The Italian Lute Song

Claudio Monteverdi (Composer), Girolamo Frescobaldi (Composer), Cesare Negri (Composer), Giuseppino del Biabo (Composer), Franciscus Bossinensis (Composer), Marchetto Cara (Composer), Josquin Desprez (Composer), Bartolomeo Tromboncino (Composer), Pietro Paulo Borrono (Composer), Giulio Caccini (Composer), Anonymous (Composer), Johannes Hieronymus Kapsberger (Composer), Marco da Gagliano (Composer), Giacomo Carissimi (Composer), Julianne Baird (Performer), Josquin Des Prez (Artist), Giovanni Kapsberger (Artist), Marco da Gagliano (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Julianne Baird
• Composer: Claudio Monteverdi, Girolamo Frescobaldi, Cesare Negri, Giuseppino del Biabo, Franciscus Bossinensis, et al.
• Audio CD (July 1, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Dorian Recordings
• ASIN: B000001QBD
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #206,990 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #18 in Music > Classical > Ballets & Dances > Historical Periods > Renaissance (c.1450-1600)

Track Listings

1. Laudate Dominum, omnes gentes (II), motet for 8 voices & 2 violins (fro

2. Arie musicali Bk.1 No.15, Se l'aura spira, in 3 sections for solo voice

3. Arie musicali Bk.1 No.16, Cosi mi disprezzate, aria di Passacaglia for

4. Arie musicali Bk.1 No.7, Dunque dovrò del puro servir mio (Aria di Roma

5. Bianco fiore (from Le gratie d'amore)

6. Fuggi, fuggi, fuggi

7. Recercar

8. Non è tempo d'aspettare, for 4 voices

9. In te Domini speravi, frittola or motet for 4 parts

10. Ostinato vo'seguire for voice & ensemble

11. Pavana chiamata la Milanesa

12. Saltarello

13. Saltarello chiamato Rose Viole

14. Saltarello chiamato bel Fiore

15. Maledetto Sia L'Aspetto

16. Eri già tutta mia, madrigal for soprano (from Scherzi musicali), SV 248

17. Si Dolce è'l Tormento

18. Bizziaria d'amore

19. Bassa delle Ninse

20. Pavaniglia

See all 31 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding performance!!!, January 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Italian Lute Song (Audio CD)

Julianne Baird, along with Emma Kirkby, is virtually unique in having achieved super-stardom as an exclusively Early Music Soprano. She is symbolic of the sea-change in this field which was once the refuge of artists who couldn't make it in the mainstream of the Romantic repertoire. In the early days of the "authentic performance" movement one could emit just about any ear-splitting squawk or squeal and maintain that it was "historically correct." Since no one can prove definitively how music sounded 'way back then, there being no recordings, many in the early revival movement got away with murder. Hideous voices were justified by pointing to Renaissance paintings of singing angels with their neck muscles tightly constricted.

Happily, singers like Ms. Baird, who have gorgeous voices, have convinced the public that putting in the required hockets and trills is more than authentic enough at this remove to present early music in a way that satisfies both the scholar and the general listener. Baird's astounding technique and beauty of timbre cannot fail to win one over at once, as demonstrated in the very first track of this album, Monteverdi's Laudate Dominum.

Her partner here, Ronn McFarlane, accompanying her on the lute and having a few solo turns, is likewise a considerable artist with numerous recordings to his credit, many with The Baltimore Consort of which he is a member. He also taught lute for 11 years at the Peabody Conservatory. The two work together in perfect harmony and are vividly recorded.

Although all of the 33 selections feature Italian music for lute, or voice and lute, there is an amazing variety of materials covering some 150 years, from the late Renaissance through the early Baroque. The songs range from sacred to secular, polyphonic to homophonic, simple to complex, happy to sad. There are famous composers such as Monteverdi, and obscure ones such as Franciscus Bossinensis (literally, "of Bosnia." I can see it coming: "The Bosnian Baroque"!).

Whatever the provenance, there are nothing but gems in this 70-minute program of scintillating, tuneful music. The extensive booklet includes complete texts with English translations, in-depth notes on the composers and their musical forms and styles, with bios and pictures of the artists. Mission: accomplished.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent little release., January 13, 2006

By 

B. Marold "Bruce W. Marold" (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Italian Lute Song (Audio CD)

'The Italian Lute Song' featuring Soprano Julianne Baird and Lutist Ronn McFarlane is a superior recording if you are especially fond of the origins of the Italian song, for it is much more about the vocals than it is about the Lute.

The fact that the recording includes pieces by relatively familiar names such as Monteverdi and des Prez makes it more interesting, in that you can readily compare these works with their other performed and recorded works.

I would not go out of my way to acquire a copy of this recording, but if I ran across it for a good price, I would snap it up and enjoy every minute of it.