Andrew Lawrence-King

The award wining and worldwide famous vocal ensemble Gothic Voices travel to Italy and the origins of its impressive polyphonic music: A Laurel for Landini – 14th Century Italy’s Greatest Composer.

This disc presents the group performing music by the Italian composer Francesco Landini, one of the most prominent and influential composers of that time and one of the most important for the development of later forms of close harmonic chanting – the forerunner of the famous Madrigal that would flourish later in the 16th century. This disc not only sets out the panorama of the time and the genius of Landini himself but also works by his contemporaries. Here Gothic Voices collaborate with the worldwide acclaimed harpist Andrew Lawrence-King .

This is an important release that will appeal to those interested in singing and early choral music to discover a whole new set and experiments from a composer that helped create the choral forms that later revolutionized the whole of western music.

The HERITAGE collection, launched by Alia Vox in 2007 aims to offer a fresh vision of the recordings that Jordi Savall, Montserrat Figueras and their ensembles made for the Astrée label between 1977 and 1996. This unique discographic legacy of almost 70 albums will be remastered and edited with the meticulous care that has been Alia Vox's hallmark since the label was founded in 1998. Both past and present productions featuring the Alia Vox artists' performances will thus be available under a single banner, allowing listeners to measure the breadth and continuity of their work over more than 30 years. Tarquinio Merula (1594 or 1595-1665) was an Italian composer, organist and violinist of the early Baroque era. Although mainly active in Cremona, stylistically he was a member of the Venetian school and one of the most progressive Italian composers of the early 17th century, a key figure in the early development of several forms such as the cantata, the aria, the sonatas da chiesa and da camera, variations on a ground bass and the sinfonia.

One of the finest albums ever recorded by Montserrat Figueras, she has developed a reputation for the interpretation of early vocal music combining historical fidelity with vitality. In the 1970s, she rose to eminence as one of a generation of musicians who realised that vocal music before 1800 required a new technical and stylistic approach with emphasis on the poetic and spiritual dimension of the text. With the quality of her voice and the expertise of the ensemble backing her, including Jordi Savall and Ton Koopman, she brings an intimacy to her performances few other vocalists can match. Earlier this year, Jordi Savall was appointed European Union ambassador for intercultural dialogue.This distinction, together with the title of “Artist for Peace” that he shares with his wife Montserrat Figueras, marks the culmination and recognition of his work over more than 30 years on behalf of neglected and marginalised musical traditions and cultures such as those which flourished Spain before the Christian reconquest, as well as the musical dialogue between East and West.