CON ARTE E MAESTRIA - Resonus Classics
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
CON ARTE E MAESTRIA Virtuoso violin ornamentation from the dawn of the Italian Baroque Monteverdi String Band In Focus Oliver Webber violin Steven Devine organ & harpsichord
Giovanni Bassano (c.1561–1617) Gärtner (dates unknown)
Con arte e maestria 1. Ricercata prima [2:29] 9. Toccata [2:34]
Virtuoso violin ornamenta on from
Cipriano de Rore (c.1515–1565) Biagio Marini
the dawn of the Italian Baroque (ornaments by Riccardo 10. Sinfonia ‘L’Orlandina’ [2:09]
Rognoni, c.1550–c.1620)
2. Anchor che col par re [3:35] Giovanni Gabrieli (c.1555–1612)
Monteverdi String Band In Focus 11. Toccata del secondo tuono [2:16]
Giovanni Pierluigi da
Oliver Webber violin Palestrina (c.1525–1594) Tomas Luis de Victoria (c.1548–1611)
Steven Devine organ & harpsichord (ornaments by Oliver Webber b.1969) (ornaments by Giovanni Ba sta
3. Deh hor foss’io col vago della luna [4:07] Bovicellim, fl. late 16th century)
12. Dilectus tuus candidus [6:40]
Ascanio Mayone (c.1565–1627)
4. Canzon francese prima [2:39] Cipriano de Rore
(ornaments by Oliver Webber)
Biagio Marini (1594–1663) 13. Signor mio caro [3:50]
5. Sinfonia ‘La Gardana’ [2:06]
Oliver Webber
Oliver Webber (a er Claudio Monteverdi et al.)
(a er Giovanni Bassano) 14. Ciaccona [4:23]
6. Ricercata [1:59]
Michelangelo Rossi (c.1601–1656)
Thomas Crecquillon (c.1505–c.1557) 15. Toccata nona [3:48]
About Oliver Webber:
(ornaments by Oliver Webber)
7. Par trop souffrir de fortune Dario Castello (1602–1631)
‘Oliver Webber [bows] with rapier-like eloquence’
ennemie [4:29] 16. Sonata prima [4:05]
Gramophone
Orlando di Lasso (c.1532–1594) Carlo G (fl. c.1600–1620)
About Steven Devine:
(ornaments by Girolamo 17. Conver s planctum [2:41]
dalla Casa, d.1601)
‘[Devine] is authorita ve, suave, technically dazzling and delivers immaculately
8. Susanne ung jour [4:36]
manicured ornaments that lend brilliance and expressive introspec on when required’
BBC Music Magazine
Giovanni Paolo Caprioli (c.1580–c.1627) Con Arte e Maestria: the culmina on Giovanni Ba sta Bovicelli, and the
(ornaments by Oliver Webber) of a virtuoso tradi on mysterious Carlo G, we present three
18. Vulneras cor meum [2:57] madrigals, a chanson, a motet and a canzona,
Milanese violinist Francesco Rognoni’s each newly ornamented in the style of one
Antonio Mortaro (fl. 1587–1610) ornamental showpiece Io son ferito, which of these great masters.
(ornaments by Oliver Webber) appears in the second volume of his Selva
19. Canzona ‘La Malvezza’ [4:27] di varii passaggi, 1620, is cap oned Modo Il vero modo di diminuir: ornamenta on
di passeggiar con arte e maestria – ‘manner in prac ce
Aurelio Virgiliano (fl. c.1600) of ornamen ng with art and mastery’; con
20. [Ricercata] on arte e maestria is used to this day to denote The basis of most ornamenta on during this
‘Ves va i colli’ [1:25] excellence and consummate cra smanship period was diminu on: the crea on of
in crea ve fields from music to cookery, measured pa erns of faster notes from
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina jewellery and architecture. slower ones; for example, from a minim we
(ornaments by Oliver Webber) can create pa erns of four quavers, eight
21. Così le chiome mie [3:44] The work features a breathtaking range of semiquavers, or sixteen demisemiquavers.
ornamental devices: runs and florid passages, We are fortunate that a veritable treasure
Andrea Gabrieli (c.1532–1585) trills, vast leaps, do ed rhythms, repeated trove of diminu on resources from this
22. Intonazione quarto toni [1:24] notes and echoes, all created from a simple period survives: as well as complete works,
original melody in minims and semibreves. fully ornamented, o en in mul ple versions,
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina It represents the culmina on of a fascina ng there are trea ses which not only explain
(ornaments by Francesco tradi on of solo ornamenta on, which how diminu ons are created and how to
Rognoni, d. c.1626) flourished especially in northern Italy from apply them, but also give hundreds of
23. Io son ferito [6:08] the early sixteenth to the early seventeenth examples.
centuries.
Il vero modo di diminuir (’the true manner
In this recording we present some of the of diminu on’) appears in the tles of two
Total playing me [78:45] more remarkable works of its final genera on, of the trea ses which have contributed to
beginning with Francesco Rognoni’s father, this recording: Girolamo dalla Casa (1584)
Riccardo; in the interests of not only and Riccardo Rognoni (1592). That these
celebra ng but also giving new life to this two ‘true’ methods differ significantly
tradi on, we also offer something completely reveals the variety of approach among
new: in addi on to published ornamented individual performers and teachers.
works by the Rognonis, Girolamo dalla Casa,
Five ornamental personali es col vago della luna, the first of three se ngs
in this recording of Roman master Giovanni
The approach of Girolamo dalla Casa is Pierluigi da Palestrina, whose madrigals were
strikingly systema c: for him, the true especially popular as vehicles for virtuoso
method consists of the skilful combina on diminu ons.
of four essen al subdivisions of the beat:
into four, eight, twelve and sixteen. In order The singer Giovanni Ba sta Bovicelli offers
to prepare his readers, he begins with us something quite different: he
quavers only, then semiquavers only, dis nguishes diminu ons, or passaggi, from
quavers and semiquavers combined, accen – brief, rhythmically fluid pa erns,
and so on, ending his first volume with used to connect the notes in a phrase with
fully mixed examples, before presen ng charm and elegance. The delight in his
complete works, fully ornamented in se ngs comes from the o en surprising
the vero modo, in the second volume. transi ons and combina ons of passaggi
and accen .
In this recording, dalla Casa is represented
by one of his versions of Susanne ung jour Instrumentalists need feel no guilt at
and a newly devised version of a chanson appropria ng vocal repertoire: instruc ons
by the Flemish composer Thomas to imitate the voice are almost universal,
Crecquillon, a par cular favourite of and Francesco Rognoni specifically
dalla Casa. recommends the vocal part of his trea se
to instrumentalists for this very reason.
In comparison with dalla Casa, Riccardo Bovicelli’s version of Spanish composer
Rognoni’s approach diverges more o en Tomas Luis de Victoria’s [Qualis est]
from stepwise mo on: one characteris c dilectus tuus candidus, replete with rich,
figure is a syncopated leap upwards dark textures, is contrasted with a newly
followed by a descending scale. Flourishes created version of de Rore’s Signor mio caro:
of an octave a er a cadence also feature here, the high tessitura, short phrases and
prominently. occasional silences, enhanced by
Bovicelli-inspired accen and occasional
This style is heard here in his version of the passaggi, contribute to a perfumed,
Flemish madrigalist Cipriano de Rore’s ephemeral atmosphere.
Anchor che col par re, and in Deh hor foss’io
The discovery of the Carlo G manuscript in striking features include a prevalence of his 1609 volume pleads the reader’s bass, is inspired by figura on from a number
2007 (the author’s name, obscured by a do ed rhythms, octave leaps, slurs of various tolerance for occasional rule-breaking in of early seventeenth-century ciaccona se ngs,
smudge, has never been defini vely lengths, triplet pa erns and an extended, ornamental passages, without which ‘it is as well as ornamental pa erns of the
confirmed) was a wonderful gi to students elaborate final cadence. impossible to make a beau ful effect’. Rognonis.
of the early seventeenth century: a collec on
of some 300 pages of elaborately The virtuosic treatment of Io son ferito is the Biagio Marini has long been known as one Dario Castello’s two volumes of ensemble
ornamented songs (by Carlo G himself as model for the interpreta on of Così le of the most important composers for the sonatas in s l moderno show the emerging
well as a selec on of notable chiome mie presented here: the fluid violin in the early seventeenth century; his sonata style – through-composed with short,
contemporaries) with fully realised accen and occasional bursts of extravagant sinfonie – brief gems of works which play contras ng sec ons – which was to
con nuo accompaniment, it offers a passaggi and energe c do ng seem fi ng with the listener’s expecta ons – make a characterise much seventeenth-century
unique window into how a simple to the character of the madrigal, which perfect foil for the more extended instrumental wri ng; his figura on reflects
melody and bass line might have celebrates the burgeoning of love amongst diminu ons. the ornamental prac ces of his
behaved ‘in the wild’. Like Bovicelli’s the sights, sounds and fragrances of spring. contemporaries: many of the runs, passages
versions, these feature a combina on of The toccata a ributed to one Herr Gärtner and accen which Rognoni et al. classify as
brief, rhythmically supple accen and Other instrumental genres of Nuremberg (about whom nothing more ornamental are wri en into Castello’s music.
full-blown passaggi. Conver s planctum, is known) is found in a precious manuscript
a se ng from Psalm 29, is followed by a These explora ons of diminu on prac ce are collec on from Wrocław which also contains Castello’s sonata prima is introduced by a
sensuous Song of Solomon se ng by the framed by a selec on of toccatas, ricercars a selec on of diminu ons by Francesco toccata by the Roman organist and violinist
Bolognese priest Giovanni Paolo Caprioli, and intonazioni which func on as preludes, Rognoni. Marini spent me in Germany, Michelangelo Rossi; very much in the
ornamented especially for this recording and sonatas and canzonas which shine a and it is not hard to imagine a German tradi on which extends from Merulo to
in the same style. light into a different area of instrumental violinist introducing one of his sonatas Bach, Rossi’s unique voice can be heard in
performance. with a similar prelude of their own devising. his idiosyncra c figura on and exploratory
Francesco Rognoni’s bold, modern, harmonic journey.
violinis c style, which extends tradi onal Giovanni Bassano is one notable composer A soulful toccata by the Vene an composer
models in new direc ons, features in whose diminu ons do not feature in this Giovanni Gabrieli, and an intonazione of Aurelio Virgiliano’s un tled ricercar from his
three works: a canzona by the Brescian programme; however, he is represented more celebratory character by his uncle trea se on diminu on, Il Dolcimelo, was
composer Antonio Mortaro, and two by two ricercars, the second of which was Andrea Gabrieli introduce two of the works chosen to introduce Così le chiome mie
Palestrina madrigals – Così le chiome mie especially composed on Bassano’s models. featuring the Hauptwerk organ: Bovicelli’s because it is based on the first part of that
and Io son ferito. Dilectus tuus and Francesco Rognoni’s madrigal, Ves va i colli; his style, with more
Ascanio Mayone was a Neapolitan maestro Io son ferito. repeated-note figures, resembles Gärtner’s
The ornamenta on of the canzona is di capella, organist and harpist, whose more than Bassano’s and is par cularly
modelled on Francesco’s treatment of keyboard works were characterised by a The joyful and exuberant Ciaccona, using suited to the violin.
another Mortaro canzona, La Por a; its playful flamboyance; the introduc on to Claudio Monteverdi’s Zefiro torna groundFacile est inven s addere: crea ng Performing edi ons
a las ng legacy
Edi ons for tracks 1–4, 6–9, 13, 14, 18, 19, 21
‘It is easy to add to what has already been and 23 were prepared by Oliver Webber.
invented’; this maxim, especially apt to the Track 5: Ed. Christopher Stembridge, Zanibon
crea ve yet tradi onally inspired prac ce Edi on 1982
of ornamenta on, is cited by two of the Track 10: Ed. Francisco Valdivia, Werner Icking
musicians featured on this recording: Music Collec on
Bovicelli and Francesco Rognoni. Track 11: Ed. G S Bedbrook, Bärenreiter, Kassel,
1958
The process of studying, analysing and Track 12: Ed. Gawain Glenton, Septenary
pu ng into prac ce the diverse Edi ons, Frome, 2018
ornamental styles of these master Track 15: Ed. Kenneth Gilbert, Zanibon
musicians has been enlightening and Edi on 1991
immensely rewarding. It is sincerely to Track 16: Ed. Boris Medicky, Toronto 2017
be hoped that the materials and methods Track 17: Ed. Elam Rotem, Basel 2016
developed during this explora on can Track 20: Ed. Bernard Thomas, London Pro
be of benefit to current and future Musica Edi on, London, 1980
genera ons of musicians eager to explore Track 22: Pierre Pidoux, Bärenreiter,
this fascina ng musical territory. Kassel, 1959
© 2021 Oliver Webber
Three styles of diminu on. Top: Girolamo dalla Casa (1584),
‘mixed’ diminu ons from Andrea Gabrieli’s Amor mi strugge il cor;
middle: Riccardo Rognoni (1592), characteris c ornamental pa erns from Anchor che col par re;
bo om: Giovanni Ba sta Bovicelli (1594), ‘accen ’ and ‘passaggi’ in Dilectus tuus candidusMusical sources Track 16. Carlo G’ manuscript, Italy, early The Monteverdi String Band Con Arte e Maestria is the first of a series
17th century of microprojects under the banner
Track 1. Ricercate, passaggi et caden e, Track 17. Sacrae Can ones Vna, Duabusque The Monteverdi String Band is dedicated to Monteverdi String Band In Focus, in which
Venice 1585 vocibus concinendae, Modena, 1618 celebra ng the sound and style of the early we offer more in mate chamber programmes.
Track 2. Primo libro di madrigali a 4 voci Track 18. Canzoni da sonare a 4 voci, Libro violin consort, in both well-established
di Perrissone Cambio, con alcuni di primo, Venice, 1600 repertoire and crea ve new programmes. www.monteverdistringband.com
Cipriano Rore, Venice, 1547. Ornaments by Track 19. Il Dolcimelo, Bologna, Civico Our instruments are modelled on originals
Riccardo Rognoni: Passaggi per potersi Museo Bibliografico Musicale, ms. C 33 from the early decades of the seventeenth
essercitare nel Diminuire terminatamente (c.1600) century; enhanced by pure gut strings in
con ogni sorte d’Istromen , Venice, 1592 Track 20. Il Desiderio. Secondo Libro de equal tension, they lend the ensemble a
Track 3. Il primo libro de madrigali a 4 voci, Madrigali a Cinque Voci de diuersi Au ori, rich, grounded and blended tone.
Rome, 1555 Venice, 1566
Track 4. Secondo Libro di Diversi Capricci per Track 21. Intona oni d‘organo, Libro Primo, Our programming has been inspired by the
Sonare, Naples, 1609 Venice, 1593 rich cultural milieu of Italy c.1600, and has
Track 5. Affe Musicali, op.1, Venice, 1617 Track 22. Il terzo libro delle Muse a 5 voci, included a staged reimagining of
Track 6. L’Unziesme Livre [de] Chansons da diversi Eccellen ssimi Musici, Venice, 1561 Monteverdi’s Comba mento in its original
Amoureuses, Antwerp, 1549 Track 23. Selva de Varii Passaggi secondo l’uso context, a collabora on with playwright
Track 7. Tiers livre des chansons a 4-6 par es, moderno, parte seconda, Milan, 1620 Clare Norburn on the life, thought and
Louvain, 1560 music of Galileo, and a celebra on of the
Track 8. Il Vero Modo di Diminuir, con Tu e madrigal in which we interleave ‘modern’
le Sor di Stromen , Venice, 1584 (seventeenth century!) and ancient (sixteenth
Track 9. Breslau Mus.Ms.115, early 17th century century) madrigals with contemporary readings.
Track 10. Girolamo Diruta, il Transilvano,
Venice, 1597 Immersing ourselves in the repertoire, idioms
Track 11. Motecta, Venice, 1572 and literature of Monteverdi’s me helps us
Track 12. Regole, passaggi di musica, madrigali to bring extra insight to well-known
et mote passeggia , Venice, 1594 repertoire such as the remarkable Vespers
Track 13. Il primo libro de madrigali a cinque and the genre-defining operas; MSB and their
voci novamento compos , Ferrara, 1550 director Oliver Webber have enjoyed several
Track 14. Toccate e corren d’intavolatura collabora ve produc ons with the Brighton
d’organo e cembalo, Rome, n.d Early Music Fes val.
Track 15.Sonate Concertate in S l Moderno,
Libro Secondo, Venice, 1644Oliver Webber (violin) bring out quali es missing from earlier
recordings’. He teaches baroque violin and
An eclec c, interna onal educa on laid the viola at the Guildhall School of Music and
founda ons for Oliver Webber’s adventurous Drama. His work on historical ornamenta on
approach to historical performance. His styles has pioneered new methods of
scien fic studies and passion for historical teaching, leading to an invita on to Perth,
Italian literature and language have inspired Australia in 2022. He was awarded Fellowship
programming for his ensemble, Monteverdi of the Higher Educa on Academy in
String Band (MSB), whose performances have November 2020.
included poetry, sword-figh ng and a
specially commissioned play on the life Drawing on his studies of Italian language and
of Galileo. poetry, he also works with singers on the
rhetoric and rhythm of early opera, and has
Outside MSB, Oliver enjoys making chamber been coaching singers in the Brighton Early
music with the London Handel Players, Music Fes val for several years, working in
Passacaglia, and the Bach Players, and can close collabora on with fes val director
o en be seen working as principal and guest Deborah Roberts and stage director
leader with Gabrieli, the London Handel Thomas Guthrie. These projects, drawing
Orchestra, Early Opera Company, and the together different strands of exper se
English Baroque Soloists. towards the same ul mate goal – telling a
story and moving the audience – are
He makes his own gut strings, and his amongst the most ar s cally rewarding
research on this topic has influenced many projects of his career to date.
ensembles worldwide. Connec ng the
worlds of scholarship and performance is
a par cular passion; he was engaged by
Gabrieli from 2017–19 to run workshops on
historical bow-holds, advise on instruments
and stringing, and research ornamenta on
for their award-winning recordings of
Purcell’s King Arthur and Fairy Queen in
2019, of which BBC Music Magazine
remarked ‘rediscovered string techniquesSteven Devine (harpsichord and organ) regular performer there – including making
his Proms direc ng debut in August 2007 with
Steven Devine enjoys a busy career as a the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. He
music director and keyboard player working has conducted the Mozart Fes val Orchestra
with some of the finest musicians. in every major concert hall in the UK and also
across Switzerland. Steven is Music Director
He is the principal keyboard player with the for New Chamber Opera in Oxford and with
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and them has performed repertoire from Cavalli
also the principal keyboard player for The to Rossini. For the Dar ngton Fes val Opera
Gonzaga Band, Classical Opera (The he has conducted Handel’s Orlando and
Mozar sts) and performs regularly with Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. He is currently
many other groups around Europe. Steven conductor and Ar s c Advisor for the
is a regular keyboard player with the English Haydn Fes val in Bridgnorth.
Monteverdi String Band and took part in
their ground-breaking Monteverdi Steven works regularly with the Norwegian
Comba mento project. He has recorded Wind Ensemble, Trondheim Barokk, the
over thirty discs with other ar sts and Victoria Baroque Players (BC, Canada) and
ensembles and made six solo recordings. Arion Baroque Ensemble (Montreal).
His recording of Bach’s Goldberg Varia ons
(Chandos Records) has received cri cal He teaches harpsichord and fortepiano at
acclaim – including Gramophone magazine Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London and
describing it as ‘among the best’. The is Early Keyboard Consultant to the Royal
complete harpsichord works of Rameau Birmingham Conservatoire and Royal
(Resonus) has received five-star reviews Welsh Colleges.
from BBC Music Magazine and Steven’s
latest recording of Bach’s Italian Concerto Finally, Steven is thrilled to be a member of
has been voted Classic FM’s Connoisseur’s the ground-breaking Art of Moog: an
choice. Steven has recently released both electronic music group specialising in the
books of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier on performance of Bach.
Resonus.
He made his London conduc ng debut in
2002 at the Royal Albert Hall and is now aInstruments
More titles from Resonus Classics
www.sonusparadisi.cz; each pipe of the
original organ was sampled on three-channel The Gonzaga Band - Venice 1629
Performing pitch: a' = 466 Hz; audio to enable the crea on of a 3D aural The Gonzaga Band
Keyboard temperament: ¼ comma mean tone. image, and realised using the Hauptwerk RES10218
virtual pipe organ so ware. The wooden
Violin midi keyboard was made by Luca Pane , ‘This is a splendid CD [...] spontaneous, musical and
Oliver Webber plays a violin by George and the organ case by Jeffery Newton. is a pleasure to listen to from beginning to end.’
Stoppani (2005) based on an original by Early Music Review (5 stars)
Antonio and Girolamo Ama , Cremona, Acknowledgements
1595; more informa on is available at
www.themonteverdiviolins.org. This project has been generously supported
Gut strings in equal tension were supplied by by funding from the Innova on Department
Toro, Aquila and Real Guts. of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. J.S. Bach: Das wohltemperierte Klavier
The bow is a copy of a late sixteenth-century (The Well-Tempered Clavier), Volume 1
original in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, We would also like to extend our sincere Steven Devine
Vienna (SAM 107), specially commissioned gra tude to: RES10239 (2 CDs)
for this recording from Philip Brown, The Rev. Christopher Davies and Parish
Newbury: www.philipbrownviolins.co.uk Administrator Sam Alder, St John’s Church, ‘[Devine’s readings are flowing and logical, with
Loughton; Jamie Savan for supplying and variety brought to the entire set first and foremost
Harpsichord se ng up the Hauptwerk organ; Elam Rotem by his extraordinarily sensitive articulation.’
Steven Devine plays a single-strung for invaluable advice interpre ng symbols in Gramophone
instrument by Colin Booth, 1998, based on the Carlo G manuscript; Jerzy Źak for permission
a 1533 original by Domenico da Pesauro. to use the Breslau 115 manuscript; Philip
Brown for his enthusiasm and exper se in
Organ crea ng the bow; and Helen Roberts of
Deprived of the possibility of recording on Septenary Edi ons for crea ng the Passaggi © 2021 Resonus Limited
è 2021 Resonus Limited
loca on with a suitable historical organ, we app: an invaluable prac ce resource for this Recorded in St John’s Church, Loughton on 10–12 February 2021
opted for a twenty-first century solu on: an repertoire. Engineer, editor & producer: Adam Binks
electronic sampling of an original Vene an Recorded at 24-bit/96kHz resolution
organ. The instrument sampled for this This recording is dedicated to the memory Cover image: Ionic column by binabina (istockphoto.com)
purpose, in the church of St Maria d’Alieto, of Margaret Webber, in gra tude for a
Izola, Slovenia, was built by the Vene an RESONUS LIMITED – UK
life me of love and support.
Pietro Nachini (1694–1769), firmly in the info@resonusclassics.com
tradi on of Vene an organ building stretching www.resonusclassics.com
back to Vincenzo Colombi in the sixteenth
century. Specifica ons can be found atRES10282
You can also read
