Album

This release by the historical-instrument group Le Concert Brisé (meaning the Broken Consort or consort with instruments from diverse families) originally appeared in 1997. The material remains unfamiliar, and the album was generally a good candidate for reissue. The presentation is not exactly user-friendly. The title "La barca d'amore" (The Boat of Love) comes from part of one of the dance pieces included and doesn't really give an indication of the flavor of the whole. What you get is sixteenth-century Italian virtuoso music for the Renaissance cornett, a tube-shaped (or snake-shaped) wind instrument that produces a sound somewhere between that of an oboe and a horn. It's difficult to play to begin with, and the performer here, William Dongois, delved into treatises and uncovered some of the instrument's improvisatory traditions. The result is some very exciting playing, an example of which can be heard in the Sonata seconda ("La cesta"), track 13. All of the music involves considerable ornamentation, and Dongois' notes don't make the procedures used totally clear. Much of his essay discusses the procedure known as division, a type of variation form that was partly left to the ingenuity of the player. The divisions here (not thus marked in the tracklist) are the pieces based on preexisting models, such as Jouissance vous donneray (track 4), with a model by Willaert elaborated by one G. dalla Casa. Other genres represented are sonatas, which at this point were instrumental analogues to the keyboard toccata, and dance pairs. All, according to Dongois, were vigorously ornamented, although the style would differ in each case. It requires a little work to figure out what's going on in the music, but it's enjoyable and smoothly done, and the album remains an important step in rescuing Renaissance instrumental music from the dry bones of its notated versions.

© James Manheim, All Music Guide

CD 1
Giacomo Gorzanis Composer La barca d'amore, galliarde for lute Work Carsten Lohff Orgelpositiv, William Dongois Zink
1	La barca d'amore, galliarde for lute	6:01			$0.99
Giovanni Bassano Composer Susanne un jour, diminution after Lassus for chamber ensemble Work Carsten Lohff Orgelpositiv, William Dongois Zink
2	Susanne un jour, diminution after Lassus for chamber ensemble	3:39			$0.99
Anonymous, Italian Composer Pavane & Saltarello, for ensemble (Manuskript, Bibliothek der Stiftskirche Castell' Arquato) Work Le Concert Brisé Early Music Ensemble
3	Pavane & Saltarello, for ensemble (Manuskript, Bibliothek der Stiftskirche Castell' Arquato)	3:48			$0.99
Giovanni Della Casa Composer Jouissance vous donneray, diminution after Adrian Willaert Work Le Concert Brisé Early Music Ensemble
4	Jouissance vous donneray, diminution after Adrian Willaert	4:19			$0.99
Pierre Attaingnant Composer Pavane - Galliarde No.4 Work Carsten Lohff Harpsichord, William Dongois Zink
5	Pavane - Galliarde No.4	4:25			$0.99
Giovanni Bassano Composer Vestiva i colli, diminution after Giovanni da Palestrina Work Anne-Catherine Bucher Orgelpositiv, William Dongois Zink
6	Vestiva i colli, diminution after Giovanni da Palestrina	6:25			$0.99
Pierre Attaingnant Composer Pavane & sauterelle, for lute (from 18 basses dances) Work Carsten Lohff Harpsichord, Anne-Catherine Bucher Orgelpositiv
7	Pavane & sauterelle, for lute (from 18 basses dances)	2:51			$0.99
Giovanni Bassano Composer Mirami vita mia, diminution after Claudio Merulo Work Carsten Lohff Orgelpositiv, William Dongois Zink
8	Mirami vita mia, diminution after Claudio Merulo	3:00			$0.99
Giovanni Battista Fontana Composer Sonata Quarta Work Carsten Lohff Harpsichord, William Dongois Zink
9	Sonata Quarta	4:51			$0.99
Giovanni Battista Bovicelli Composer Variations on Palestrina's "Io son ferito" Work Carsten Lohff Lautenwerk, William Dongois Muted Cornet
10	Variations on Palestrina's "Io son ferito"	5:37			$0.99
Giovanni Battista Fontana Composer Sonata 6 per il violino o cornetto Work Le Concert Brisé Early Music Ensemble
11	Sonata 6 per il violino o cornetto	6:41			$0.99
Riccardo Rognoni Composer Anchor che col partire, for 2 instruments (after Cipriano de Rore) Work Carsten Lohff Lautenwerk, William Dongois Zink
12	Anchor che col partire, for 2 instruments (after Cipriano de Rore)	3:10			$0.99
Giovanni Mealli Composer Violin Sonata ('La Cesta'), Op.3, No.2 Work Le Concert Brisé Early Music Ensemble
13	Violin Sonata ('La Cesta'), Op.3, No.2	7:06			$1.49
Riccardo Rognoni Composer Pulchra es amica mea, diminution for 2 instruments Work Carsten Lohff Lautenwerk, William Dongois Zink
14	Pulchra es amica mea, diminution for 2 instruments	4:05			$0.99
Benedetto Ferrari Composer Ciaconna for solo voice Work Le Concert Brisé Early Music Ensemble
15	Ciaconna for solo voice	7:36			$1.49