During the 18th century, the Italian style had an influence upon musical production in Liège, affecting both instrumental and vocal music. The establishment in 1699 of the Collège Liégois in Rome was to play a significant part in this process of cultural importation.
Herman-François Delange, scholarships from the Darchis Foundation, was to exemplify this musical development. Particularly drawn to the Neapolitan school, he introduced its expressivity and its melodic colours to the prince-bishopric and so contributed to the establishment there of a typically Neapolitan Italianate style. He leaved us a body of work in the galant style with refined and pleasant melodies, modestly defining a bridge between the old baroque style and the advent of classicism. His few surviving works display a real talent and establish Delange as a significant figure in the development of chamber music in Belgium.

John Jenkins’ life encompassed the golden age of English instrumental music, from Byrd to Purcell. Throughout this period, he scrupulously followed the fashions of English chamber music as it evolved in stages from the typical English fantasia towards the trio sonata of more Italianate inspiration. With considerable skill and a strong sense of lyricism he brought the fantasia for viol consort to its zenith. John Jenkins and his much esteemed friend William Lawes can be regarded as the two most important composers in England during the reign of Charles I.

  

 

Under the impulse of the Counter-Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church decided to appropriate the most popular among the secular songs of the time and to set them to new lyrics, thus creating so-called “spiritual parodies” that would be more conducive to meditation and more effective for home praying. In parallel emerged a naughty or even licentious literature revelling in stigmatizing the French clergy’s shortcomings, while mocking gently the lascivious aspirations of certain religious congregations.

England came late to the trend of Lute Song, but embraced it in a way that proved to be more fruitful and influential than in the rest of Europe. This was mainly due to the figure of John Dowland, one of the greatest song composers of any age and the main inspiration behind this recording. 

For its debut CD, the ensemble RosaSolis accompanies the outstanding soprano Magali Léger (appearing on her first early music CD) in a selection of three motets by Handel, dating from his Roman period. Among them is the much-discussed Gloria which was rediscovered and attributed to Handel as recently as 2001.

  

The 20th-century revival of the recorder began very much in England – on the one hand thanks to the discovery of historical instruments, and on the other hand due to the presence of players who belonged to an uninterrupted tradition. The recorder player Patrick Denecker and his ensemble La Caccia invite us to discover the instrument through the medium of a dynasty of composers originally from Ghent, who played an important part in English musical life.

The Ensemble Clematis returns with another album of discoveries. Carolus Hacquart was undoubtedly the most important composer in the Netherlands during the late 17th century. Nevertheless, he remains unknown to the public at large. The present programme alternates motets taken from his Cantiones Sacrae, performed by a strong cast of musicians, with instrumental pieces from his Harmonia Parnassia Sonatarum.

The Belgian tenor Stéphane van Dyck needs no introduction: for years now he has performed with the best European baroque ensembles. This solo recital of madrigals explores the sources of Baroque music, in which vocal expressivity is given free rein in the service of the text. Van Dyck is joined for this recording by outstanding musicians such as Christina Pluhar and Quito Gato.

Little is known about Grétry’s six youthful string quartets op. 3. They appear to have been composed and performed while this Liège composer was living in Rome, and are his only chamber music publication. These graceful and vivacious pieces were probably well received by the public of the time, which was sensing the beginnings of a stylistic renewal with an emphasis on expressivity and elegance.

Like the poetry of the troubadours and trouvères, the Gallego-Portuguese lyric includes several distinct genres, one of which is the cantiga de amigo. There are nearly 400 surviving poems in this genre, only six of which – cantigas by Martin Codax – have come down to us with their music. The ensemble Fin’Amor presents a richly instrumented interpretation of these rare examples of Gallego-Portuguese lyric.

For its first recording, Ensemble Clematis presents the 17th-century Brussels composer Nicolaus à Kempis. Very little is known about him, but he left several publications of superb music with an Italian influence.