1630 is considered here in the larger sense, as a decade. It is more than just a date, however, and allows a preliminary stock taking of composers and works of the period. Frescobaldi, for instance, had been entertaining crowds of people from his organ loft at St Peter’s in Rome for over twenty years. A school of acrobatic stringed instrument playing was also prospering in Venice.

Ghielmi and Onorfi paint an exciting picture of the effervescent experimentation of the times, showing the advances of the stile moderno that had been wholeheartedly adopted in Venice and Rome. The expert Ghielmi visits some of the most beautiful flowers of Frescobaldi’s garden (Canzone detta la Bernardina, Aria detto Balletto) on the harpsichord, and also lovingly plays an Antegnati organ, a veritable Renaissance jewel. His performance of the famous Toccata prima per l’Elevazione is mystical, ecstatic and timeless.

Then there is the violinist Enrico Onofri, the perfect partner for Ghielmi. It is a happy surprise to discover that Onofri is much more than that, since he also participates as a singer in three motets for solo voice (two of which were inspired by Monteverdi). Nor must the agile fingers of harpist Margret Köll, in the Neopolitan Travaci’s Toccata seconda, be overlooked. Her contribution is the icing on the cake, and adds the final touch to this collection of a wide-ranging variety of early baroque works that will not be quickly forgotten. ROGER TELLART

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