Maurizio Cazzati (1616-1678) is one of the most under-recognised Italian composers of the 17th century, although he was certainly one of the most prolific: 66...

Maurizio Cazzati (1616-1678) is one of the most under-recognised Italian composers of the 17th century, although he was certainly one of the most prolific: 66 volumes (!) of printed music were published by him - almost 2000 individual compositions across all genres of his time. Cazzati worked at various courts and institutions in northern Italy, reaching his professional peak as maestro di cappella at San Petronio in Bologna and his last years in the service of the Gonzaga dukes in Mantua. His fate was probably to have been born a generation after the great innovator Claudio Monteverdi, whose style he consistently adopted and developed. From today's perspective, however, Monteverdi casts such a large shadow that an entire generation of outstanding composers is obscured by it. So it is all the more praiseworthy that the outstanding Italian bass singer Mauro Borgioni is now dedicating an entire CD to the composer Cassati. The focus is on solo motets for bass with concertante voices, for which he has enlisted the Ensemble Seicento Stravagante with organ, cornett and violin. The vocal works are complemented by instrumental sonatas by Cazzati.