Mortua dulce cano. A Florilegium of Late Renaissance Lute Music Michal Gondko

• Giulio Cesare Barbetta (1540 - 1603):
• 1Barbetta: Padoana ottava, Deta Zo per la Brenta01:55
• Anonymous:
• 2Anonymous: Ricercata01:29
• Vincenzo Galilei (1520 - 1591):
• 3Galilei: Calliope01:02
• Lorenzino Tracetti (1552 - 1590):
• 4Tracetti: Praeludium01:50
• Simone Molinaro (1565 - 1615):
• 5Molinaro: Saltarello01:34
• Anonymous:
• 6Anonymous: Currentes04:07
• Giovanni Battista Domenicho (16 Jh.):
• 7Domenicho: Bergamasco03:59
• Kasper Sielicki (16 Jh.):
• 8Sielicki: Praeambulum00:50
• Anonymous:
• 9Anonymous: Ballo polacho01:37
• Jacob Reys dit Le Polonois (1550-1605):
• 10Polonois: Courante01:53
• Anonymous:
• 11Anonymous: Gagliarda polacha01:06
• Diomedes Cato (1560 - 1627):
• 12Cato: Fantasia04:05
• Valentin Bákfark (1526 - 1576):
• 13Bákfark: Pass’ e mezo detto L’ongaro02:27
• Nicolas de Rans (16Jh.):
• 14Rans: Branles06:13
• Anonymous:
• 15Anonymous: Es seind doch selig alle die03:27
• Matthias Reymann (1526 - 1625):
• 16Reymann: Galliarda01:25
• Johannes Spalkaiber (16Jh.):
• 17Spalkaiber: Praeambulum00:50
• Anonymous:
• 18Anonymous: Jungfrau von schön Gestalt02:11
• Benedictus de Drusina (1556 - 1573):
• 19Drusina: Fantasia01:52
• Anonymous:
• 20Anonymous: Tantz des Graffen von Manßfeldt / Proportio01:40
• John Hoskins (16Jh.):
• 21Hoskins: Praeludium / A Gailliarde02:38
• Anonymous:
• 22Anonymous: Allemandt à Globe / Jigge of Cooper02:17
• Barick Bulman (16 Jh.):
• 23Bulman: A Paven04:17
• Alfonso Ferrabosco I (1543 - 1588):
• 24I: A Galliard01:30
• Robert Askue (16 Jh.):
• 25Askue: A Gigg01:55
• John Whitfield (1588 - 1620):
• 26Whitfield: The English Huntsuppe01:04
• Anonymous:
• 27Anonymous: Toys05:20
• Total Runtime01:04:33

Info for Mortua dulce cano. A Florilegium of Late Renaissance Lute Music

Dum vixi tacui; mortua dulce cano: “While I lived I was silent; dead, I sing sweetly.” Found in the portrait of the sixteenth-century lute maker Gaspar Tieffenbrucker, these words, spoken by the imaginary tone wood used for centuries in the manufacture of string instruments, fittingly depict its double life. This recording celebrates a historical instrument, whose voice time did not manage to silence: the so-called “Presbyter” (although in actual fact anonymous) lute, possibly made in Padua in 1595. One of the oldest playable lutes in existence, it was restored to its likely first configuration (a seven-course lute) and still features its original soundboard and back. Inspired by the cosmopolitan nature of the anthologies of lute music compiled at the time of the instrument’s presumed completion, Michal Gondko showcases its expressive potential with a diverse programme, placing emphasis on high-quality yet largely neglected repertoire, most of which has not been recorded to date.

Michal Gondko, Presbyter-lute 1595

Michal Gondko
has toured the United States, Europe, the Middle East, China, and Japan. He was born in Warsaw, Poland, where, as a child, he studied classical guitar. He was introduced to the lute as a teenager, a life-changing event that took him to the Schola Cantorum in Basel, where he studied with Hopkinson Smith. Michal has remained in Basel. He is founder and, along with his wife Corina Marti, artistic co-director of the medieval and early Renaissance ensemble La Morra, and has recorded for the Ramée/Outhere label. He is a recipient of the Polish Recording Producers’ Award (Fryderyk).

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