musica Dei donum
CD reviews
"Music for the House of a Gentleman"
Ensemble Trictilla
rec: June 2006, Florence, Palazzo Grifoni Budini Gattai
Brilliant Classics - 95090 (© 2015) (54'30")
Liner-notes: E; no lyrics
Cover & track-list
anon:
Fusi pavana piana [6];
La pastorella si leva per tempo;
Romanesca di lyra;
Jacques ARCADELT (1504/05-1568):
Il bianco e dolce cigno [4];
Girolamo DALLA CASA (?-1601):
Suzanne un jour (Lassus) [11];
Giovanni Maria DA CREMA (fl early 16th C):
Fantasia settima (with second lute part by Johannes Matelart) [5];
Joan Ambrosius DALZA (fl early 16th C):
Pavana alla venetiana [2];
Marco FACOLI (c1560-1590):
Pasamezo di nome anticho;
Orlandus LASSUS (1532-1594):
Oculus non vidit [10];
Qui sequitur [10];
Giorgio MAINERIO (1535-1582):
Ballo francese [9];
Ballo milaenese [9];
Arboscello, ballo furlano [9];
Ungarescha e saltarello [9];
Schiarazula Marazula [9];
Ascanio MAYONE (c1565-1627):
Recercar sopra il canto fermo di Costanzo Festa e per sonar all'arpa [12];
Francesco DA MILANO (1497-1543):
Canone (with a second lute part by Johannes Matelart) [5];
Fantasia sexta (with a second lute part by Johannes Matelart) [5];
Diego ORTIZ (1510-1570):
O felici occhi miei (Arcadelt) [7];
Francesco ROGNONI Taeggio (?-after 1626):
Vestiva i colli (Palestrina) [13];
Vincenzo RUFFO (1510-1587):
La gamba in basso e soprano [8];
Francesco SPINACINO (?-after 1507):
Adieu mon amour [1];
Recercare [1];
Philippe VERDELOT (c1470/80-1522?):
Donna che sete tra le belle, bella [3]
Sources:
[1] Francesco Spinacino, Intabulatura de lauto, libro primo, 1507;
[2] Joan Ambrosius Dalza, Intabolatura di lauto libro quarto, 1508;
[3] Adrian Willaert, ed, Intavolatura de li madrigali di Verdelotto, 1536;
[4] Jacques Arcadelt, Il primo libro di madrigali, 1539;
[5] Giovanni Maria da Crema, ed, Intabolatura de lautto libro settimo, 1548;
[6] div, Intavolatura di balli de sonare, 1551;
[7] Diego Ortiz, Trattado de glosas sobre clausulas y otros generos de puntos en la musica de violones, 1553;
[8] Vincenzo Ruffo, Capricci in musica a tre voci, 1564;
[9] Giorgio Mainerio, Il primo libro de balli a quattro voci, 1578;
[10] Orlandus Lassus, Motetti et Ricercari a due voci, libro primo, 1579;
[11] Girolamo dalla Casa, Il vero modo di diminuir, 1584;
[12] Ascanio Mayone, Secondo libro di diversi capricci per sonare, 1609;
[13] Francesco Rognoni Taeggio, Selva de varii passaggi secondo l'uso moderno, 1620
Lucia Sciannimanico, mezzo-soprano;
Giulia Nuti, recorder, harpsichord;
Valerio Losito, violin, lyra da braccio;
Marta Graziolino, harp;
André Henrich, lute
Music was one of the main preoccupations in the highest echelons of society in the 16th century. Learning to play an instrument or to sing was part of the education of any true gentleman. That word is derived from 'gentle' which an early 17th-century Italian dictionary defined as 'noble, gracious, courteous'. "The gentleman who studied and cultivated music was a true dilettante, in that he practised the art of music for his own delight (diletto) and education", the liner-notes to this disc state. Until well into the 18th century members of the aristocracy who were active as composers used the word dilettante to distinguish themselves from those who composed for a living. The social status of the latter was rather low.
The 16th century was the time when music printing became a major business. Several music publishers printed a considerable number of collections with vocal music (chansons, madrigals) or instrumental pieces, mostly dances. Such music was aimed at the upper class to play and sing privately or with family and friends. That also influences the way this repertoire is performed. "The noble dilettante's chosen instruments were the lute, the harpsichord, the lyra da braccio and of course the voice. No self-respecting gentlemen would have accommodated in his own dwelling the vulgar instruments of street music: cornets, trumpets, crumhorns and percussion". The mentioning of the latter is especially interesting as many recordings of 16th-century dance music include percussion which some performers seem to consider indispensable. This disc proves otherwise as the programme includes several dances whose character comes off perfectly in performances with a string or a plucked instrument or various combinations of instruments as used by gentlemen in the renaissance.
The recording dates from 2006 and was originally made for the exhibition "At home in Renaissance Italy" in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It comprises a wide variety of forms as were common in the renaissance. Dance music figures prominently, and among the dances are several which have their origins in folk music. However, here they are presented in a more 'sophisticated' way, in line with performance practice among the higher echelons of society. Dances were sometimes intended for various instruments but were also part of the repertoire of single instruments, not only the lute but also the harp and various keyboard instruments.
The track-list shows that vocal music was still dominant in the 16th century: many instrumental pieces were connected in one way or another to vocal music. At this time most of this was polyphonic, and to be performed by an ensemble of singers. However, it was also possible to perform them with one voice and a chordal instrument, such as the harp or the lute. In that case the singer took the upper voice and the instrument played a kind of 'reduction' of the remaining voices. That is the way we hear several vocal items here, such as one of Jacques Arcadelt's best-known madrigals, Il bianco e dolce cigno.
Some madrigals were so famous that composers took them as a subject for arrangements. Especially popular were extended embellishments of one of the parts of a vocal piece, mostly the upper part. These were known as divisions, diminuzioni, passaggi or diferencias. This genre emerged in the last decades of the 16th century and foreshadows the instrumental virtuosity which was one of the features of the new style of the 17th century. The programme also includes a recercar by Ascanio Mayone, one of the main keyboard and harp players and composers of the time around 1600. This piece already reflects another feature of the seconda prattica which was born in the early 17th century: experiments in the realm of harmony.
This is a most interesting recording which approaches the wide range of repertoire from the Italian renaissance from a specific angle. It gives some idea about the various ways in which vocal and instrumental music could be performed. The interpretation leaves nothing to be desired. The singing and playing by the members of the Ensemble Trictilla is first-class and the programme is put together in such a way that a maximum variety is guaranteed.
The liner-notes are informative, and the booklet includes a specification of the instruments used and a list of the sources from which the music is taken. Unfortunately lyrics of the vocal items are not included.
This is musical entertainment of the highest order and the quality of music and performances makes this disc suitable for repeated listening.
Johan van Veen (© 2015)