With this recording, Federica Bianchi explores the development of music for keyboard instruments from the beginning of the 15th century to the dawn of the Baroque period. The earliest works originate from the famous Codex Faenza (c. 1400-1420), a manuscript of secular songs arranged for keyboard instrument by composers such as Jacopo da Bologna and Guillaume de Machaut. The earliest printed collection (1517), devoted exclusively to music for keyboard instruments, marks another milestone in this development. Later works on this album include arrangements of Renaissance hits such as Ancor che col partire.
Federica Bianchi’s exploration of this repertoire takes her to the toccatas of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Federica Bianchi plays this repertoire on three instruments built after historical models: a clavicymbalum after a design from the first half of the 15th century and two harpsichords after Italian models from the 16th and 17th centuries. © Passacaille