La Selva Selvaggia

La Selva Selvaggia: From Diminution to the Stylus Phantasticus
The new Italian styles of instrumental music that crossed the Alps in the early Baroque--deemed to be improvisatory, wild, bizarre--were identified as the 'stylus phantasticus' (the fantastic style) by German theorists.

At the same time, these “new” styles were largely grounded in older practices: namely the improvisation of diminutions (a form of florid ornamentation). This program explores the fertile ground in which these seeds of Renaissance improvisation grew into the early Baroque sonata and toccata.

Enjoy music by Palestrina, Domenico Ferrabosco, Fontana, de Rore, Castello and others!

Host or Publisher Tesserae Baroque