STRAVAGANZE BAROCCHE

Federico Guglielmo: Violin Antonio Stradivari "Hellier" from 1679
Diego Cantalupi: Guitar by Antonio Stradvari "Sabionari" from 1679

For the recording of "Stravaganze Barocche", Federico Guglielmo and Diego Cantalupi were entrusted with two extraordinary masterpieces by Antonio Stradivari, the "Hellier" inlaid violin and the "Sabionari" guitar. Both built in 1679, and now kept in private collections and exhibited in Cremona as part of the "Friends of Stradivari" project.

The "Hellier" violin, never used for recordings or concerts in recent years, is one of only ten known decorated instruments made by the great master luthier: the quality of the materials and the excellence of the work convinced Simone Fernando Sacconi to call it "the most precious". The decoration of the top and back consists of an alternating sequence of ivory circles and diamonds inserted between two fillets and glued with black putty, probably obtained by mixing ebony putty and glue. The head and the sides are decorated with the dark inlay technique.

The famous "Sabionari" guitar is one of the five Stradivari guitars known today and, in a perfectly original configuration, the only one that will be used, albeit rarely and with a rigorous maintenance protocol, for concerts and recordings. The instrument demonstrates how the luthier has also been able to innovate the dotted instruments. The 74cm fingerboard is unusual for baroque guitars and has been designed to use thinner gut strings, which provide a warm tone and higher harmonic content.

“What makes this album special - observes Federico Guglielmo - lies in the fact that the two instruments were made in the same year, a few months apart. That is why we have chosen to present a beautiful repertoire and at the same time as contemporary as possible with the instruments used ", obviously prepared with gut strings and accessories that perfectly conform to the dictates of the most rigorous philology.

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