Il Festino

Singer, harpist, guitarist and organist, Stefano Landi was not just an outstanding musician but also had a solid training in rhetoric and philosophy, as witness his studies from 1599 at the Roman Seminary. In 1618 he was serving as maestro di cappella at the court of the Bishop of Padua. In 1629 he entered the service of Francesco Barberini and was engaged as a singer in the pontifical chapel choir. His output of sacred music included motets, psalms and masses, as well as the musical drama Il Sant’Alessio, performed on 2 March 1631 in the Palazzo Barberini in Rome. His secular works included polyphonic madrigals and arias for solo voice, published in eight volumes between 1620 and 1639. Unfortunately only three of these collections have survived. The apparent simplicity of these arias conceals a veritable treasure trove: light-hearted or meditative texts on the human condition, flowing melodies full of charm, dissonances and harmonic superimpositions, recitative style and ornamented couplets – everything that defines the seconda prattica is here.

The arrangement of these arias is a fascinating challenge for any musician interested in this repertoire. The role of the instruments is key, ranging from harmonic support to improvisation of countermelodies, as Agostino Agazzari recommends in his treatise published in 1607 (which Landi probably encountered during his studies in Rome).

LANDI, Stefano
Arie

Distribution:
Dagmar Saskova voice
Francisco Javier Mañalich voice & viola
Ronald Martin Alonso viola
Philippe Grisvard harpsichord
Manuel de Grange lute, theorbo, guitar & direction