About

Fiorè centers on a unique, anonymous collection of music featuring the cello, held in a small archive in Como, Italy. This manuscript may contain music that ranks among the first works that feature the cello, and is likely written by the Milanese cellist, Angelo Maria Fiorè.

There is little currently know about Fiorè: his birth year is around 1660, it is unknown where he was born, or what musical education he received. The first notice of his work was in the Farnese court in Parma, as he served there from 1688-1695. He participated in an opera in Milan in 1696, and from the next year onward until his death he served as a cellist in Turin at the ducal court. He gained himself a reputation as one of the greatest cello virtuosos of his time.

Until now little has been known about his work. The sonatas are brilliant and lyrical while Italian arias weave expressive cello lines with beautiful sung texts, each musing on longing, torment, sorrow, and idealized love. The program draws upon the passion for research, and commitment to exploration of musicians Suzie LeBlanc and Elinor Frey.

Even at this early stage in its development, late-17th-century Italian cellists (and composers) already recognised the exceptional singing quality of the instrument. Frey and LeBlanc display both warm lyricism and agile virtuosity. (…) Full marks then for discovery and execution! -Early Music Review 2017

Voice and instrument complement each other, either through imitation or contrast, in music that makes the most expressive use of the rhetorical means that were a lingua franca in Baroque word-setting. Suzie LeBlanc’s clear voice contrasts beautifully with Frey’s tone, both being equally agile and expressive. -The Strad 2017