Colista: Sinfonie a tre

Lelio Colista was born in Rome in 1629. Raised as a choirboy the child prodigy took Rome by storm, the “Orpheus of the city of Rome” played the guitar, lute, theorbo and harp, as well as being a dancer in the staged performances at the famous Palazzo Barberini. He worked at the courts of several Italian cities (Bologna, Firenze) before settling in Rome again, becoming a sought-after composer and teacher (one of his students was Gaspar Sanz). This new recording contains Colista’s Sinfonias in three parts (Sinfonie a tre), played here by two violins, cello, guitar and organ. They all feature a well-structured slow first movement that is richly expressive and melodious, along with the strict counterpoint typical of the Roman School, where the fugue is often placed in the second-to-last movement. It is thus possible that they formed a model that influenced composers such as Stradella, Mannelli, Lonati and Corelli in their concepts of the Trio Sonata. Played on period instruments by the Early Music group Ensemble