FLAC tracks | Classical | 64:24 | Ricercar | 379 MbAlthough the first violin virtuosos came mainly from Cremona, Brescia or Mantua, it was Venice that swiftly emerged as the principal centre for the development of instrumental music.

Moreover, it was there that most collections of this music were printed all through the seventeenth century.

It is curious to note that all these virtuosos obviously enjoyed sharing their success with their colleagues: for, alongside works for one or two violins and continuo, almost all the composer-violinists gathered together on this disc conceived sonate, canzone or sinfonie for ensembles of three or four violins.

In addition, these compositions often make use of bichoral or echo effects.

All this was happening as part of the discovery of that nascent virtuosity so characteristic of the Baroque period, as a result of which instrumentalists devised many new effects, such as the use of double stopping, and drew attention to their artistry with virtuoso runs akin to the extravagant language of the toccata.

Tracklist:1. Sinfonia decima settima a quatro violini2. Canzon II a 63. Sonata quarta per sonar con due corde4. Sinfonia a 5 & a 3 si placet5. Sonata a quattro violini e doi chitarroni6. Sonata XXI con tre violini7. Sonata in Ecco con tre violini8. Canzon prima per quattro violini9. Sonata prima a quattro violini10. Sonata 16 a tre violini11. Sonata decima settima in Ecco12. Capriccio per sonare il violino con tre corde a modo di lira13. Sinfonia decima nona a tre violini14. Canzon a 3, 2 violini e violoncino