Description

Vague and graceful eyes
musical salad of ostinati, dances, fantasies and more, for viola da gamba, archlute, Spanish guitar and vocals

Daniele Cernuto violas da gamba and voice
Calogero Sportato theorbo, archlute and Spanish guitar

To receive the CD, make a donation to the Dolci Accenti association

This CD is the result of research on original sources: treated, music, prints, manuscripts and chronicles of the time. We have delved into the repertoire of perhaps one of the richest periods, various and florid of Italian music: the one that goes from the end of the sixteenth century to the beginning of the seventeenth century. Our attention was paid to vocal music and its expressive potential, and to the instrumental one which was emancipating itself as an autonomous genre.

There are many composers working in a historical moment so rich in artistic ferment, who rediscover the expressive power of monodic singing inspired by the presumed custom of classical actors of "acting by singing".

And it is precisely the weight and importance that is given to the form of "acting singing", to the valorization of the poetic text through gestures, which leads slowly, in contemporary opera, although in its infancy and in the process of ongoing experimentation, to earn immense favors and acclaim throughout Italy.

Our performance path aims to reflect the very idea of ​​the opera in form, alternating vocal arias with instrumental pieces by famous authors such as G. Cape Town, D. Ortiz, G. Frescobaldi, T. Hume, who enhanced instruments such as the theorbo, the baroque guitar, the viola da gamba, the harpsichord and last but not least the voice.

The lyrics retrace the different aspects of love through the typical allegories of the time. And then the mouth is the door of laughter made of roses that guard great treasures that will hardly open to kiss the beloved. The eyes are lights that throw flashes of light and tears are compared to fountains and rivers. This is the song of love and the elusive beauty of one's beloved, whose harsh fate causes our lover to fall into misfortune. Orpheus himself sings and prays to the infernal Gods so that, as a widowed lover, may he bring his dear wife back from the Underworld. Loves that leave, far away and that make hope die. With distance they see death approaching as the only solution for relief, after a destruction like snow in the sun.

And here they are interspersed with the madrigals, in the same poignant atmosphere, instrumental pieces that reflect the affections just narrated, this is the case with the other allegories, with other authors describing it musically, different states of mind in which everyone can recognize themselves.