Twelve Italian Canzonets

Henry Holcombe (1690–1756), born in Chester as the son of a silk weaver, became between 1720 and his death one of the leading English composers in small-scale forms, mainly vocal but also instrumental. His lifelong interest in Italian language and music led him to produce a charming set of twelve Italian canzonets (published in 1753).

These songs for high voice, male or female, are unusual for their genre in drawing their texts from arias found in operatic librettos rather than from purpose-written poetry. They are well suited to both domestic and concert use. Individual canzonets will make excellent ‘encore’ items, while short sequences of them will provide excellent material for solo recitals.