Giulio Caccini
Giulio Caccini shaped early Baroque solo song through monody: an expressive vocal line over simple chordal harmony, meant to move the listener as speech does. His Le nuove musiche collections codified the style that fed operatic recitative.
An Italian composer, singer and instrumentalist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque, Caccini wrote for solo voice with basso continuo rather than dense polyphony. The stile recitativo he helped define aimed at clear words and passionate delivery, with ornaments chosen to match the affect. He contributed music to early operas including Euridice and published two volumes of monodies and solo madrigals (1602 and 1614). Among the most widely known pieces is the madrigal Amarilli, mia bella. On disc his songs appear in programmes of lute- and guitar-accompanied repertoire, where lightness, directness and human warmth suit the writing.
Compositions by Giulio Caccini appear on
Le Rossignol
Margaret Lynch, soprano, and Peter Lynch, guitar, present works from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. The recital was recorded in the natural acoustic of the Great Hall at Montsalvat in Eltham, Victoria.
Lotus Dreams
Soprano Shu-Cheen Yu and pianist Katherine Day present eighteen favourite songs and ballads, from Brahms and Schubert to Chinese and Irish folk airs, a personal path through Lieder and art song.