(Halifax/Kjipuktuk, NS) Leaf Music announces the distribution of a new recording, terra e cielo (STC2024) from Montreal’s Space Time Continuo baroque bass ensemble. This captivating album, to be released on March 8, re-imagines Italian vocal and instrumental music spanning the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. It features works by Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi, Diego Ortiz, Giulio and Francesca Caccini and Girolamo Frescobaldi.
Created in 2019 and directed by cellist Amanda Keesmaat, the fluid personnel of Space Time Continuo perform on plucked strings, keyboards, and low-pitched bowed and wind instruments. Terra e cielo features musicians Amanda Keesmaat (cello and lirone); Antoine Malette-Chénier (triple harp); Karim Nasr (dulcian); Jessica Korotkin (cello and viola da gamba); Christophe Gauthier (harpsichord and organ); Sylvain Bergeron (archlute); and a cameo from Vincent Lauzer (bass recorder). A new addition to the ensemble, a lirone made by Francis Beaulieu in 2023, provides an auditory window into the divine, depicting heavenly scenes that were commonly presented in early Italian works. This lirone (or lira da gamba) is a string instrument used to realize figured bass with fifteen gut strings and fretted neck. When played, it’s held between the legs like a cello or viola da gamba.
The album was recorded at Oscar Peterson Hall, Concordia University, Montreal and was produced by and supported by CALQ (Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec) and the Canada Council for the Arts. This is the third album from this ensemble; learn more at spacetimecontinuo.com.
Listen to terra e cielo wherever you stream your music: https://leaf-music.lnk.to/stc2024.
Leaf Music is an independent recording label based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, making and distributing high-quality classical music recordings by artists and composers from across Canada. Our growing catalogue of solo, orchestral, and chamber music is distributed by Naxos of America to the world’s most important music retailers, download providers, and streaming services. Leaf is also a provider of professional audio and video production, post-production services and integrated music marketing and distribution in Canada.
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For more information/photos or to arrange interviews please contact Peggy Walt, peggy@leaf-music.ca (902) 422-5403 (office) or (902) 476-1096 (cell).