Concerto Scirocco, the wind-and-strings ensemble led by recorder and bassoon player Giulia Genini, traces the extraordinary journey of the folia and “La Spagna” harmonic schemes from their roots in Spanish vocal polyphony to their flowering across Renaissance and early Baroque instrumental music. Drawing on sources from Cabezón, Diego Ortiz, the Cancionero de Palacio, Bartolomé de Selma y Salaverde and Andrea Falconieri, the programme reconstructs the sound world of the ministriles — the loud wind bands of cornetts, sackbuts, shawms and dulcians — alongside viols, harpsichord, guitar and vihuela. The result is a vivid portrait of the improvisatory art of the glosa, and of Naples as the great meeting point of Spanish and Italian musical culture.

Concerto Scirocco – wind and string ensemble
Giulia Genini – director, recorder and bassoon