1 Pavana 'La Cornetta' 2 Canzonette Francese: La lucchesina 3 Ricercare: 'Da Pacem Domine' 4 Il Ballerino 5 Canzonette: Vita de la mia vita 6 Intabolatura de lauto: Fantasia No. 33 7 La Fiorentina 8 Villanelle, Book 4: Occhi dolci e soavi 9 Ricercare 10 Il primo libro de balli : No. 19 ballo Francese 11 Fantasia No. 34: 'La Compagna' 12 Gagliarda 'La Traditora' 13 Canone for two lutes 14 Madrigali a 4 voci, libro 1: Il bianco e dolce cigno 15 Intabolatura de lauto: La spagna for two lutes 16 Madrigali: Ahi quest'occhi miei 17 Madrigali: Vestiva i colli (Palestrina) 18 Lo Sdegnato 19 Felice chi vi mira 20 Madrigals, Book 1: Uno spirto celeste 21 Il bianco fioreA celebration of Italian Renaissance lute music, this release showcases a variety of composers, from the well known (such asPalestrina and Da Milano) to some now faded into obscurity, and introduces the listener to all forms of lute music that werein vogue during that period: ricercares, dances, madrigals and villanellas. The innovation to be found in this music isextraordinary: instrumental music from this period was designed to imitate the human voice, evident in many of the piecesincluded here, with intricate polyphony echoing the vocal madrigals, and eversophisticated ways of writing in turn led tonew forms (the ricercar and canzona), creating a new type of instrumental language. The line between vocal andinstrumental music thus became far more blurred in this period: it was even common for vocal works, such as madrigals, to beplayed rather than sung. The lute consort, the focus of this release, was one of the highest courtly expressions of ensemblemusic, best revealing the potential of the instrument and offering a voiced reconstruction of one of the most exclusiveambiences of ancient palaces. The Quartetto di Liuti da Milano have delved into a variety of sources to extract these musical gems. Extensive research is the foundation of their interpretations, and they are also proud to perform on instruments modelled carefully after their Renaissance equivalents. Concentrating exclusively on Italian Renaissance and early Baroque music, the quartet was established in 2012, and the musicians have already been praised in Amadeus magazine for their "liveliness" and "quality of expression".