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CD reviews
Giovanni Battista RICCIO (1563 - after 1620): "Vocem iucunditatis - Sacred and Instrumental Music"
Anna Piroli, soprano;
Maria Chiara Gallo, contralto;
Massimo Lombardi, tenor;
Alessandro Ravasio, bass
Estrovagante Ensemble
Dir: Riccardo Doni
rec: Oct 29 - Nov 1, 2024, Vigevano (PV), Seminario Vescovile
Dynamic - CDS8080 (© 2026) (57'05")
Liner-notes: E/IT; lyrics - translations: E
Cover, track-list & booklet
Scores
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Ascensionis hodie (Basso e soprano overo tenore) [1];
Ascensionis hodie (Basso e soprano overo tenore diminuito al soprano) [1];
Ave Domine (Basso et duoi soprani overo tenori) [2];
Canzon à 2 (Basso e soprano) [2];
Canzon à 2 in echo (A doi soprani in echo) [2];
Canzon à 4 (Canto, alto, tenore e basso) [2];
Canzone (Basso e soprano overo alla quarta bassa flautino e basso) [1];
Congratulamini mihi (Basso e soprano overo tenore) [1];
Deus canticum novum (A doi tenori overo soprani) [2];
Dilectus meus (Basso et duoi soprani overo tenori) [2];
Ego dormio (Basso e tenore overo soprano) [1];
Ego sum panis vivus (Canto, tenore, alto et basso) [2];
Exultat Maria (Canto, alto, tenore e basso) [2];
In te Domine speravi (Basso e soprano overo tenore) [1];
Indica mihi (Basso e soprano overo tenore) [1];
Salve Regina (Doi soprani overo tenori in echo) [1];
Sonata a quattro (Canto, alto, tenore et basso) [2];
Surrexit Dominus (Basso e soprano overo tenore) [1];
Surrexit Dominus (Basso e soprano overo tenore diminuito al soprano) [1];
Vocem iucunditatis (Basso a una voce) [2]
Sources:
[1] Il primo libro delle divine lodi, 16122;
[2] Il secondo libro delle divine lodi, 1614
Angelo Calvo, Francesco Facchini, violin;
Giulio Padoin, cello;
Laura La Vecchia, lute;
Riccardo Doni, harpsichord;
Franz Silvestri, organ
Giovanni Battista Riccio is a well-known composer. Pieces of his pen regularly appear on concert programmes and in anthologies on disc. However, until the disc which is the subject of this review was released, no recording seems to have been devoted entirely to his oeuvre. That is not surprising: his extant output is rather small, and the two books to which the present disc is devoted, include a number of pieces that are incomplete. Some reconstruction work needed to be done to make them suitable for performance.
Riccio is one of those composers about whom little is known. The year of his death is not known, and we also don't know from whom he received his musical education. Fact is that his oeuvre shows a strong influence of Giovanni Gabrieli; several of his works are (partly) arrangements of pieces by the Venetian master. In 1609 Riccio was appointed organist at the Venetian confraternity of S Giovanni Evangelista, although he was a violinist by profession, as his contract describes him. That is all we know about his career.
His oeuvre consists of three books with the title of Divini lodi musicali, which were published between 1612 (although that is the year of the second edition; the first may have been published earlier) and 1620. They consist of instrumental pieces and sacred vocal works: concertos, a mass and a Magnificat. In addition one canzona is included in an anthology.
As the reader may know, music at that time was mostly printed in separate partbooks rather than scores. Because of that it is not surprising that some partbooks are lost. That is also the case with the first two books by Riccio. However, at a closer look, the number of incomplete pieces is not that large. In the first book seven out of 28 pieces are incomplete, meaning that one of the partbooks is missing. The same is the case with the second book, in which five out of 35 pieces are incomplete. This indicates that there is little reason to almost completely ignore these two books. It seems that most ensembles focus on the third book.
The instrumental pieces are mostly canzonas (sometimes the word canzona is oddly translated as 'song' in the booklet). They consist of different sections following each other attacca. That is a hallmark of what later Athanasius Kircher called the stylus phantasticus. The sections can differ in tempo and in meter, switching from binary to ternary and back. They are scored for two instruments and basso continuo. The instruments to be used are not specified, as was customary at the time. This leaves the line-up to the discretion of the performers. The Estrovagante Ensemble decided to use only violins.
The vocal works are scored for one to four voices. Although it cannot be entirely excluded that the pieces for four voices could be performed with a larger ensemble, the fact that most pieces are for a smaller number of voices, and the declamatory nature of the vocal parts, strongly point in the direction of a performance with solo voices, as is the case here.
Each sacred concerto has an indication of the scoring, but Riccio mostly offers an alternative. Ego dormio, for instance, has the indication basso e tenore overo soprano. The performers can decide to perform the high part with a soprano or a tenor. What has been the reason to choose one voice over the other is mostly not revealed. There is one exception: Indica mihi is a dialogue taken from the Old Testament book Song of Songs. The scoring says basso e soprano overo tenore. In the liner-notes we read that the upper part is performed by the soprano "the better to render the dialogue between the bride and groom (...)". I find this rather odd. First, although the text indicates the roles (Lo sposo - La sposa), the fact that the role of the bride can be sung by a tenor indicates that there was no connection between a character and the gender of the performer. The reader may remember that the concerto Nigra sum in Monteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine is scored for tenor, although there the woman who figures in the Song of Songs is speaking. Second, in Riccio's time all sacred music was sung by male voices. Therefore this is a nonsense argument.
The fact that these sacred concertos are scored for solo voices allows for a close connection between text and music. They include several clear examples, some of which are mentioned in the liner-notes. Such things are used to emphasize the character or importance of the text. In Exultat Maria, the last line is extended: "O happy, o loving, o sweet Virgin Mary". That does not surprise, given the importance of the veneration of Mary in Italy (and especially in Venice). Likewise, in Ego dormio, already mentioned above, the first line is split into two contrasting halves: "I sleep - but my heart waketh". A special case is Salve Regina in echo: it is scored for two sopranos, the second of which either imitates the first, or repeats the latter's last word. The echo technique was quite popular at the time; I refer here - again - to Monteverdi's Vespers. The same technique is also used in one of the instrumental pieces, the only Canzone in the collection of 1612.
The fact that a number of pieces required reconstruction has already been mentioned. The way this has been done is explained in the booklet. Obviously, part of it is speculative, and it is not claimed that these reconstructions are 'authentic'. However, the decisions are taken with great care and utmost respect for Riccio's style and the conventions of his time. To my ears they sound very convincing. It is nice that the performers have put so much effort into making the incomplete pieces fit for performance.
The result is a highly enjoyable recording. That is due in the first place to Riccio. These pieces may not be of the calibre of what we know of Monteverdi or Grandi, but they are certainly not to be overlooked. A recording like this one is well justified, and I could imagine Riccio's sacred concertos, for instance, as replacements of antiphons in Vesper performances. The quality of this recording is also due to the performers. The four singers are excellent: they master the art of declamation, which is the main skill each interpreter of this kind of repertoire needs. Their voices blend perfectly, which is another important aspect, given that most pieces are for two to four voices. The only issue may be that the dynamic differentation could have been stronger: I would have liked a more frequent and marked application of the messa di voce. The instrumentalists are first class as well. The canzonas receive excellent performances. The only issue here is that the use of a cello is anachronistic. It is nice that two pieces for two voices are performed in two versions: first the original with two singers, and then a performance in which the upper voice is performed by the violin, with additional diminutions.
Conclusion: this disc is an important step towards a more complete portrait of a composer who has left more than just a few canzonas. It is to be hoped that more of Riccio's vocal music is going to be recorded.
Johan van Veen (© 2026)
Relevant links:
Massimo Lombardi