Harmonie veneziane. 1660-1690 String Music from the Venetian Republic

This album celebrates the 400th anniversary of Giovanni Legrenzi, whose music, while somewhat forgotten today, enjoyed immense prestige throughout the European musical world. He spent the final years of his career in Venice, revitalising the musical life of St Mark’s, mentoring the great composers of the next generation, and triumphing on the local opera scene. He also played a pivotal role in the development of instrumental music - formalising the trio sonata genre and laying the foundations for the concerto grosso. Master composers of subsequent generations held his work in high regard and drew deep inspiration from it (Bach’s Fugue BWV 574 springs to mind in particular). In 2003, the Sonatori della Gioiosa Marca paid tribute to Legrenzi, alongside several of his contemporaries such as Cavalli, Ziani and Rosenmüller, in the superb recording Harmonie veneziane.