The Italian Archlute 17th century Gianoncelli, Kapsperger, and Zamboni
Performer: David Rogers, archlute
The archlute is a member of the lute family of instruments, which extends its range by on octave with the addition of a "bass extension," an extended neck and pegbox supporting seven extra strings. These strings are never stopped; instead they are always played open and are tuned to the key of each piece. The archlute was the primary accompaniment instrument in Italy and England during the seventeenth century. In spite of stiff competition from the harpsichord in the eighteenth century, the archlute remained quite popular through the late baroque. Despite its popularity as an ensemble instrument, its surviving solo repertoire is small in comparison to the repertoire of other instruments of the lute family. This recording features the work of three well known performer-composers: Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger, Bernardo Gianoncelli, and Giovanni Zamboni.
