Tarquinio Merula cremonese

CD Tarquinio Merula cremonese
Canzoni, overo Sonate Concertate per Chiesa e Camera a Due et a Tre

Ensemble L’AURA SOAVE Cremona on original instruments

Tarquinio Merula was born in Busseto in 1595 but his musical training was in Cremona where he moved when he was very young.

In 1624 he moved to Warsaw where he was an organist in church and at the court of the King of Poland and Sweden. He returned to Cremona in 1628 but in 1632 he was given the job of Choir Master in S.Maria Maggiore in Bergamo, where he remained until 1640. In 1646 he moved to Cremona again where he was given the title of Cathedral Choir Master, a post he kept until 1665, the year of his death .

A highly respected musician, he was a prolific writer of collections of madrigals, organ pieces and instrumental music. The XIII and XVI sonatas have curious titles, " la Maruta" and "la Dada", which come from Canzoni ovvero Sonate Concertate per Chiesa e Camera a Due et a Tre , Book three, Opus 12, published in Venice in 1637.

The inspired pieces require the concerted use of violin and cello, working hard through changing themes and responses in an swift dialogue with frequent changes of rhythm.