QuintEssential : In Venetia

"The programme is skillfully constructed, juxtaposing the fresh-paletted consorts of strings and brass with the warmly centred glow of the cornetts and sackbuts.... this is open-hearted playing, where the special quality of the sound and music is communicated with admiral shapeliness and focus."
—Classic FM Music Magazine, June 1998

The opportunity to record music which is both challenging, good to listen to and fun to play requires a certain degree of balance and judging by the reception in Classic FM music magazine, we have come some way towards achieving this on In Venetia. The disc is primarily devoted to Giovanni Gabrieli's contemporaries - Giovanni Picchi and Giovanni Priuli, all of whose music on this disc was printed in Venice, hence the name, In Venetia.

The instrumental forces employed reflect a personal preference and a desire to collaborate again with the extra performers that we have grown used to over recent years and who have actively supported the group in the past. We therefore have the use of the tenor cornett of Anthony Legget, a sound which blends the lower cornett register with the upper range of the sackbuts in such a way as to make the join seamless; track 19, Gabrieli's 1615 Canzon Prima, in our scoring of three cornetts and two tenor sackbuts. To reflect the open-minded approach to scoring, we never felt that all of the works included on the disc need always employ sackbuts and cornetts exclusively, and Canzon Decima Nona by Picchi (track 12) amply shows off the dynamism of juxtaposing strings and brass. Punctuating the instrumental canzonas are four stunning organ pieces by our longstanding continuo player Colm Carey, an exceptional soloist in his own right.

It is also worth noting that the sleeve note by Keith McGowan circumvents the usual specific reference to the music and illustrates a fascinating overview of the life of the well to do Venetian nobleman.

In Venetia: Track List and Audio Samples

Below is the complete track list for In Venetia. Audio samples may be heard by clicking on any of the linked titles. If you don't yet have the Real Audio Player, you can get it here.

[1]	Giovanni Gabrieli	Sonata Decima Terza	[2.47]
[2]	Giovanni Priuli	Canzon Prima	[4.22]
[3]	Claudio Merulo	Canzon Decima Ottava	[1.57]
[4]	Andrea Gabrieli	Canzon francese detta Petit Jacquet	[1.59]
[5]	Giovanni Picchi	Canzon Decima Ottava	[2.41]
[6]	Giovanni Priuli	Sonata Prima	[3.55]
[7]	Giovanni Picchi	Canzon Decima Quarta	[4.51]
[8]	Claudio Merulo	Toccata nona del quarti toni	[4.11]
[9]	Giovanni Picchi	Canzon Decima Quinta	[4.12]
[10]	Giovanni Priuli	Canzon Quinta	[3.12]
[11]	Andrea Gabrieli	Canzon detta Qui La Dira	[3.47]
[12]	Giovanni Picchi	Canzon Decima Nona	[3.42]
[13]	Giovanni Priuli	Sonata Seconda	[2.52]
[14]	Giovanni Priuli	Canzon Terza	[3.19]
[15]	Tarquino Merula	Capricio	[3.46]
[16]	Giovanni Priuli	Canzon Quarta	[3.21]
[17]	Giovanni Priuli	Canzon Seconda	[3.13]
[18]	Giovanni Priuli	Adoramus te Christe	[3.08]
[19]	Giovanni Gabrieli	Canzon Prima	[2.39]

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