Only a few decades ago, an original salterio was discovered in a remote hunting lodge in Salento, Italy. It was equipped with many finger rings for plectra pizzicato, so-called Ditali, and came with a collection of manuscripts containing salterio music. It turned out that this salterio belonged to the nobleman Gennaro Bacile. It is unique in salterio research that an instrument is found together with its playing devices and scores, making this the first reliable example to attribute salterio music to a specific playing technique. Vito Ugolino was an outstanding figure in Naples's music scene in the second half of the eighteenth century. He was a member of the royal chapel as a theorbo player and performed at several prestigious events as a salterio player, also teaching this instrument to aristocrats. With its typical salterio triplets, this sonata is played pizzicato. The repetitive motives allow for many dynamic and timbre variations. It’s great fun to play!
Only a few decades ago, an original salterio was discovered in a remote hunting lodge in Salento, Italy. It was equipped with many finger rings for plectra pizzicato, so-called Ditali, and came with a collection of manuscripts containing salterio music. It turned out that this salterio belonged to the nobleman Gennaro Bacile. It is unique in salterio research that an instrument is found together with its playing devices and scores, making this the first reliable example to attribute salterio music to a specific playing technique. Vito Ugolino was an outstanding figure in Naples's music scene in the second half of the eighteenth century. He was a member of the royal chapel as a theorbo player and performed at several prestigious events as a salterio player, also teaching this instrument to aristocrats. With its typical salterio triplets, this sonata is played pizzicato. The repetitive motives allow for many dynamic and timbre variations. It’s great fun to play!
