Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger (1580-1651)
Arpeggiata de la toccata seconda, extrait du livre I de tablature de chitaronne
Extraits du livre IV de tablature de chitarrone

Benedetto Ferrari (1603-1691)
Voglio di Vita uscir, extrait de "Musiche varie, livre 2"

Anonyme (Bibliothèque Estense de Modène, Italie)
Dolci miei martiri
Se d'Amor

Alessandro Piccinini (1566-1633)
Partite variate sopra la folia aria romanesca, extrait du livre I de tablature de luth et chitarrone

Musique traditionnelle du Yémen
Yuma (arr. Sferraina)

Sferraina
Sieben
Mizhar

Tarquino Merula (1594-1665)
Canzonetta spirituale sopra alla nana, extrait de "Curtio precipitato et altri capricii, livre 2"

Sferaina

Tehila Nini Goldstein, chant
Tobias Steinberger, tambour sur cadre, percussion, melodica
David Bergmüller, chitarrone, guitare espagnole

Sferraina is an old word. It’s the name of a work by Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger. Exactly what it means is di cult to say. It might refer to a contemporary copper plate engraving showing a singer, a lutenist and a percussionist. Just as di cult to clarify is the question of how early music, such as that of Kapsperger, should be properly interpreted. How it should be played to make it relevant to modern times, to make it mean something. These are the kinds of questions explored by the young musicians of Sferraina. They have studied with excellent teachers, played with the stars of the early music scene, and kept their own fresh perspectives. Monkey sh is their astonishing debut album. Musical pieces from early baroque instrumentalists and singer-songwriters, their own compositions and anonymous manuscripts from the famed library of the Dukes of Este create an enchanting sound space, where music from past eras continually overlaps and interacts with the present. So why is it called Monkeyfish, then? That’s a very good question.