Credits:

Cara / Dalza / Spinacino

Description:

Hopkinson Smith, the "supreme lute poet," weaves together a collection of music from the 16th century's greatest treasures. His music is not only wonderful, but his vast knowledge of history and his inquisitive mind have led him to diligently dig up scores of music that have been buried in history. He has now recorded what he believes to be the earliest works on the lute instrument from the first printed (published) tablature score in history (1507-1508, Venice). He wrote: "Some critics may consider my musical reconstruction heretical, but I have found it necessary, given the terribly confused state of many of Spinacchino's works that have survived to the present day. One can either leave the works as they are, doomed to never be performed, or one can tighten the frayed threads of a great tapestry and re-present them as works of art," said Smith. Smith plays these delicate polyphonies on a six-string lute built in the late 15th century tradition. The tuning also takes into account papers and other sources from the 15th and 16th centuries. The works, full of mystical charm that evoke the distant age and fantasy of the Middle Ages, resonate in our time through the supreme storyteller with his instrument, the lute. From the dance form to the free form, the work has been revived with a supreme storyteller in the person of Hopkinson Smith. King International

Tracklisting:

1.Saltarello ala ferrarese
2.Recercare 6
3.Recercare 13
4.Piva ala ferrarese
5.Caldibi castigliano
6.Caldibi saltarello (reconstruction)
7.Recercare 23
8.Recercare 4
9.Pavana ala ferrarese
10.Io non compro piu speranza
11.Poi che volse la mia stella
12.Recercare 25
13.Recercare 15
14.Pavana ala venetiana
15.Saltarello ala venetiana
16.Piva ala venetiana
17.Recercare 12
18.Recercare 9
19.Poi che’l ciel contrario adverso
20.Calata ala spagnola ditto terzetti di zuan ambroso dalza
21.Tastar de corde