Francesco Cavalli was of great importance to the history of 17th-century Italian music, his fame having been established in the then new and swiftly evolving world of opera. Cavalli’s sacred music has often been compared to that of Monteverdi but, drawn from a wonderful anthology published at the apex of his career as a composer, the stylistic and expressive richness documented by the pieces in this programme delivers a strong overview of the variety and power of his musical language. The originality of Cavalli’s style was in finding an ideal means of expression for the feelings and emotions suggested by the text, breaking down the boundaries between sacred and secular music, and creating a more serene merging of artistic and religious sensibilities.

Commenting on the performance interpretation, Massimo Loreggian (harpsichordist and composer in European/Baroque style) added: ‘The Hymns and Psalms of Francesco Cavalli are presented in this performance in a new interpretative form as regards the ornamentation of the pieces’ vocal and instrumental parts. This type of artistic imprint is what we would have heard at the time. As for the organ basso continuo, which provides the music‘s bass and harmonic accompaniment, we used the same procedure, whereby it does not simply supply chordal support or “side harmony” for the voices, but dialogue within a polyphonic texture that interweaves with the voices and instruments, additionally livening the rhythmic aspect. All in all, what has been recorded in this programme is unique, a version of Francesco Cavalli’s works never written or heard before.’