These sonatas have the relaxed, reflective, fantasy-like structure common in instrumental music of the early seventeenth century, but after a variety of expressive figures have been explored, along comes a really pungent harmonic clash. Beier describes Galilei's struggles with publishers who concluded that he must have made notation mistakes, and he manages to set up the dissonances in such a way that they retain something of their impact: his playing is deliberate and discursive, treating the exploration of the various lute figures as almost scientific in its exploration of all the possibilities. He does not linger over the dissonances, for they are not like those of Gesualdo madrigals; they are merely aspects of musical language to be illustrated and incorporated into rhetorical statements.
James Manheim

1. Sonate in A minor- Toccata Corrente Corrente Volta (Michelagnolo Galilei)
2. Sonate in C major- Toccata Volta Volta (Michelagnolo Galilei)
3. Sonate in D minor- Toccata in tre parti Gagliarda Gagliarda Volta (Michelagnolo Galilei)
4. Passemezzo and Saltarello (Michelagnolo Galilei)
5. Sonate in F minor- Toccata Corrente Corrente Volta (Michelagnolo Galilei)
6. Sonate in C minor- Toccata Corrente Corrente Corrente (Michelagnolo Galilei)
7. Sonate in B-flat major- Toccata Corrente Volta (Michelagnolo Galilei)

Listen to: the entire album.

Release date: 5/10/2004
Paul Beier lives in Milan Italy

Tagged as: Classical, Renaissance, Instrumental, Composer: Michelagnolo Galilei, Lute

1. The Melodious Birde - Keyboard Music By William Byrd by Colin Booth: solo harpsichord music
2. Goldberg Variations (JS Bach) by Andreas Almqvist: elegant classical guitar
3. Dances and Suites of Rameau and Couperin by American Baroque: Spectacular Baroque and Classical chamber music
4. Mozart 4 Quartets for Strings and Winds by American Baroque: Spectacular Baroque and Classical chamber music
5. Conversations Galantes by Ensemble Mirable: rare and extraordinary music of the Baroque
6. Art of the Lute in Renaissance France by Edward Martin: vihuela, renaissance and baroque lute
7. SL Weiss on 11 Strings by Paul Berget: renaissance lute, modernized.
8. Reverie by Daniel Estrem: colorful classical guitar
9. Bach and Telemann - Sonatas, Preludes and Fantasias by Voices of Music: Lilting Renaissance & Baroque vocal interpretations
10. Patrons of the Lute by Daniel Shoskes: A feast of Baroque lute
11. Meditative Guitar by Jeff Wahl: acoustic new age and jazz guitar.
12. Canconier by Canconier: Medieval music from the 12th to the 15th centuries
13. Pastourelle by Fortune's Wheel: a spirited rediscovery of the riches of medieval musical traditions
14. Music of Waters by Shira Kammen: early folk and celtic music.
15. Orpheus by Federico Moscogiuri: Original and evocative lute music
16. Cimarosa on Guitar by Daniel Estrem: colorful classical guitar
17. Elizabeth's Lutes by Alex McCartney: Reflective, historically-informed performance on the lute
18. Les Larmes of Johannes Fresneau by Edward Martin: vihuela, renaissance and baroque lute
19. CD2 - Bach - The Six Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin by Lara St John: Bach violin concertos
20. Uccellini by Altri Stromenti: 17th century baroque ensemble

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