manuscript. These dances come in pairs: first a slow pavane followed by a lively saltarello in the same key. Also from this manuscript are the two ricercari [track 07 & track 14]. The first is performed solo by Bérengère Sardin and the second by Bertrand Cuiller. The charm and timbre of the renaissance harp and harpsichord can thus be beautifully displayed.
In the renaissance, every opportunity was seized to organize a rich and festive banquet. Music could certainly not be missing. The combination of dances, vocal songs and instrumental works on this album makes you dream about what musical entertainment at such an evening would have looked like.
4.5/5
- WHO: Tasto Solo under the direction of Guillermo Pérez (Anne-Kathryn Olsen [soprano], Riccardo Pisani [baritone], Bérengère Sardin [renaissance harp], Bertrand Cuiller [renaissance harpsichord], Pau Marcos [viola bastarda], Bor Zuljan [renaissance lute], Guillermo Pérez [organetto])
- WHAT: Eros & Subtilitas - Early Renaissance Music
- LABEL: AliaVox
- ORDER: JPC