Gramophone Magazine
November 2023
Editor's Choice

La Néréide, Camille Allérat, Julie Roset, Ana Vieira Leite

Luzzaschi: Madrigali per cantare e sonare
Monteverdi: Come dolce hoggi l'auretta
Caccini, F: Le tre sirene (from La liberazzione di Ruggiero dall'isola di Alicina)
Luzzaschi: Madrigali (12) per cantare e sonare
Marenzio: Belle ne fe natura
Caccini, F: La liberazzione di Le tre damigelle (from Ruggiero dall'isola di Alicina)
Caccini, F: Coro delle Piante incantate

An exceptional amount of musical activity took place in the court of Ferrara during the latter years of the 16th century, in particular thanks to a remarkable trio of female voices who had been trained by Luzzasco Luzzaschi, the court's maestro di cappella. To hear them was a privilege that Alfonso d' Este allowed his guests only briefly and infrequently. Their repertoire was kept secret and was finally published -- and then only in part -- in 1601. The singers of La Nereide here devote their first recording to this collection in its entirety, reconstructing the conditions in which these works were created with harpsichord, viol and lute accompaniment: the harpsichord would have been played by Luzzaschi himself, whilst the three singers mastered the other instruments with as much skill as their voices.

"Every moment of this issue is absolutely gorgeous in sound and thoroughly controlled...And the three instrumentalists play with just the right combination of invention and deference throughout...a wonderfully rounded and satisfying disc, one to treasure." - Gramophone Magazine, November 2023.