P. P. MELII: Capricio, Peter Croton - lute

“Capricio detto it gran Matias” by Pietro Paulo Melii (Venice, 1616), performed on lute (liuto attiorbato) by Peter Croton. Johann Mattheson (1739), in discussing such pieces, writes “... this is played à discretion, or in Italian con discrezione in order to note that one must not be tied to the tempo, but rather one may play now slowly, now quickly, as desired.”