Record Club - Il Giardino Armonico, Viaggio musicale

Discover funky Italian 17th century instrumental music

Today I want to introduce you to a collection of 17th century Italian music performed by one of the funkiest early music groups from Italy.

If you have read my piece on historical performance practice, you will find many practical demonstrations on this record: beautiful instrumental colours, basso continuo, improvisation, groovy dance rhythms and a very contemporary and dynamic interpretation.

This was one of the records that introduced me to the multifaceted world of 17th century Italian music when it came out back in year 2000. The interpretation of “Il Giardino Armonico” is like a powerful chiaroscuro full of extremes: from pianissimo delicate whispers to loud boisterous screams…a bit like everything in Italy.

Dazzling violin sonatas, recorder diminutions, the lush sound of the cornetto, lutes and harps, the very special sound of the dulciana (the renaissance ancestor of the bassoon): this album is a feast of instrumental color.

Check out “Il Giardino Armonico” performing a Ciaccona by Tarquinio Merula in this video (beware the editing is a bit hysterical!)

They perform at a slightly higher pitch than classical ensembles and that gives a special luminosity to the sound of the music. From their website:

The tuning note a’ = 466 Hz, thus a semitone higher than the modern-day pitch, was typical of northern Italy. This peculiarity, along with the use of uncovered gut strings on all the stringed instruments, gives the instruments a special “responsiveness” in the production and intonation of sounds (indispensable for the imitation of singing) and an unmistakable transparency that, in our opinion, is perfectly suited to the interpretation of the music presented here.

Read more about this record here.

Here a short video where I introduce the music on this album: