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Theorbo music from the seventeenth century

John R. McCormick | Delaware, Ohio United States | 12/26/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you have never heard a theorbo, one of the largest and most complex of the lute family of plucked instruments, you owe it to yourself to sample its sound with this recording. It would be difficult to imagine a better introduction to the instrument,thanks to the artistry of the performer, Diego Cantalupi, as well as to his research. The recording affords one the opportunity to hear the music of a composer from the early seventeenth century who would otherwise be unknown today.....Bellerofonte Castaldi. The music is well worth hearing, because as is observed in Cantalupi's scholarly notes, it easily places Castaldi "among the great composers of instrumental music in the seventeenth century, and among the most evolved in the repertoire of music for the lute." Cantalupi's playing is marvelous in its expressiveness and technical skill. The recorded sound is also outstanding. Anyone whose interest is in music from this period should make it a point to obtain this recording."