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The Carlo G Manuscript

Virtuoso liturgical music from the early 17th century

Profeti della Quinta, Elam Rotem

The Carlo G Manuscript
In places intimate, in others ravishing, these pieces are a delightful find, and are beautifully performed, recorded and presented

The Carlo G Manuscript

Virtuoso liturgical music from the early 17th century

Profeti della Quinta, Elam Rotem

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96 kHz, 24 bit, FLAC/ALAC/WAV

$17.50

44.1 kHz, 16 bit, FLAC/ALAC/WAV

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320 kbps, MP3

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This release includes a digital booklet

Stream now Hi-RES 96 kHz, 24 bit
In places intimate, in others ravishing, these pieces are a delightful find, and are beautifully performed, recorded and presented

About

Some 15 years ago, the hitherto unknown "Carlo G Manuscript" was purchased at a Vienna jumble sale for the princely sum of 60 euros. Once a doctoral thesis has been prepared based on this document and it had been made available on the internet in the form of scanned images, the manuscript was sold by Sotheby's at auction to an anonymous buyer in 2007, as a consequence of which it has once again disappeared. The fact that the surname of its author had become illegible as a result of a smudge deepens the mystery surrounding the manuscript even further - however, although being from the same time as that of the famous Carlo Gesualdo, everything points to the fact the prince of Venosa was not the composer being searched for... An extensive selection of pieces from the manuscript can now be heard courtesy of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, performed by the ensemble Profeti della Quinta, and directed by the organist Elam Rotem. These are liturgical pieces dating from the early seventeenth century which undoubtedly would have sounded in Central Italy in a very similar from to what can be heard on this recording: one of the manuscript's peculiar characteristics is that it includes, exactly - note for note - what is expected from the singers and organist. This embraces the complex ornamentations which, by and large, musicians would improvise and wouldn't be written down. The acoustic of the Chiesa dei Santi Eusebio e Vittore de Peglio, Italy provides added authenticity to a project which is entrancing from every angle.

Contents and tracklist

Veni dilecte mi
Track length6:30
Tota pulchra es
Track length2:07
Amor Jesu dulcissime
Track length2:02
Sub umbra illius
Track length2:25
Toccata in D Minor (Chigi MS Q IV 24)
Track length1:56
Mater Hierusalem
Track length2:40
Ego flos campi
Track length1:53
Ego dormio et cor meum vigilat
Track length2:54
Panis angelicus
Track length3:54
Toccata in A Minor (Chigi MS Q IV 27)
Track length1:32
Iste est (Per S. Bernardo)
Track length2:28
Peccavi super numerum
Track length3:00
Toccata elevatione (Chigi MS Q IV 29)
Track length4:28
Miserere
Track length4:45
Nigra sum
Track length2:23
Toccata dell'ottavo tono
Track length2:49
Sicut sponsus matris
Track length3:20

Awards and reviews

August 2017

In places intimate, in others ravishing, these pieces are a delightful find, and are beautifully performed, recorded and presented

11th June 2017

The pieces, many ascribed to the otherwise unknown “Carlo G”, are scored for continuo with one or two voices, and notable for their ornamentation. Profeti della Quinta, with the soprano Perrine Devillers and the countertenor Doron Schleifer, give stylish performances.
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