Customer Reviews

Gabrieli: The Canzonas and Sonatas from Sacrae Symphoniae 1597

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I can't say enough about this disc. For anyone who loves antiphonal music and wants to hear it played on original late 16th / early 17th century intstruments, buy this album FIRST. The technique is incredible; the players CLEARLY know what they're doing. The music is very stylistic, and if I may steal Mersenne's quote, the cornetts and sackbutts sound like "Rays of sunlight piercing the shadows." Sounds absolutely beautiful. There isn't a track I don't like on this one. I lost a copy of this CD to the garbage (unintentionally, of course) last year, and I bought another copy within a week.

The first Gabrieli CD I bought was the classic 60's Columbia recording of select players from the Cleveland, Chicago, and Boston Symphonies. It was pretty good, but being a traditionalist, I wanted to hear this music on period instruments, not arranged for brass choirs. I was lucky enough to find Canzonas and Sonatas from Sacrae Symphoniae 1597 here on Amazon.com, and I'll never regret.

The only complete recording of the Sacrę Symphonię of 1597 on period instruments. The performances are very satisfactory and there are some very attractive sounds on this recording.
Up to eight cornetts are used (in two pieces) and twelve trombones (sackbuts) feature in another work.

A few organ works are included to break up the program a little.

My only complaint it that some of the pieces are transposed down by a 4th. This really doesn't need to happen with this music - it is an option, of course - but why was it done here? A couple of my favourite canzonas sound very dark as a result.

I enjoy this recording but it isn't one I'd listen all in one sitting. Rather, this is a CD to 'dip into'.

Let us hope that Concerto Palatino or Musica Fiata tackle this landmark collection of music some time!

PS: I am still enjoying this CD a lot! I hope that HMS&C consider recording Gabrieli's 1615 Canzone & Sonate on HYPERION, too! (wink, wink, nudge, nudge!!)

The very best thing about this recording is that it is another offering by the superb His Majesty's Sagbutts and Cornetts, a group specializing in Renaissance period music and instruments, who has never failed to offer an excellent rendition of the works they perform.

Aside from that, my primary interest as an old music amateur is that this is both a composer and two genres which are not widely known, so having an excellent realization of both, not to mention the usually superb Hyperion packaging and recording, is a definite treat.

I also have the Antiphonal album with the Cleveland, Chicago and Philly brass sections from the 60's. That album is great, though the character is very dominant: it is hard to listen to that album in the background, it requires focus and after 30 minutes, it sometimes gets overbearing, at least for me (my wife loves that album).

So much for that album, which is an incredible album by itself, you get the picture.

This one has a slightly different approach, softer. It is not so much 'in your face' as the other one.
The only evidence for period instruments used is the style and sound timbre. As I said it is not an overbearing recording, the music just flows naturally and the sounds is very "easy on the ears".