FRANCESCO PROVENZALE (1624-1704): Squarciato appena havea, Lamento di marinetta Moglie di Massaniello, Care selve, amati orrori, GREGORIO STROZZI (1615-1687): Toccata de Passacagli, Mascara Sonata, Balletto primo, Corrente Settima, ANDREA FALCONIERI (1585-1656): Battalla de Baraboso yerno de Satanas, ANTONIO VALENTE (c.1520-1580): Gagliarda Napolitana.

Description: Works associated with royal celebrations in Naples but with a difference: one is a mock lament (Squarciato) in which Queen Christina mourns her husband by singing a series of Neapolitan children’s songs and another (Lamento) deals in increasingly banal fashion with a lament by Masaniello’s widow (the Care selve is a typical, not parodistic pastroal cantata). The half dozen instrumental pieces are both Renaissance in origin (Valente) and in style. The record label joins in the spoofery (unintentionally I’m sure) by giving the timing of each work as 12:19 and the total time as 00:00. Italian-English texts. Hannah Morrison (soprano), Echo du Danube; Christian Zinke (viola da gamba).