Customer Reviews

Teatro Lirico

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Neither the title nor the cover art give away the fact that this new CD contains some extremely beautiful and subtle music in the renaissance and early baroque style. With four stringed instruments, Stephen Stubbs and Teatro Lirico have a surprising fullness of sound and a lovely style. I bought this CD for its interpretations of the traditional dance "La Folia", and I was not disappointed. The second track, entitled "Improvisation I", is the best set of Folia variations I have ever heard, with great respect paid to the tradition of this great theme, but with many touches that are pleasing to the modern ear. There are three other tracks of Folia variations, and many other pieces as well, all of which are superb.

This CD features music by a number of early Baroque composers, including Corelli and Caccini. The music is arranged for an ensemble variously consisting of violin, viola, Spanish and Italian harps, viola da gamba, lirone, Baroque guitar, and chitarrone. The pieces are generally quite melancholy and seem to have been inspired by the works of John Dowland. Every piece is quite beautiful - the emotion and musicality are unmatched. The CD closes with a short piece for solo baroque guitar, written and played by Stephen Stubbs - it's amazing how well he can write this style of music and not have it sound derivative.

This cd is a nice addition if you enjoy baroque music. I would describe it as "modern baroque with a bit of twist." There are a couple of pieces that sound Spanish and Irish. I would have preferred if they'd stuck with a more traditional baroque theme throughout,instead of getting "world music" on me, but the mood stays consistent, so it isn't jarring and makes for an easy listen. The musicianship is wonderful.