Instrumental and vocal music

The 17th century lutenist and composer Andrea Falconieri (1585?-1656) is one of the many splendid musicians from the Baroque period in Italy who were rated highly by con- noisseurs of the time but who were known hardly if at all by the public at large. During his long career Falconieri came in contact with various vocal and instrumental tradi- tions from Italy and Spain. His compositions that have sur- vived reflect these many-sided influences, being charac- terised by dance rhythms, instrumental virtuosity and the new monodic vocal style. This CD presents a representative selection from Falconieri’s secular works. The vocal works performed on this recording come from the three volumes of secular music by Falconieri that have survived. Many amateur singers will recognise the melody of O bellissimi capelli, for this charming piece is included in many modern collections of arie antiche. The longest and most ambitious of the six villanelle on this CD is Spiega la vela nocchiero; each verse here has its own music. The guitar or vihuela creates miraculous effects principally in simple melodies such as Pastorella, ove t’ascondi. The listener can immediately picture himself in Naples on a sultry summer evening; such a song reminds us that in Fal- conieri’s time there was no substantial difference between what we now call folk music and classical music. Falconieri’s instrumental music consists principally of stylised dances such as the courante and allemande, alongside several ‘free’ compositions. It is most likely that Falconieri composed the majority of these pieces in 1649 for palace festivities. The solemn Passacalle has a special position amongst the other dances. A falling motive is repeated more than thirty times by the continuo, whilst the melody instruments perform graceful variations on it. At the other end of the spectrum are short but hyperactive pieces such as the Brando dicho el Melo and the Brando Lo Spiritillo.