ERMENEGILDO DEL CINQUE (1700-1773): Sonatas for 2 Cellos in E Minor and in D Minor, Sonatas for 3 Cellos No. 5 in D, No. 6 in D minor, No. 9 in B Minor, No. 11 in E Flat, No. 15 in C and No. 17 in G Minor.

Description: During his long life, this priest, nobleman, poet, and painter from Rome wrote over 100 sonatas for two cellos and eighteen pieces for three cellos. Although he was a dilettante di musica, he was the most prolific composer of cello music of all time. Yet despite the fact that he also composed cantatas, a serenata and some sacred music, and was a renowned cellist in Rome, he remains virtually unknown today, even among cellists. Ludovico Minasi, Cristina Vidoni, Teodoro Baù (cellos), Simone Vallerotonda (archlute, guitar), Andrea Buccarella (harpsichord).