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Born in the northern Italian coastal

town of Chioggia about 1555, organist

and composer Paolo Quagliati played a

part historically in having transplanted

to Rome the Florentine recitative style

and developing it in the direction of a

concertato style of several voices with

instruments.

Brought back to life after almost 400

years, his La Sfera armoniosa (1623) is

composed of 25 numbers with texts for

the most part by Battista Guarini.

The music, composed entirely by

Quagliati but for two villanellas by

Stefano Landi, reflects the staid Italian

academic and emerging modern styles

of the time.