Castaldi sought refuge in his music, pouring out his soul in exceptionally personal and intense virtuosic theorbo solos, theorbo and tiorbino duos, and songs that transcend the often affected conceits of early seventeenth-century music. In addition to Monteverdi, Castaldi was acquainted with Frescobaldi, Kapsperger, Piccinini, Vecchi, and many other musicians of note.

Despite his status as one of his era’s finest theorbo virtuosos musical performance was, for Castaldi, a private activity to be enjoyed with his close circle of friends, one of whom he referred to as “Pavarotto, Gentil.” With Pavorotto he played theorbo and tiorbino, sang Monteverdi’s songs, and smoked and drank in the evenings.

A native of Buenos Aires but of Italian origin and living in Italy, Evangelina Mascardi regularly collaborates as a continuo-player with pre-eminent ensembles: Il Giardino Armonico, Zefiro, Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra to name but a few. A former pupil of Hopkinson Smith at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, she has two solo albums to her credit (ORF Austria), the first of which, devoted to Johann Sebastian Bach and Sylvius Leopold Weiss, won the Diapason d’or.

Evangelina Mascardi is joined here by Mónica Pustilnik on the tiorbino (the rare miniature theorbo invented by Castaldi himself) and by Marco Beasley, fresh from the successes of his Frà Diavolo.

The overarching theme of this collection of Castaldi’s music is Ferita d’amore (literally “the wound of love”), borrowed from the title of a Gagliarda included in the programme. The recording is organized into three sets, with sub-themes progressing from joyful exuberance, through the contemplation of the pain love can cause in the second set, to a final reawakening of transcendent devotion.