Antonio Stradivarius is universally acknowledged as being the greatest violin maker of all time. About 600 of his instruments have survived until the present day, among them violins, violas, and cellos, most of which are still played, studied, and regarded by the most famous and renowned soloists, collectors, art galleries, and museums as the “non plus ultra.” The long life of Stradivarius covers a truly crucial period in the history of music: it stretches from the second half of the seventeenth century, a moment of the definitive triumph of the violin as principal instrument of Baroque instrumental music, to the first part of the eighteenth century, a period of transition toward musical classicism. We maintain that it is important, therefore, to rediscover these musicians who are little known to the public of today, but who were quite well known and respected in the Cremona of their day. They were perhaps great exchangers of concrete ideas and advice with the great violin makers of the time. As it happens today in modern violin making workshops, the exchange of ideas and advice between musicians and instrument makers is the basis for the professional growth of both.

Tarquinio Merula, born in 1595, moved to Cremona at a very early age where he spent the better part of his life. His fame as organist and composer brought him to work in other important Italian cities (he was organist in Bergamo and Lodi and active in Venice and Warsaw), but always with appointments lasting only a few years: evidently the musical climate in Cremona had nothing to envy far more important cultural centers. A highly respected musician, he was a prolific writer of collections of madrigals, organ pieces and instrumental music. The wonderful sonatas of op. XII, some recorded for the first time on this release, are played by Ensemble L’Aura Soave on original instruments.

Six Sonatas or Trios for three Violoncellos or two Violins and a Bass, is the title of op. 1, published in London by Giacobo Basevi Cervetto between 1741 and 1745 circa. To the modern ear, it is curious to hear the terms sonata and trio referred to as synonyms: in fact, the genre – which in effect did experience a certain confusion regarding the terminology – is known today as the sonata a tre. As Cervetto was a cello concert musician, it is not surprising that his sonatas were composed for three violoncellos (two cellos and bass); the alternative of playing them with two violins was probably dictated by commercial reasons in order to interest a vaster public. We maintain that it is important to rediscover these sonatas who are little known to the public of today. These wonderful and unusual Sonatas are played on original instruments by Martin Zeller & Marco Frezzato.

It was sheer joy in the vibrancy and virtuosity of baroque music that brought together the musicians of Parnassi Musici in 1990 and, since then, has inspired the ensemble to build its repertoire around German and Italian trio sonatas. Time and time again, Parnassi Musici surprises its audiences with its novel programs and superb musical standards. Their own transcription of the Goldberg Variations in honor of the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death, for instance, allows the listener to forget that the work was intended for the harpsichord—and has nonetheless had the label “authentic” bestowed upon it by the press. This group never ceases to amaze experts, audiences, and producers with their choice of underestimated composers and pieces. They often premiere rare pieces which are “encyclopedic” in character. They have helped bring composers like Buchner, Becker, Tibaldi, and others back into the limelight. “… the ensemble plays with flexible unity of purpose, imagination, and clear affection for the music.” (American Record Guide)

Born in Viadana on 1 April 1704, Jacopo Antonio Arighi studied with Giuseppe Gonelli, organist and Chapel Master of the Cremona Cathedral and with the celebrated Padre Giovanni Battista Martini in Bologna. He was elected organist of the Lauds Chapel of the Cremona Cathedral on 1745, a post he held until at least 1782. On 20 January 1770, the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was passing through Cremona on his way to Milan accompanied by his father Leopold. They were present at a staging of “La clemenza di Tito” with music by Michel’Angelo Valentini, staged for the traditional theater season with Arighi seated at the harpsichord. The 13-year-old Mozart made mention of his name in a letter sent to his sister, Nannerl, in Salzburg where, among other things, he made interesting remarks about singers and musicians he met in Cremona. Arighi’s instrumental output for organ presented here comes mainly from the manuscript “Libro di suonate d’organo, di diversi autori, l’anno 1743,” conserved in Brussels at the Biblioteca Koninklijk – Conservatoire Royal.

November 7th, 1770: after crossing the English Channel, the whole of France and visiting the main cities of Italy, once he arrived in Naples, Charles Burney concluded his journey and returned to London. The English musician, composer and historian had left England in June of the same year, undertaking a journey through the two most prolific nations for the music of his time, with the aim to meet the continent's most famous intellectuals and musicians. His ultimate goal was to compile a chronicle of his journey, which would see the light of day the following year, with the title The Present State of Music in France and Italy. This volume will not only constitute a precious element for the knowledge of numerous facts reported by first hand sources, but it will also be an element of fundamental aid for the reception of some composers of the modern era. Naples, represented a sort of limit. On the one hand, the findings of Herculaneum of 1738 and those of Pompeii of 1748 presaged that, by proceeding south, it would have been possible to admire wonderful landscapes and interesting ancient remains. On the other hand, the lack of roads and the widespread presence of brigands would make one desist from continuing the journey. What musical realities would Charles Burney meet if he continued the journey? The present album proposes the discovery of an almost unknown musical world, together with unpublished works by Neapolitans composers Leonardo Leo and Alessandro Scarlatti, and other pieces by composers from southern Italy as Cristofano Caresana, Giuseppe Avitrano, Pietro Franchi, Andrea Chiarelli e Giacomo Insanguine.

Friedrich Wilhelm Rust composed until 1796, the year of his death, but his works remained unedited until the rediscovery and printing of a portion of them curated by his grandson. A complete analysis of Friedrich Wilhelm Rust’s works turns out to be a complex endeavor even today, as only a small part of his work has been researched and performed. Nevertheless, his keyboard works are slowly making their way into the concertizing repertoire and it is here that Friedrich Wilhelm Rust undoubtedly distinguishes himself with an innovative and wholly personal style. Davide Pozzi studied at the Conservatory of Milan and completed his specialization in early music at the “Scuola Civica di Milano” and the “Schola Can­torum” in Basel. In concert with ensembles of international renown, he performed throughout Europe, the United States, Israel and Mexico. As a harpsichordist, he has performed solo programs in the most prestigious concert halls.

Italian Guitarist Massimiliano Filippini proposes in this release some Italian Virtuoso Guitar Music recently discovered by him as a First World recording. "I consulted musical sources all around the world, including libraries and private collections, in order to obtain access to the printed music itself. I had found an unexpected musical world made of melodies, virtuosities, musical colors and effects". Among these music pieces “The seasons of the year” by Antonio Nava have looked absolutely remarkable because they are known to be the first issue of the catalogue edited by the famous editor Ricordi in Milan. Massimiliano Filippini plays a wonderful sounding Gaetano Guadagnini Guitar made in 1823.

Luigi Rossi’s persona and activity fall in with that group of composers, scholars, painters, architects and sculptors who, in Rome of the 1600s, would upset the schemes of Renaissance classicism, thus bestowing on art of their time an unmistakable union of expressive subjectivism and objectivity of structure. Beginning with the first years of the century, Rome gradually took on a guiding role in art thanks to a decisive drive on the part of the popes and their powerful families. Under the papacy of Urban VIII (Maffeo Barberini, 1623-44) – great literary adept and himself author of numerous poems in Latin and the vernacular – Bernini and Borromini would leave their indelible mark on the face of Rome. The structure of the Oratorio of the Holy Week mirrors that of mid-17th Century customary Roman oratorios: two-part division, succession of arias, ariosos, recitatives and choral parts (with not a secondary role for the choir) framed by an instrumental introduction and a concluding ‘madrigale ultimo’ of a meditative character containing the ‘moral’ concept expressed by the entire work’s text.

The restoration of the historical pipe organ of the parish church of St James and Augustine in Cremona, carried out by the organ-maker Pietro Corna in Leffe (Bergamo) between 2017 and the spring-summer 2019, stands out as a relevant episode of the Italian organ-making craft. The instrument currently used, made by Francesco Bossi in 1853, still preserves the wooden organ case and the central group of the facade pipes of a former Renaissance organ, made in 1533 by Nicolò Tezani, a local organ-maker. The Cremonese organist Paolo Bottini plays on the historical organ a compilation of the best pieces of music written by Cremonese composers from the 16th to the 20th century.

The Ensemble and Choir Marc’Antonio Ingegneri of Cremona conducted by Vatio Bissolati propose an interesting and inspired live performance of Membra Jesu Nostri BuxWV 75, a cycle of seven cantatas composed by Dietrich Buxtehude in 1680, known as the first Lutheran oratorio. The feet, knees, hands, side, chest, heart and face of the crucified Christ are interpreted allegorically in each of the seven cantatas, that follow the scheme “instrumental introduction (Sonata) – choral movement with biblical texts (Concerto) – vocal solo (aria) – repetition of the choral movement” (Concerto).