This "Treasury of a Saint" pertains to St. Cecilia only in the most general way, as regards to her capacity as patron saint of music, and, more specifically, as namesake of the Dutch historical-instrument ensemble heard here. The disc includes works from the first flowering of independent instrumental music in the early and middle seventeenth century. The key issue for this repertoire does not always depend on the specific instruments played -- the instrumental sonata (meaning simply "something played," as opposed to ...
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This "Treasury of a Saint" pertains to St. Cecilia only in the most general way, as regards to her capacity as patron saint of music, and, more specifically, as namesake of the Dutch historical-instrument ensemble heard here. The disc includes works from the first flowering of independent instrumental music in the early and middle seventeenth century. The key issue for this repertoire does not always depend on the specific instruments played -- the instrumental sonata (meaning simply "something played," as opposed to "cantata," sung) was in its infancy, and the sonatas heard here, such as the Sonata la Monica for dulcian (track 10) of Philipp Friedrich Böddecker, were pioneer works. The broadest trait giving a piece its character was its relationship, or lack thereof, to vocal models. Some pieces, whether played on keyboard or by a small ensemble, reproduced polyphonic vocal works closely. Others were independent of vocal models; these works, often marked by the use of a continuo, might be interludes...
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