Assassini, assassinati

Violinist Kinga Ujszászi and lutenist/guitarist Jadran Duncumb present a delightfully morbid collection of 17th-century Italian music by composers who were murdered—or murderers. Italy at the time was fought over by competing foreign powers and notoriously unstable. Murder and intrigue were part of life, but so was great music. The delightful, inventive Sinfonias of Alessandro Stradella stand in contrast with the scandals that saw him killed; and while Pandolfi murdered a singer for his allegiances, his music is fresh and invigorating. Albertini, stabbed to death at 41, left just 12 violin sonatas. A fine legacy, if the two works here are to go by.