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"... everything's done with such evident awareness of the style of the period, not to mention panache, that it's nearly always possible to suspend disbelief ... the playing's simply superb." - Gramophone "Recording of the Month ... great fun and infinitely satisfying, this is a CD I would recommend to all ... spine-tinglingly gorgeous and invigoratingly inspirational ..." - MusicWeb International "... Lislevand and company are period instrument iconoclasts: invention, virtuosity and surprising combinations of timbre trump scholarly propriety in this vital, exquisitely played programme ..." - The New York Times "Four Stars ... Lislevand and his colleagues manage to create music that sings and is full of grace, feeling and lyricism ... these fine performances, fresh, animated, elegant and virtuosic without being flashy, are utterly persuasive." - BBC Music Magazine Based on Italian Renaissance sources from the 16th century, madrigals, chansons and virtuoso lute music, this album from Norwegian master lutenist Rolf Lislevand and his colleagues discloses the astounding modernity and emotional wealth in the music of composers such as Giovanni Antonio Terzi or Joan Ambrosio Dalza. Once again putting a strong emphasis on improvisation, most of the music performed here stems from the Veneto region of Italy where, at that period, strong influences of oriental and eastern music could be felt. Lislevand’s group translates this with a lush scoring for deep instruments, both stringed and plucked.