Still Smiling

Still Smiling:
From the Musical World of
Leonardo Da Vinci
Convivium Musicum
Musica Redivia
(MRCD 006)

A charming rendition of tunes contemporaneous with the great inventor and artist Leonardo da Vinci, Still Smiling draws the listener into the musical shifts then taking place in the courts of renaissance Italy.

Drawing upon folk songs and the courtly ballads of earlier troubadours, the musicians and composers of the early Italian Renaissance forged a new kind of sound, using harmonies and chords to unite their compositions and using specific combinations of instruments to reinforce each other musically. Vocals with so-called musica alta or "soft" instruments, such as the harp, viola da gamba, flute, and recorder, were used for ballads, love songs, pastoral pieces, and songs of a philosophical nature. Those of a more rustic or jocular nature were frequently accompanied by musica bassa or "louder" instruments, such as trombones and cornets. As certain instruments played the melody, others would fill in, or sometimes improvise complimentary tunes to match it.

Convivium Musicum, an Early Music consortium consisting largely of students and instructors from the School of Music and Musicology at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, provide an animated rendering of these songs on authentic instruments. Providing a wide range of material, the CD is a delectable sampler of renaissance music. Dances such as "La Marchesana," "Spero," and "El Bisson" are here arranged in a polyphonic style, perhaps echoing the movements of groups of dancers. Although we have little actual notation regarding the arrangement of dance music from this period, this improvised polyphony adds additional dimension and authenticity to the musicians' performances. The florid character of the love ballads, such as "Mentre io vo per questi boschi," "Quella bella e bianca mano," and "Dilla da l'acqua" is perfectly matched by the rapturous multipart harmonies constructed around these courtly lyrics.

This atmosphere of musical confluence in the Italian courts was certainly not lost on da Vinci, a skilled musician in his own right who apparently contributed his own improvisations and compositions, as well as designed for new instruments. Sadly, despite the wide range of period instruments heard, we never receive a taste of da Vinci's own instrumental innovations. Reconstructions of these inventions would have only added to this already fantastic CD.

Even without them, however, Still Smiling has enough diversity and fine performances to put a smile on the face of any fan of period music.

--Richard Mackenzie