A unique, dance-driven programme performed entirely on the gemshorn, whose ancestral, evocative sound brings medieval, Renaissance, and early Baroque repertoire vividly to life. From troubadour dances to courtly branles and masques, this recording celebrates music as a physical, visceral experience, enriched by lutes, oud, and percussion. 

The gemshorn is a medieval wind instrument belonging to the ocarina family, traditionally made from the horn of a chamois, goat, or ox.

It produces sound through a fipple mouthpiece similar to that of a recorder, with finger holes along the front allowing for a diatonic scale.

The gemshorn’s gentle, flute-like tone – mellow and haunting – made it particularly suited for both sacred and domestic music in the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

This new recording presents the gemshorn in combination with lute and percussion instruments, in dances, spanning from the 12th till the 17th century.

A highly attractive programme, ranging from melancholy musings to visceral, sometimes barbaric dances.

Featuring music composed by Alfonso X “el Sabio”, Pierre Attaingnant, Tielman Susato, Thoinot Arbeau, Claude Gervaise, Etienne Du Tertre, Jaques Moderne and John Playford.

Il Giardino delle Muse:
- Simone Erre (gemshorn, conductor)
- Ugo Nastrucci (medieval lute, ūd)
- Mauro Occhionero (historical percussion)