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Nicola Matteis the Younger and the English style in 18th Century Europe

The latest release from renowned period ensemble La Serenissima celebrates the life and work of Nicola Matteis the Younger. Born in London to an Italian father and English mother, Matteis was immersed in the style of Henry Purcell before leaving England in 1700 for the Imperial Court in Vienna. All of the music on the album is – rather fortuitously – Carolean; either written for Charles II of England, or for (or in the realm of) Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI. It is all too easy to think that the English style and English musicians were unknown on the continent in the early C18, but this selection of music shows that this wasn’t (always) the case. There are some cracking dances and dance suites featured here as well as a ravishingly beautiful Vivaldi concerto and two superb Chaconnes, one by an Englishman, and one by an Italian.

★★★★★ ALBUM OF THE WEEK “Superb disc…La Serenissima’s playing is perfection, at once courtly and refined” – The Times

LA SERENISSIMA
ADRIAN CHANDLER director & violin

SIGCD751 • Released 2023