Phantasticus - 17th-century Italian Violin Music (Romanesca)

Approfondimenti

Harmonia Mundi's Phantasticus, featuring the excellent period performance ensemble Romanesca, was released in 1996. Phantasticus takes as its point of departure an extract from the writings of seventeenth century theorist Athanasius Kircher, who among his classification of musical styles includes reference to "stylus Phantasticus," the "most liberated form of composition, free from any constraints of text or predetermined harmony to display genius." A selection of works drawn from early Baroque composers, some barely known, but all worthy to some degree of revival illustrate this point: works by Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi Meali, Giovanni Paolo Cima, Dario Castello, and Giovanni Battista Fontana appear, among others. What ties them together is their looseness of form, bizarre gestures, wandering harmony, and fragmented sense of the pulse. All of these pieces are expertly played by Romanesca, and lutenist Nigel North and harpsichordist John Toll are featured in generous solo outings, as well. Phantasticus is an ideal choice for those in need of an introduction to what Manze aptly calls "a cabinet of curiosities," the avant-garde of the early Baroque. In 2005, Harmonia Mundi re-released Phantasticus as part of a two-for-the-price-of-one combination entitled Fantastic Style.
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