Ignazio Cirri: Six sonatas Op. II • Sezione Aurea

World Premiere recording of the Six Sonatas for harpsichord with violin accompaniment of Cirri. Ignazio Cirri was maestro di cappella from 1759 at the Cathedral of Santa Croce, now the Duomo in Forlì. In that same year he was granted entrance to the Philharmonic Academy in Bologna.  It is not certain whether his teachers included Giovanni Battista Martini who was only five years older. It is however known that the two were in friendly relations, that Martini became a member of the Philharmonic Academy in 1758, that Martini possessed, amongst his portraits of gentlemen of merit, also one of Cirri (the painting, anonymous, is today conserved in the Sala Bossi of the Conservatory “G. B. Martini” in Bologna) and that, lastly, a compositional affinity is evident in both their works. In 1780, for reasons of health and advancement of age, he was assigned the assistance of his already famous younger brother Giovanni Battista in the role of coadjutant. His works, besides numerous manuscripts, include the twelve Sonatas for Organ and Six Sonatas for harpsichord with violin accompaniment, that have never been recorded until now. Many of his compositions however remain unpublished and are currently conserved at the Archivio Capitolare of the Forlì Duomo. The style of the organ sonatas presents a certain harmonic and contrapuntal skill that distinguishes them from the contemporary Italian artistic style, such that the scholar Luigi Torchi defined it as a transition between Bach and Clementi.

LUCA GIARDINI studied modern violin in Milan and Lugano with Carlo Chiarappa. He then devoted himself to study further the historically informed practice of the violin music between the 17th and 19th century, under the guidance of specialists such as Catherine Mackintosh, Monica Huggett, Nicolette Moonen and Peter Hanson in London and Anton Steck. He collaborates regularly with the most important Italian and European Early Music ensembles: Europa Galante, Accademia Bizantina, Il Giardino Armonico, Complesso Barocco, Ensemble Zefiro, Modo Antiquo, Ensemble Concerto, Il Rossignolo, Aglaia, La Venexiana; I Barocchisti, e Bach Ensemble, Al Ayre Español, Ensemble Matheus, La Cetra (Basel), Marini Consort (Innsbruck), Divino Sospiro, Collegium 1704, Ensemble Baroque de Limoges, Les Musiciens du Prince. 

Luca took part in over one hundred recordings for labels such as Philips, Sony, Decca, EMI, Virgin EMI,Harmonia Mundi, L’Oiseau-Lyre, Naxos, Brilliant Classics, Passacaille and Naïve. He recorded for the most important Radio and TV stations in Europe, America and Asia. He also regularly participates in audio-visual and DVD projects. Luca has recorded many 17th and 18th century music rediscovery albums, some of which were awarded with prestigious prizes. Together with Filippo Pantieri he founded the ensemble Sezione Aurea, a performing platform to create theatrical/musical projects and to exploit the lesser-known Italian heritage, especially from the Emilia Romagna region.He has teached at the Piacenza, Siena and Parma conservatories and is regularly invited to hold master classes in Europe, Japan, the USA and Mexico. He is currently teacher at the “Bruno Maderna” Conservatory in Cesena.