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Caccini: Le Nuove Musicale
Ricercare Antico, Riccardo Pisani
Brilliant Classics, 95794. 66’41
Giulio Caccini (1551-1618) was a Florentine singer, instrumentalist and writer. He was one of the first to establish the stile recitativo that formed the basis of Baroque-era opera. His Le Nuove Musicale (or Musiche) of 1602 explored the use of solo voice and continuo bass in what was to be referred to the following year (in Artusi’s 1603 Seconda Parte dell’Artusi), as the Seconda pratica. Caccini’s introduction to Le Nuove Musicale outlines the move from the Renaissance ideas of polyphony and counterpoint to the monodic style of the Baroque, with examples of the manner of adding ornaments to reflect the emotional expression of the text, in the affetto cantando style.
This 2019 recording includes arias for tenor and basso continuo based on secular Italian texts. Italian tenor Riccardo Pisani is an impressive interpreter of the music and, of course, the underlying texts. The Ricercare Antico continuo group includes archlute, theorbo, harp, guitar and violone together with a violin in the instrumental pieces, three of which (by Nicoletti and Landi are world premiere recordings.
The booklet contains liner notes in English and Italian. The sung texts are accessible on the Brilliant Classics website. The final track fades into silence – a rather nice way of ending a CD.