Division-Musick: Art of Diminution in England

Division-Musick is a term used by Christopher Simpson during the
17th century to describe a typically English improvisatory style of diminution.
Musicians generally used short bass melodies called grounds as the basis for
intricate and virtuoso diminutions, beginning with simple and slow melodies
over a bass melody, and ending with very fast and virtuosic diminutions after a
varying number of repetitions of the melody. Both singers and instrumentalists
practiced this art of diminution, but the preferred instrument for divisions was
the so-called division viol. This CD aims to give some audible insight into
English virtuosity in the Baroque era.