Credits:

Consort La Capriola

Description:

[Tracing the History of the Violins Popularity During the Renaissance Through Venetian Masterpieces]The violin flourished as a superb solo instrument in Baroque-era Italy. This album takes us even further back in time from that period of rapid advancement, focusing on St. Marks Basilica in Veniceone of the musical hubs of the 16th century, when stringed instruments began to spread across the Italian Peninsulato explore the very earliest sounds of this instrument. All the instruments used are meticulously crafted reproductions based on thorough research of Renaissance-era models, which differ in various ways from violins of the Baroque period and beyond. In keeping with the custom of the timewhere instruments of the same type were gathered from the highest to the lowest registers to form a consortthe ensemble performs a variety of works written in a polyphonic style. In addition to instru