musica Dei donum
CD reviews
"In copisteria del Conte - Il diletto musicale nei palazzi genovesi"
Antoinette Lohmanna, Sara de Vriesb, violin;
Viola de Hoogc, Gied van Oorschotd, Jacopo Ristorie, cello;
Jesse Solway, double bassf;
Earl Christy, theorbog;
Anna Pontz, psalteryh
Gut String Quarteti
Dir: Jacopo Ristori
rec: July 2023, Uitwijk, OLV Kerk
Snakewood Editions - SCD202401 (© 2024) (2.16'04")
Liner-notes: E/IT
Cover & track-list
Gasparo ARNALDI (?-?):
Sonata (I) for psaltery, violin and cello in Gbeh;
Sonata (II) for psaltery, violin and cello in Gbeh;
Emanuele BARBELLA (1718-1777):
Sonata for 2 violins in Fab;
Sonata for 2 violins in Gab;
Luigi BOCCHERINI (1743-1805):
Sonata for cello and bc in F (G 579)ef;
Sonata for 2 cellos in D (G 571)ce;
Carlo FERRARI (1714-1790):
Gara for 2 cellos in Ace;
Gara for 2 cellos in B flatce;
Michele GALLUCCI (?-?):
Sonata for cello and bc in Ddeg;
Franz Anton HOFFMEISTER (1754-1812) (attr to Pietro NARDINI, 1722-1793):
Quartet for 2 violins, viola and cello No. 1 in Gi;
Quartet for 2 violins, viola and cello No. 2 in Ci
[Gut String Qt] Antoinette Lohmann, Giorgos Samoilis, violin; Sara de Vries, viola; Jacopo Ristori, cello
There are many different ways to put together a programme of music. One of them is to focus on music life in one particular region or town. That is the case with the set of two discs under review, as the subtitle shows: "Musical delight in the Genoese palaces". However, the programme seems not to include any music by a composer from Genoa. If we have a look at the article on this Italian town in New Grove, a number of "eminent composers" born or active in Genoa are mentioned, but only a few names are still well-known, such as Michelangelo Rossi from the 17th century and Giovanni Antonio Guido (1675?-1729), who studied the violin in Naples, entered the service of the Royal Chapel and then settled in Paris, probably in 1702. The most famous Genoese composer is Nicolò Paganini, but he left the town and seldom returned. Moreover, with him we are firmly in the romantic period, whereas this project focuses on the classical period: the second half of the 18th century and the early 19th century.
Jacopo Ristori, who studied in Genoa, took a rather original approach to explore what was performed there: the products from the copy shop of Count Federico Taccoli (c1727-1809), the person which the title of this production refers to.
It is no coincidence that most of Vivaldi's music was printed in Amsterdam. It was one of the main centres of music printing in Europe, alongside Paris and London. Italy did not have something comparable. If people from the higher echelons of society wanted to get some music to play, they went to a copy shop, and in Genoa it was Count Taccoli who run such a shop, between 1751 and the early 1800s. He was a nobleman, and a rather colourful, but also quite unpleasant character, as the Genoese scholar Davide Mingozzi explains in an interview on Jacopo Ristori's website (in Italian, with an English transcription). Many scores that were copied in his shop are now part of the library of the Paganini Conservatory of Genoa. "As far as can be gathered from the ancient records of the Conservatory, Taccoli copied or had copies made both from manuscripts in his possession and from musical editions published abroad." (booklet) Taccoli's copies are very good, in comparison with copies by others. Even so, the two string quartets included in the programme, were offered by him with the name of Pietro Nardini as the composer. They are also part of six quartets Op. 9, published in Amsterdam under the name of Franz Anton Hoffmeister, and there are two sources which have them in manuscript with the same name. That makes it likely that he indeed is the composer. Mingozzi comes up with several suggestions to explain this apparent error from Taccoli. He does not mention the possibility that Taccoli changed the name of the composer on purpose. His customers may not have known a composer with the name of Hoffmeister, but Nardini they knew very well. He was the most famous violinist of his time in Italy, and a pupil of the celebrated Giuseppe Tartini.
The compositions on these two discs are various in scoring. They are not connected in a musical way or through connections between the composers, as Ristori explains in the booklet: "These have not been chosen on the basis of links other than that of Taccoli and this may seem unusual to the listener. However, the original idea behind the project was to illustrate the musical activity of an artistically lively city and its public, with Taccoli as protagonist and central figure." The two string quartets have already been mentioned. As Ristori is a cellist, his instrument takes a central role in the programme. The best-known composer is Luigi Boccherini, and he is represented with a sonata for cello and basso continuo, which is the only item that has been recorded before. It was included here because Boccherini was twice in Genoa: in 1765 with his father, and two years later on his own. In the Sonata in F the basso continuo is played on the double bass, imagining that Boccherini may have played it with his father, who was a double bass player. Whereas the cello sonatas are part of the repertoire of cellists, the duets for two cellos are probably not. The Sonata in D consists of two movements.
Two further duets for two cellos are from the pen of Carlo Ferrari, one of many Italian composers of the time who are rather unknown quantities; he has no entry in New Grove. As one may expect, he was a cellist himself, and apparently with a good reputation, as he made appearances in several cities (Parma, Piacenza, Milan), and travelled to Paris to broaden his horizon. Technical difficulties are avoided, which suggests that the two pieces may have been intended for amateurs. The title gara means something like 'duel'. The Gara in A comes in three movements, with cantabile in second place, and closing with a minuetto. The Gara in B flat comprises two movements, and the last is again a minuet. In fact, many pieces in the programme end with such a dance, and that is a feature of the galant idiom. A form that was especially popular in the second half of the 18th century was the rondo; the two string quartets end with such a movement, and so does the Sonata in D for cello and basso continuo by Michele Gallucci, which opens the programme. He is another little-known master (unknown to New Grove), who was cello teacher in Naples.
Much better known is Emanuele Barbella. He was born and died in Naples, and worked there all his life. One of his teachers was Pasqualino Bini, who himself was a pupil of Tartini. He also studied some time with Leonardo Leo, one of Naples' most prominent opera composers. He played in the Teatro Nuovo and in the royal chapel. From 1761 until his death he was a member of the orchestra at San Carlo. In his oeuvre the violin plays the central role. He wrote quite a number of duos for two violins without accompaniment. Such pieces were increasingly popular at the time, but they may also have been intended as educational material, for instance to be played by a teacher and his pupil. Both pieces played here are in three movements, opening with an andante.
And then we have two pieces in what is certainly the most curious scoring in the programme. The two sonatas by Gasparo Arnaldi are scored for psaltery, violin and cello. Hardly anything is known about him. It is known that he composed two oratorios for the Congregation of St. Philip Neri of Genoa around 1740. Does this indicate that he was from Genoa? The liner-notes don't say so, and it is probably not known. The psaltery seems to have played a substantial role in the 18th century in Italy, as quite a number of instruments from that time has survived. In the course of the last twenty years or so it is increasingly participating in recordings of baroque music. The two sonatas included here are interesting tokens of its role in Italy.
This is very much a project as I like it. It cannot be appreciated enough when performers are willing to look beyond the obvious and to leave the trodden paths to explore unknown territory. This project is important for several reasons. First, with the exception of the sonata by Boccherini mentioned above, the entire programme consists of first recordings. Most of the composers are little known or not known at all. It seems that the second half of the 18th century is a bit of a white spot in Italian music history. This project helps to fill in that white spot. Apart from Boccherini, Nardini is the best-known composer (although very likely not the composer of the two quartets), but even he hardly receives the attention he deserves. Given the importance of the cello in music history since its appearance on the stage in the late 17th century, this project also adds to our knowledge of its role in Italy in the second half of the 18th century. And, lastly, we also get a good idea of the practice of music making by amateurs - often technically very developed - in Italy.
Jacopo Ristori has put together an interesting programme of pieces, each of which is well worth being performed and recorded. Much of this music may have been written to entertain, by playing it or by listening to it (or both), and entertaining each of these pieces certainly is. It is a colourful bouquet, just as colourful as Taccoli (but much more pleasant). Ristori has brought together a highly qualified team of colleagues, some young, and early in their career, others with a vast experience in the world of early music. This has resulted in a compelling programme, which is performed at the highest possible standard. Cello aficionados obviously should not miss this set of discs, but I urge anyone interested in music from this period to investigate this production. It is an ear-opener, and I am sure that he/she will regularly return to it. This is musical entertainment as one would wish to hear more often.
Johan van Veen (© 2025)
Relevant links:
Viola de Hoog
Antoinette Lohmann
Gied van Oorschot
Jacopo Ristori
Jesse Solway
Gut String Quartet