Ensemble Del Passato - Clori 1662 - Music from 400 Years ago

The ENSEMBLE DEL PASSATO is distinguished by its passion for early music and the subtle sound of voice, lute and guitars. The musicians search for forgotten old prints and manuscripts to creatively but faithfully recreate their probable forms and sounds.

This debut album from Ensemble del Passato is the fruit of research on songs that today remain in the shadow of larger, late Baroque forms. The album features works by Italian composers - Biagio Marini, Carlo Milanuzzi and Giovanni Stefani. They share a simplified tablature notation, the so-called alfabeto, which facilitated their performance.

They are influenced by, among others, sung dances of Iberian origin based on folk lyrics. There are also compositions modelled on court dances, more harmonically and poetically refined. The texts use the then popular love motifs. Despite the lack of virtuoso passages, the pieces are a charming testimony to the shape of the European musical culture from four centuries ago.