Helianthus Ensemble

Sonatas, Canzonas and Sinfonias Helianthus Ensemble

This disc, inspired by a collection of instruments that were left to the Sacro Convento by Abbot Rivi in 1704, includes a selection of pieces from volumes IV, VI and VII of Buonamente's instrumental music. The first three volumes of this collection were lost, and the surviving volumes of the original collection were destroyed by fire at the Wroclaw library in Poland, where they had been housed. The pieces on this disc were chosen with the intent of using the instruments that Abbot Rivi had bequeathed to the Sacro Convento, along with the violin, theorbo, cello, organ and harpsichord, which records show were also present at the convent. Recorded in 2012. Giovanni Battista Buonamente started his career in his native Mantua, left for the Viennese Court of Ferdinand II and finally settled in Assisi as Chapel Master of the Sacro Convento. The works, instrumental sonatas and canzonas, are in the early Italian Baroque style, and offer several dance forms like Brando, Gagliarda and Corrente.