Ferdinando Carulli (1770-1841)
Rediscovered Vol. 2
Marcello Fantoni (guitar)
rec. 2024, Sala Musicale Giadino, Crema, Italy
Dynamic CDS8062 [73]

This CD is the second entitled Carulli Rediscovered by guitarist Marcello Fantoni; I recently reviewed Volume 1. That first CD received an Italian award for best Italian guitar album for the year of 2023. It gained this not only for the guitarist’s performance, but also for the originality and quality of the project.

Given Segovia’s rather critical analysis of composers of the era such as Carulli, inferring a ‘fervent and devoted incompetence’ with which they imbued the guitar’s repertory, Marcello Fantoni has still managed to select an additional 12 composition by Carulli of significant worth, which are included in Volume 2; of these, six have never previously been recorded.

We can never be quite sure of exactly what access Segovia had to manuscripts of his predecessors, such as Carulli. There is evidence to support that he used the manuscripts of Napoleon Coste in his editing of the famous 1945 publication, 20 Studies for the Guitar by Fernando Sor, rather than originals by the composer.

Some 30 years ago a compilation by Mario Torta, representing as many as 366 opus numbers by Carulli, was published This CD contains some rarely and very rarely performed works by Carulli from that compilation. Except for Opus 320, recorded in 1992 by Alfonso Baschiera, the other six works here are recorded for the first time. Whether Segovia had access to any of these works and many others of the same era, or his rather arrogant, inconsistent, and insular attitude to guitar repertory caused him to ignore them, is a matter for conjecture. He certainly never recorded any of Carulli’s works in his extensive discography.

The longest work in the programme is the Grand Sonata in A major Op. 83, just over 18 minutes long. It was published by Nadermann, Paris, in 1815. Rather highly virtuosic, the music is not particularly consistent in quality. The first two programme items bear the same opus number, coming from the same collection of works. The Rondo in A major is melodically rather attractive and occasionally displays a trait characteristic of Carulli’s writing; one of melancholy. The last item on the programme is the Estudio in B minor Op. 192. Paralleling the mood of Sor’s famous study in the same key (Op.35 No.22), it is full of melancholy and offers no opportunity for virtuosic display.

Despite my personal preference for the much later instrument design by Torres, Fantoni manages to extract a rather pleasing tone and general sound from the René Lacôte , Paris 1820, guitar which he plays here. This is the best sound from a period instrument that I have heard on recordings. Most inhibit rather than complement the musician. Lacôte was not only a skilled luthier, but also an astute marketer. He collaborated with virtuosi of the time including Aguado, Coste, Legnani and Fernando Sor in the development of his designs and subsequent patents. Irrespective, instruments of the time generally exhibit hollowness, and lack of volume which Torres managed to significantly improve upon, and aspects of which continue to challenge modern-day luthiers,

Marcello is a fine guitarist musically and technically, and his affinity for this music is amply displayed in this CD, as it is in the aforementioned Volume I. His tone is round and strong despite the limitation of the period instrument employed. If one could muster any slight criticism at all, it would be that on odd occasions in very fast, single note passages, the picado is not completely convincing.

Zane Turner

Contents
Grande Sonata Op.114
Rondo Op.114
Overture No 1 Op 6(a)
Overture No 2 6(a)
Overture No 3 Op 6(a)
Andante No 1 Op. 320
Andante No 2  Op. 330
Andante No 3 Op. 320
Andante No 4 Op. 320
Andante No 5 Op.. 320
Andante No 5 Op. 320
Andante No 6 Op. 320
Grande Sonata in A major Op. 83
Etude in B minor Op. 192

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