17th & 18th Century Organ Toccatas, Sonatas, and Canzonas
From the manuscript “A.7b.63 Cass” of the library of the Conservatory of Genoa
Rodolfo Bellatti (organ)
rec. 2021/2022, Oratorio N.S. del Suffragio & S. Lorenzo della Costa, Santa Margherita Ligure; S.M. del Campo, Rapallo, Italy
Reviewed as a download
Da Vinci Classics C00930 [72]
The present disc brings us to Liguria, a region in the northwest of Italy, whose capital is Genoa. It has a tradition of its own, both in organ building and composing for the organ. Rodolfo Bellatti plays three organs in Liguria, in S. Margherita Ligure and Rapallo respectively, and on the programme is music from a manuscript that is preserved in the library of Genoa Conservatory. It was compiled in Liguria by several copyists from the second half of the 17th century to the end of the 18th century. It includes music from the region and by composers from elsewhere.
Italian organ building was generally rather conservative; many organs of the 18th century are not that different from those built in the previous centuries, including temperature (mostly meantone). So was the way of notating organ music: the whole collection is presented in Italian keyboard tablature, featuring six staves for the right hand and eight for the left.
The collection consists roughly of two sections: music from the 17th and early 18th centuries and pieces from between 1730 and 1800 written in the galant idiom. Many pieces are anonymous, and some are attributed to composers from Liguria and elsewhere. Most notable among the latter category is George Frideric Handel, spelled ‘Hendel’. According to Rodolfo Bellatti, in his liner-notes, the Toccata 3a is part of a Capriccio by Handel. (He does not specify which of the two Capriccios in Handel’s work-list.) The track-list mentions the pieces as they are called in the collection.
The programme opens with a toccata, a specimen of a popular genre among keyboard players of the 16th and 17th centuries, rooting in the practice of improvisation, and that is how this piece sounds. It is followed by an example of another common genre, the canzona, which has its origin in vocal music. The third item is attributed to Alessandro Scarlatti. The piece has no title, but is appropriately called here a toccata. The Italian label Tactus has released a complete recording of Scarlatti’s keyboard music, performed by Francesco Tasini. I can’t check whether he included this piece in his project. Having heard many of his keyboard works, it seems to be very much like Scarlatti. The first section of the programme closes with a piece to be played during the offertory. It is attributed to a certain Sig.r Mangiarotti, but it is in fact the Sonata cromatica by Tarquinio Merula. The last section in particular includes strong dissonances, due to the combination of chromaticism and meantone temperament (1/4 comma).
The second section is entirely liturgical: the Kyrie and Gloria of the Missa Orbis factor. This is an example of the alternatim practice in the liturgy: the verses of the two first mass movements are alternately sung in plainchant and performed at the organ. This was a very common practice, and many organ versets for liturgical use are known from Italy and France. They are often performed and recorded separately, but their character only comes off to full effect when the plainchant verses are sung, as is the case here.
The music of these two sections is played on an instrument whose construction was entrusted in 1686 to Giuliano Giovannini, cymbal player at the court of the Medici family of Florence, but brought to completion two years later, in 1688, by Tommaso I Roccatagliata. The latter was strongly influenced by the Flemish organ builder Willem Hermans, who built a number of organs in Italy. It has one manual, divided between treble and bass, and an attached pedal-board.
The next section consists of music from around 1700 of a more secular character. However, one has to keep in mind that there was no strict separation between the sacred and the secular: pieces of a ‘concertante’ character could be played during the liturgy, just like sonate da chiesa for two violins and basso continuo. First we get another toccata and canzona; the second comes without a title. Next is a toccata attributed to Handel. The work-list at gfhandel.org mentions only one toccata; it is very questionable whether this piece is indeed of Handel’s pen. It is in three sections: the first is a toccata in free style, the second is fugal, and the last canzona-like. The fourth piece is called Piva, a dance which has its origin in the 15th century. Originally it was a fast peasant dance, but in the course of time it turned into a more solemn dance, as is demonstrated in the Pifa in Handel’s oratorio Messiah. The Piva played here is in three sections: in the first and third the left hand plays a long-held tone, imitating a drone. In the more lively middle section Rodolfo Bellatti uses the uccelliera, an accessory that imitates birdsong.
The pieces in this section are played on an organ built by Francesco Ciurlo in 1793. It has one manual, split into treble and bass, and an attached pedal-board. The temperament is 1/6 comma.
The last section opens with the Toccata 3a by Handel, already mentioned above. It strongly reminds me of the music that was written in Germany in the early 18th century, also because its fugal structure. The second piece is an Elevazione, to be played during the elevation, the ritual raising of the consecrated Sacred Body and Blood of Christ during the celebration of the Eucharist. Many such pieces have been written by Italian composers of the 16th and 17th centuries. They have a character of their own, which is easily recognizable, also because they are usually performed with the vox humana, a stop which produces a tremolo sound; that is also how it is played here.
The Sonata con flauti by Antonio Maria Tasso, a Ligurian composer, is written in the galant idiom. During the mid-18th century many composers wrote such pieces, referring to the transverse flute, which was the most popular instrument among amateurs in the galant period. The ensuing anonymous Pastorale is comparable with the Piva mentioned above. It consists of several sections, and in two of them the left hand plays a long-held note. The two sonatas that close the programme are in the same style as the piece by Tasso.
This part of the programme is played on an instrument by Marcello Ciurlo from 1824. This organ attests to the conservatism in Italian organ building, as it has still only one manual, split into treble and bass, and an attached pedal-board. Add to that a meantone temperament (1/4 comma), which had become obsolete in most parts of Europe.
This is the second disc which Rodolfo Bellatti devoted to Ligurian organs. The first, released in 2021, comprised sonatas from the 18th century. Lovers of organ music are advised to search for that disc, as the organ landscape of Liguria is quite interesting and little-known, certainly outside Italy. This is the first time that I have heard these organs. The fact that these instruments are presented with repertoire that is also largely unknown – and not available in a modern edition, until Bellatti took care of it – makes this release all the more important. In him we have a skilful guide through the landscape of music and instruments. His playing is lively and well-articulated, and he makes an effective and meaningful use of the stops of the three organs.
Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
https://bsky.app/profile/musicadeidonum.bsky.social
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Contents
anonymous
Toccata in A la mi re
[Canzona in A la mi re]
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725)
[Toccata di] Scarlatti
Tarquinio Merula (1595-1665)
Sonata Cromatica (‘Del Sig.r Mangiarotti: Per l’Offertorio)
anonymous
Missa Orbis factor* (Versetti in D la sol re):
Kyrie
Gloria
anonymous
Toccata [in C sol fa ut]
[Canzona in C sol fa ut]
? George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Toccata 2a Hendel
anonymous
Piva
? George Frideric Handel
Toccata 3a Hendel
anonymous
Elevazione [II]
Antonio Maria Tasso (1703-?)
Sonata con flauti del Sig. Don Ant. M.a Tasso
anonymous
Pastorale
[Sonata] Allegro
Sonata allegro
* with Luca Dellacasa (plainchant)
