Born in Bonn around 1620 to Veronese parents, Massimiliano Neri was choirmaster at the Ospedaletto and organist at St. Mark's in Venice, where he published his first volume of Sonatas and Canzonas. He presented his second collection of Canzonas and Sonatas to the Emperor Ferdinand III in Vienna in 1651, later becoming Kapellmeister to the Prince-Elector of Cologne in Bonn in 1664. His affections, however, remained Italian: he married the Florentine singer and composer Caterina Giani in 1654. Many of Neri's compositions suffered extensive war damage in various periods; important musicological reconstruction has recovered parts of them that would otherwise have been lost forever.
Here, Concerto Scirocco offers a comprehensive selection of pieces that range from small groups to polychoral ensembles, all of which have a magnificent and typically Venetian opulence. The monograph is enriched by three motets, two by Neri and one by Caterina Giani, performed in collaboration with Voces Suaves; it provides a vivid portrait in sound of a greatly-valued 17th-century composer.
