For those unaware, the first American recording of Michelangelo Galilei’s lute music in over thirty years, Richard Kolb’s new album captures beautiful performances notable for the lyrical quality of the baroque compositions which make the plucked instrument ‘sing’, and the sumptuous audio engineering by producer RYAN EDWARDS, who faithfully captured the sessions in a beautiful rural wooden church in up-state New York.

Younger brother to Galileo Galilei, the famous astronomer, physicist and engineer, Michelangelo Galilei also achieved greatness in his time. One of the most sought-after lutenists in Europe, his compositions for lute blended diverse influences of Renaissance practice with the baroque avant-garde of Florence and cosmopolitan flavors of German and Polish royal courts.

This album showcases his confident and distinctive style, which he published in his first and only surviving book, Il primo libro d’intavolatura di liuto (1650)—fifty-two pieces presented in the manner of suites, an innovation for the time.

This new album follows Kolb’s lauded work on Vago Desio (“splendid and authoritative” Gramophone) where he accompanied soprano Elissa Edwards in works from Barbara Strozzi’s Opus 8, (Acis, 2020). Label founder and owner, GRAMMY®-nominated producer, GEOFFREY SILVER, says, “Having enjoyed his beautiful playing in Vago Desio, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to publish this remarkable collection of sublime and evocative music that was written during transitional moments of musical style and modernity.”

“Richard is a consummate artist with a rich sound and a passion for sustaining vocal line within counterpoint, and Ryan Edwards has done a marvelous job of utilizing the warmth of the old wooden church space in his engineering. It’s like the building is also singing. I have every confidence in these being recognized as benchmark performances of our time.”

1. Il primo libro d’intavolatura: Suite in B flat: I. Toccata
2. Il primo libro d’intavolatura: Suite in B flat: II. Corrente
3. Il primo libro d’intavolatura: Suite in B flat: III. Volta No. 1
4. Il primo libro d’intavolatura: Suite in B flat: IV. Volta No. 2
5. Il primo libro d’intavolatura: Suite in D minor: I. Toccata
6. Il primo libro d’intavolatura: Suite in D minor: II. Gagliarda No. 2
7. Il primo libro d’intavolatura: Suite in D minor: III. Volta
8. Il primo libro d’intavolatura: Suite in G minor: I. Toccata
9. Il primo libro d’intavolatura: Suite in G minor: II. Corrente No. 1
10. Il primo libro d’intavolatura: Suite in G minor: III. Corrente No. 2
11. Il primo libro d’intavolatura: Suite in G minor: IV. Corrente No. 3
12. Il primo libro d’intavolatura: Suite in A minor: I. Toccata
13. Il primo libro d’intavolatura: Suite in A minor: II. Corrente No. 1
14. Il primo libro d’intavolatura: Suite in A minor: III. Corrente No. 2
15. Il primo libro d’intavolatura: Suite in A minor: IV. Corrente No. 3
16. Il primo libro d’intavolatura: Suite in A minor: V. Volta
17. Il primo libro d’intavolatura: Passemezzo and Saltarello in C minor: I. Passemezzo
18. Il primo libro d’intavolatura: Passemezzo and Saltarello in C minor: II. Saltarello
19. Il primo libro d’intavolatura: Suite in G major: I. Toccata
20. Il primo libro d’intavolatura: Suite in G major: II. Corrente No. 2
21. Il primo libro d’intavolatura: Suite in G major: III. Volta

Recorded between August 22–24, 2024 at the Church of St. John the Evangelist, Tannersville, New York, this immensely impassioned new Il primo libro d’intavolatura recording opens on the delicate Suite in B flat: I. Toccata, the impassioned Suite in B flat: II. Corrente, the quietly playful Suite in B flat: III. Volta No. 1, and the gently spirited Suite in B flat: IV. Volta No. 2, before we are brought forth the polished Suite in D minor: I. Toccata, the all-encompassing Suite in D minor: II. Gagliarda No. 2, then comes the more strident Suite in D minor: III. Volta, the flirtacious Suite in G minor: I. Toccata, the regal Suite in G minor: II. Corrente No. 1 and the ornate Suite in G minor: III. Corrente No. 2 and the impressively plucked Suite in G minor: IV. Corrente No. 3.

Along next is the dulcet Suite in A minor: I. Toccata, the harmonious Suite in A minor: II. Corrente No. 1, the flourishing Suite in A minor: III. Corrente No. 2, and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the warm embrace found within Suite in A minor: IV. Corrente No. 3, the studious Suite in A minor: V. Volta, and the flighty Passemezzo and Saltarello in C minor: I. Passemezzo, and then we are beholden to the forthright ambiance within Passemezzo and Saltarello in C minor: II. Saltarello, the recording ending on a trio that opens with the regmiented Suite in G major: I. Toccata, the fanciful Suite in G major: II. Corrente No. 2, and closes on the dance floor, slow swirl and twirl of Suite in G major: III. Volta.

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