The late 15th century saw several significant changes in the lute’s morphology: the move from five-course to six-course instruments coincided with more extensive polyphonic writing...

The late 15th century saw several significant changes in the lute’s morphology: the move from five-course to six-course instruments coincided with more extensive polyphonic writing and led to a gradual abandonment of the plectrum for plucking the strings, in favor of the fingers which are more suitable for polyphony. In this period of rapid musical development the Ricercar became the most important musical form, alongside the dance music and “paraphrases” of liturgical and secular vocal music. Marco Dall’Aquila became one of the most prominent lute players and composers in this period. The originality of Marco’s writing, which is always idiomatic in the way it explores the lute’s full range of sounds and expressive potential, is balanced between the fifteenth century mastery of improvisation and the new trend toward polyphony inspired by vocal music. Master lutenist Sandro Volta has already recorded several releases to great acclaim. Musicweb wrote of her: “the performances of these technically challenging works by Sandro Volta are immaculate.”