Luzzaschi: Il Concerto Segreto

An exceptional amount of musical activity took place in the court of Ferrara during the latter years of the 16th century, in particular thanks to a remarkable trio of female voices who had been trained by Luzzasco Luzzaschi, the court’s maestro di cappella. To hear them was a privilege that Alfonso d' Este allowed his guests only briefly and infrequently. Their repertoire was kept secret and was finally published — and then only in part — in 1601. The singers of La Néréide here devote their first recording to this collection in its entirety, reconstructing the conditions in which these works were created with harpsichord, viol and lute accompaniment: the harpsichord would have been played by Luzzaschi himself, whilst the three singers mastered the other instruments with as much skill as their voices.