Post by MikeMusic on Feb 1, 2023 9:45:18 GMT
Long overdue Album Choice
Medieval music with modern influences - Done incredibly well
I was gifted this and initially surprised as I 'don't like this sort of music'.
That changed, influenced by the depth and breadth of the music and the skill of the group
Full group name and full title as much too big for the heading
Christina Pluhar / L'Arpeggiata - All'Improvviso - Ciaccone, Bergamasche e un po' di Folie...
One of my albums of all time ever. Constantly played and used for testing upgrades to the system.
The bigger the upgrade the more is revealed of the music. There is so much going on
Review
All'Improvviso...ok, there'll be improvisation then. But it also means suddenly in Italian, and there's an immediacy and freshness here that grabs you right from the first few bars. If you haven't met baroque harpist Christina Pluhar and her group l'Arpeggiata, then it's time you did. They're from the French Alpha labels stable of unusually gifted musicians who work in that grey area where art music meets folk, and here they're exploring the simple repeated basslines and harmonies that have formed the basis for all kinds of music, in every continent, from the earliest dance music, through folk, classical, romantic and contemporary art music, jazz, and of course pop and rock. 'Chaconnes, Bergamascas and a little bit of madness' is the CD's subtitle; the chaconne which seems to have come from 16th century Peru to the height of baroque sophistication; the bergamasca from Bergamo in 16th century Italy (still found in traditional Italian music), and the madness folia a crazy dance style that spread from Portugal through Spain and Italy, and into the music of the royal courts of Europe.
L'Arpeggiata's way of improvising on these ground basses and repeated harmonic patterns is deliciously entertaining. Sources range from 17th century chaconnes to the first track - a new song by Lucilla Galeazzi, and from the moment she starts singing about the beautiful house she wants, filled with tears and laughter, music and poetry, I was hooked. Marco Beasley's voice is just as naturally communicative, and Gianluigi Trovesi's pungent clarinet solos almost swing us into jazz. Add to that the toe-tapping continuo on baroque guitars, harp, lute and theorbo, some sparkling cornet-playing and lively strings, and you have crossover of the highest quality, from performers who recognise no boundaries in 400 years of music. Magical results, from the meanest ingredients, and it ought to be available on prescription to the clinically depressed. --Andrew McGregor
Qobuz
open.qobuz.com/track/128222641
YouTube
music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_loLB_3z4AAieUmiZ7OzQ9F227zRKOtshk
This has to be their very best album but cast around for their others some almost as good
Medieval music with modern influences - Done incredibly well
I was gifted this and initially surprised as I 'don't like this sort of music'.
That changed, influenced by the depth and breadth of the music and the skill of the group
Full group name and full title as much too big for the heading
Christina Pluhar / L'Arpeggiata - All'Improvviso - Ciaccone, Bergamasche e un po' di Folie...
One of my albums of all time ever. Constantly played and used for testing upgrades to the system.
The bigger the upgrade the more is revealed of the music. There is so much going on
Review
All'Improvviso...ok, there'll be improvisation then. But it also means suddenly in Italian, and there's an immediacy and freshness here that grabs you right from the first few bars. If you haven't met baroque harpist Christina Pluhar and her group l'Arpeggiata, then it's time you did. They're from the French Alpha labels stable of unusually gifted musicians who work in that grey area where art music meets folk, and here they're exploring the simple repeated basslines and harmonies that have formed the basis for all kinds of music, in every continent, from the earliest dance music, through folk, classical, romantic and contemporary art music, jazz, and of course pop and rock. 'Chaconnes, Bergamascas and a little bit of madness' is the CD's subtitle; the chaconne which seems to have come from 16th century Peru to the height of baroque sophistication; the bergamasca from Bergamo in 16th century Italy (still found in traditional Italian music), and the madness folia a crazy dance style that spread from Portugal through Spain and Italy, and into the music of the royal courts of Europe.
L'Arpeggiata's way of improvising on these ground basses and repeated harmonic patterns is deliciously entertaining. Sources range from 17th century chaconnes to the first track - a new song by Lucilla Galeazzi, and from the moment she starts singing about the beautiful house she wants, filled with tears and laughter, music and poetry, I was hooked. Marco Beasley's voice is just as naturally communicative, and Gianluigi Trovesi's pungent clarinet solos almost swing us into jazz. Add to that the toe-tapping continuo on baroque guitars, harp, lute and theorbo, some sparkling cornet-playing and lively strings, and you have crossover of the highest quality, from performers who recognise no boundaries in 400 years of music. Magical results, from the meanest ingredients, and it ought to be available on prescription to the clinically depressed. --Andrew McGregor
Qobuz
open.qobuz.com/track/128222641
YouTube
music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_loLB_3z4AAieUmiZ7OzQ9F227zRKOtshk
This has to be their very best album but cast around for their others some almost as good
