51 Results for : imitative

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    Nardini: Sämtliche Streichquartette
    Pietro Nardini was a highly respected violinist and composer in 18th century Italy. His quartets are melodious, charming works written in well-crafted classical style, with a predominance of the first violin, and conspicuous for the absence of Basso Continuo.Born into a humble family in 18th-century Italy, Pietro Nardini's talent for violin playing led him to Livorno to study with the celebrated Giuseppe Tartini, where he reportedly became as good a violinist as his teacher. He travelled throughout Europe and was resident musician at several of its major courts -- notably Tuscany, where he was Director of Music. Such was his reputation as an extraordinarily expressive technician that he was asked to play in the presence of King Ferdinand and Queen Carolina in Naples as well as Wolfgang and Leopold Mozart, not to mention other celebrities of the age.His string quartets, initially written for the amateurs of the Florentine public, were widely commercial and published all over Europe, and this is reflected in their simplistic nature. The first three, in which the violin is the prevalent instrument, seem to follow the European traditions of the era, while the final three give equal prominence to the viola and cello. The pieces show a certain modernity when compared to his other chamber works in the lack of basso continuo and use of simple sonata form, as well as a possible German influence in the imitative parts. Performing the works is the acclaimed Quartetto Eleusi, one of Europe's leading ensembles in the field of historically informed performance.Other information:- Recorded in January 2012, for the first time on CD: the 6 String Quartets of Nardini!- Played on authentic instruments in the historically informed performance practice by the Italian Quartetto Eleusi.- Contains extensive notes on the composer.
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    All Bach
    Ayaka Isono's informative approach to listening to Bach Stephen Smoliar, Classical Music Examiner ...the greatest virtue of this recording is that Isono allows the serious listener to appreciate Bach's pedagogical intentions without ever allowing her execution to lapse into pedantry. Thus, her performances of the inventions allow one to appreciate the broad diversity of approaches one can take to being inventive, even when each of the fifteen compositions is basically an exploration of imitative exchanges between two voices. On the other hand her approach to execution is deliberately attuned to the capabilities of the modern piano, allowing her to bring attention to Bach's inventiveness through well-considered (and often subtle) shifts in dynamics. These techniques serve her equally well in her performance of BWV 971, in which Bach captures all the give and take between soloist and ensemble in a Baroque ripieno concerto within the confines of a pair of keyboards with a single performer. BWV 816, on the other hand, is approached as music for show, where what is being displayed is the scope of execution skills of the performer. Each movement is a binary-form dance in which both the first and second parts are repeated. However, the convention of Bach's time was that the repeated version was not a mere echo but an opportunity to add embellishments beyond those indicated in the score. Isono took this approach, but there was nothing ad hoc about her added embellishments. Rather, she thought about embellishing the underlying melodic elements and maintaining her embellishing tropes to suit the repeated entries of those elements, making for a highly engaging listening experience. In a time when there is far from a shortage of Bach recordings, All Bach offers performances that are sure to engage and sustain the attention of the serious listener.
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    Out of the Shadows: Sacred Music of Francisco Guerrero and Thomas Crecquillon
    In their lifetimes, Francisco Guerrero and Thomas Crecquillon were among the most popular and acclaimed composers of the 16th century. In the intervening years, however, Guerrero has been eclipsed in stature among Spanish Renaissance composers by his contemporary Victoria, Crecquillon, meanwhile, has disappeared almost entirely, with his greatest works surviving mostly as misattributions to better-known composers such as Clemens non Papa and Morales. Here we present a range of sacred works by both composers, including some of their most well-known compositions as well as pieces that may not have been heard by audiences in hundreds of years. Crecquillon, the earlier of the two composers whose works we present here, was choirmaster at the Imperial Chapel and unofficial court composer for Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. He belongs to the generation of Franco-Flemish composers immediately following Josquin, a generation in which the art of imitative polyphony was raised to arguably it's highest state. Crecquillon's skill in polyphonic writing was widely recognized in his lifetime and immediately thereafter-a collection of motets published in 1576 calls him 'the most celebrated master' of Charles V's court, and many great composers of his and the following generation wrote parody masses on melodies of Crecquillon's. It is not clear why Crecquillon's music has been largely neglected in the resurgence of interest in Franco-Flemish polyphony, as it's beauty and skill in counterpoint hold up admirably in comparison to music of contemporaries such as Gombert and Clemens non Papa. One composer of the late 16th century who found Crequillon's melodies worthy of incorporating in his own music was the Spaniard Francisco Guerrero. Of the eighteen settings of the mass Guerrero produced, one of the most successful is the Missa Congratulamini mihi, based on the Crecquillon motet of that name, which we include on this recording. Guerrero was a prodigy, graduating from choirboy at Seville, where he was born, to choirmaster at Jaen [needs diacritic] while still in his teens. He soon returned to Seville with the promise of eventually succeeding to the post of choirmaster there. Despite having apparently obtained his dream job, Guerrero seemed to have a great curiosity about the world at large and spent many years away from his post traveling, which included a remarkable visit to the Holy Land that culminated in his capture and ransom by pirates. His published account of this journey became almost as popular as his music. As a composer, he was perhaps best known in his lifetime for his deeply felt settings of Marian texts, which earned him the sobriquet 'El Cantor de Maria.' In the initial revival of interest in sacred Renaissance polyphony in the mid- to late 20th century, Guerrero's music was mostly neglected in favor of that of his contemporary and countryman Tomas [needs diacritic] Luis de Victoria, in recent years, however, many significant performances and recordings have begun to redress this imbalance. - Tom Crawford, 2013 King Solomon's Singers: Heather Ahrenholz Michael Byrley Tom Crawford Tamara Ghattas Jessica Melger Stephanie Sheffield William Bouvel William Chin Matthew Dean Amy Mantrone Peter Olson King Solomon's Singers is an ensemble dedicated to the performance of Renaissance polyphony and chant. The members of the ensemble are professional and semi-professional singers from the Chicago area-members of ensembles such as Chicago Chorale, Schola Antiqua of Chicago, The Oriana Singers, The Chicago Early Music Consort, and Chicago a cappella-who share a love of this particular repertoire. For more information, visit our website or find us on Facebook. Special Thanks: This recording is dedicated to Robert and Susan Crawford, who made it possible.
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    La Superbe
    In 1704 (or maybe slightly earlier) a set of harpsichord pieces was published, composed by Louis-Nicolas Clérambault. Born in 1676, he was recognised as one of Paris' leading musicians of his time. He became famous for his sonates, cantates and pièces d'orgue. Though less often performed nowadays, his harpsichord pieces show his great ability to write elegantly embellished, expressive melodies. The first set of pieces on this CD, in C-major, opens with a 'Prélude non mesuré' in the style of his great predecessors, Louis Couperin and Henry d'Anglebert. The following pieces in this suite are rather conventional and academic in their use of the traditional dance forms and harmonic progression. In the doubles of the 'Allemande' and 'Gavotte' we recognize the 17th century way of elaborating a dance movement with an adorned variation. Francois Couperin, the second composer on this CD, had a rather unconventional approach in combining harpsichord pieces into sets, not naming them 'Suite' but calling them 'Ordre'. Furthermore, the regular dance forms became a pattern, used to paint, as it were, a portrait in music of a person, an event or whatever else occurred to his creative mind. In his '17th Ordre' (published in his 3rd book of harpsichord pieces, 1722) he sets to music a fine portrait of his great contemporary viola da gamba player Antoine Forqueray. In 'La Suberbe', Couperin makes use of the gravity of the ancient allemande to give shape to the nobleness that Forqueray revealed in his playing. One recognises also the imitative motives and so called fake polyphony (a two-part writing in broken chords) that Forqueray obviously would have brought to life in his playing. The key is e-minor, especially expressive in the tuning used in this recording, the temperament ordinaire. This noble piece is followed by a pretty piece in which Couperin evokes 'Les Petits Moulins à vent'. Usually this title is interpreted as a reference to the Parisian windmills. The lightness of the piece and the small, repeated musical motives makes one rather think of the small paper windmills on top of wooden sticks that bring great amusement to children. One can easily imagine the repeated blowing in order to keep the small moulins moving. From time to time they nearly stop, just to be blown in action again. The following rondeau 'Timbres' could be interpreted as a musical painting of little chimes. One can employ the art of playing inégale to give shape most effectively to the irregular sounding bells. A rather old-fashioned 'Courante' follows to give way to 'Les Petites Crémières de Bagnolet'. It is not difficult to hear in the melodic lines the chattering among milkmaids in the Parisian suburb of Bagnolet. The next composer on this CD, Jacques Duphly, of whom little is known, published his harpsichord works in four books. A mixture of conventional musical portraits and dance forms can be found next to experiments in new keyboard techniques that emerged in the later 18th century. In 'La Forqueray' (from his 3rd book, 1758) we find a nice, but rather old-fashioned portrait of the earlier mentioned Antoine Forqueray, including the imitative melodic fragments and fake polyphony. The key (f-minor) is very expressive! On the other hand, in the Chaconne we find Duphly exploiting all kinds of new-fashioned keyboard techniques such as broken chords over several octaves and so called Alberti-basses. His 1st, 2nd and 4th book contain only pieces for harpsichord solo. Also, in his 3rd book he published 6 pieces for harpsichord accompanied by violin. This genre emerged from the beginning of the 18th century as a medium to combine musical instruments in a chamber music setting, most probably with the aim to encourage musical practice in domestic setting. In his 3 pieces in F-major, Duphly exploits two ways of writing accompanied harpsichord music: in the 'Ouverture' (and also in the refrain of 'La DeMay') the violin plays in unison with the harpsichord, thus enhancing the expressiveness of the harpsichord tone. In the other pieces, Duphly writes an obligato part for the violin, achieving a very attractive musical dialogue.
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    Liszt: Annees de Pelerinage I-Suisse
    In 1835, the Countess Marie d'Agout and her lover, the young Franz Liszt, stole away from Paris separately, rendezvoused in Basel, and for the next four years traveled together throughout Italy and Switzerland. The Countess had left behind a husband and children and the relationship between her and Liszt was considered quite scandalous. While d'Agout would recount much of their time together in her memoirs, Liszt captured the scenic and romantic journey through a number of compositions first published under the title Album d'un Voyageur in 1842, then later revised and published under the title Années de pèlerinage (the Years of Pilgrimage) in 1855. Liszt and d'Agout had settled in Geneva, where they had three children together, including Cosima, the future wife of Richard Wagner. The first of three volumes, Annees de Pelerinage-Suisse is a collection of nine works depicting Swiss scenes. One can imagine the final ordering of these works to be descriptive of their tumultuous physical, and emotional journey, from it's epic introduction in the almost operatic "prelude" of the first work, to the tender, transcendental tolling of Geneva's church bells in the final piece (which was initially dedicated to their new born daughter, Blandine). Liszt prefaces many of these works with literary quotations, and the first published edition included drawings by Kretschmer of the scenes depicted by each piece. Chapelle de Guillaume Tell (the Chapel of William Tell), is a grand reference to the national hero of Switzerland. It bears the motto "One for All, All for one." Au lac de Wallenstadt (By the lake of Wallenstadt) is a gentle, pastoral, portrayal of one of Switzerland's large, mountain valley lakes. Marie d'Agoult recounted their visit, writing in her memoirs: "Franz wrote there for me a melancholy harmony, imitative of the sigh of the waves and the cadence of oars, which I have never been able to hear without weeping." Liszt prefaced the work with a quotation from Byron's Childe Harold: ...thy contrasted lake, With the wild world I dwell in, is a thing Which warns me, with it's stillness, to forsake Earth's troubled waters for a purer spring. Pastorale is a depiction of a village festival, with shepherd songs and dancing rhythms. Au bord d'un source (By the side of a spring) may not refer to a specific place, but it is a vibrant depiction of a babbling brook. The quote from Schiller reads: In murmuring coolness begins the play of young Nature. Orage! May, perhaps, be considered another of Liszt's "water" pieces, if one wishes to include the violent torrents of an Alpine storm. From Byron: But where of ye, O tempsts! Is the goal? Are ye like those within the human breast? Or do ye find, at length, like eagles, some high nest? Vallée d'Obermann (The Valley of Obermann) Considerably longer than any other work in the set, this piece evokes turmoil and despair that, ultimately, provides a poignancy to the works which follow. A lengthy quotation from Senancour's melancholy novel prefaces this work, part of which reads: Vast consciousness of Nature everywhere overwhelming and impenetrable, universal passion, indifference, advanced wisdom, voluptuous abandon, all the desires and all the profound torments that a human heart can hold, I have felt them all, suffered them all on that memorable night. I have made a sinister step towards the age of enfeeblement, I have eaten up ten years of my life. Eglogue is a work that feels fresh and inspired after the wrenching emotions of Vallee d'Obermann. It is a pastoral work that charmingly depicts dawn as described in Childe Harold: The morn is up again, the dewy morn With breath all incense and with cheek all bloom, Laughing the cloud away with cheerful scorn And living as if earth contain'd no tomb! Le mal du pays provides a needed pivot, as if the charm and ease of Eglogue could not be sustained. Utilizing Alpine shepherd's songs, Le mal du pays is an atmospheric work full of nostalgia, homesickness and melancholy. Les Cloches de Genève (The Bells of Geneva) is a tender Nocturne, dedicated to the daughter of d'Agout and Liszt who was born in that city. With it's gentle beginning, this work provides a feeling of contentment and joy that has been evasive throughout the set. It is easy to imagine that Liszt must have felt a sense of belonging in Geneva, where he and d'Agout were to make their home for several years. Quoting again from Childe Harold: I live not in myself, but I become Portion of that around me.
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    Gallery of Italian Madrigals & Motets
    Notes by Dr. David Schofield copyright 1993 Josquin's El Grillo is a frottola, a forerunner of the sixteenth century Italian madrigal. These were simple three- or four-part songs in a chordal style with the melody in the soprano. They may have been performed as accompanied songs for solo voice, but their homophonic texture suggests the possibility of purely vocal performances. Arcadelt's Il bianco e dolce cigno and D. Ferrabosco's Io mi son giovinetta are typical sixteenth century Italian Madrigals, which used poetic forms of freely arranged seven and eleven syllable lines imitating Petrarch. Like the frottola before it, the early madrigal (c. 1530) was primarily homophonic, although there was considerable use of imitation between voices. Wert's Chi salira per me is a madrigal in the classic style (1550-80). Madrigals of this period were highly polyphonic and imitative, and usually written for five voices, though four and six voices were not uncommon. Care is taken to enhance the text's meaning and pronunciation through musical expression. The late madrigal (c. 1580-1620) developed into an elaborate musical form, using extremes of chromaticism, word painting, and virtuosic vocal lines to depict the text. Marenzio's Cruda Amarilli, Gesualdo's Languisco e moro, and Monteverdi's Quel augellin che canta are examples. Gastoldi's Viver lieto voglio and Lassus' Matona mia cara are balletti, a form first introduced by Gastoldi in 1591. These are written in a simple chordal style using dance rhythms, frequently with a fa la la refrain. Balletti may have served as dance music and were widely imitated in England, particularly by Morley. Sicut Cervus epitomizes Palestrina's pure and reserved polyphonic style, which became the model for much subsequent church music. Croce's O sacrum convivium and Viadana's Exultate justi in Domino are popular four-part choral works which employ dance rhythms within a homophonic texture. These songs also resemble the popular villanelli and canzonetti of the period. Lassus' Ave verum corpus is written in the style of the Venetian 'cori spezzati'. Striking word-painting is particularly evident in the setting of the text 'unda fluxit'. Imitative descending lines cascade in all the voices. The six parts split into two-, three- and four-voice ensembles to contrast the tutti, creating the effect of a double chorus. Gasparini's Adoramus te, Christe and Lotti's Crucifixus are written in the 'stile antico', the old style of Palestrina. However, the striking chromaticism and abundant dissonance, while offering poignant word painting of Christ's passion, reveal a more modern ear at work, as do the driving tonal progressions. But within this tonal context, both composers succeed at recreating the subtle and reserved polyphonic style of the sixteenth century. The Members on this album Director: Erik-Peter Mortensen Associate Conductor: Dr. David Schofield Soprano i: Sandia Ang, Cathlee Ellis Soprano II: Peggey Farley, Elizabeth Henrickson-Farnum Mezzo-Soprano: Melissa Fogarty Alto: Sally Elliot, Elaine Tokunaga Tenor i: Colin Bird, Louis Shafer Tenor II: Gregory Davidson, Arthur Krieck Baritone: Tod Mijanovich, Erik-Peter Mortensen Bass: Charles Grey Jr., Michael Orzechowski Track Texts and Translations 1. LANGUISCO E MORO: C Gesualdo (1560-c.1613) Languisco e moro, ahi, cruda! Ma tu, fera cagion de la mia sorte, Deh, per pieta, consola Si dolorosa morte D'una lagrima sola, Onde dica per fin del mio languire: 'Or che pietosa sei, dolce e'l morire'. I languish and die, ah cruel one! But you, savage cause of my fate, Ah, for pity's sake, comfort So painful a death With a single tear, Whence may be said at the end of my languishing: 'Now that you be merciful, sweet it is to die.' 2. EL GRILLO: J. Desprez (1440-1521) El grillo e buon cantore che tiene longo verso. Dale, beve grillo, canta. Ma no fa come gli altri uccelli Come li han cantato un poco Van' de fatto in altro loco. Sempre el grillo sta pur saldo. Quando la maggior el caldo Alhor canta sol per amore. The cricket is a fine singer who sustains a long note. Be happy, drink cricket, sing. But he is not like other birds Who sing a little Flying off to another place. The cricket always stands firm. When the weather is hottest He sings only for love. 3. IL BIANCO E DOLCE CIGNO: J. Arcadelt (c. 1505-1568) Il bianco e dolce cigno cantando more, et io Piangendo giungo al fin del viver mio. Strano e diversa sorte ch'ei more sconsolato, Et io moro beato. Morte, che nel morire Mi empie di gioia tutto e di desire. Se nel morir altro dolor non sento Di mille morte il di sarei contento. The white and gentle swan dies singing, and I Weeping reach the end of my life. What strange and diverse fate that he dies unconsoled, And I die blessed. Death, which in dying Fills me full of joy and desire. If in dying no other pain I feel With a thousand deaths a day I would be content. 4. MATONA MIA CARA: Orlando di Lasso (1532-1594) (Broken Italian spoken by German Soldier) Matona mia cara, mi follere canzon cantar sotto finestra, Lantze buon compagnon. Don don don diri diri don don don. Ti prego m'ascoltare che mi cantar de bon, E mi ti foller bene come greco e capo, etc.Com' andar a le cazze, calzar con le falcon Mi ti portar becazze, grasse come rognone, etc. Se mi non super dire tante belle radon, Petrarcha mi non saper, ne fonte d'Helicon, etc. Se ti mi foller bene mi non esser poltron, Mi ficar tutta notte, urtar come monton, etc. My dalingk voman, I vant a songk to singk unter ze vindow. I'm Lantzer und gut companion. Dongk dongk donk derry derry dongk dongk dongk. I vant you zu listen me, zints I singk zo gut. Und I vant you like ze Greek vants chicken, etc. Ven I go ze huntingk mit ze falcon I bringk you back voodcock fat like ze kidney, etc. I speak nicht zo gut zints I dunno ze Petrark oder ze faunten of yooth, etc. If you like me gut, me no lazy soldya, Me singk to you allk nigkht longk, last longa zan ze maunten-gaut, etc. 5. CHI SALIRA PER ME: G. de Wert (1535-1596) Chi salira per me, Madonn', in cielo A riportam' il mio perdut' ingegno Che, poi ch'usci da' bei vostr' occhi il telo Che'l cor mi fiss', ognor perdendo vegno? Ne di tanta jattura mi querelo, Pur che non cresca, ma stia a questo segno, Ch'io dubito, se piu se va scemando, Che stolto me n'andro pel mond' errando. Who will ascend for me, my Lady, to heaven To bring back my lost reason Which, since departed from your beautiful eyes the dart That my heart pierced, every hour I am losing? Nor of such a loss do I complain, Provided it increases not, but remains at this degree, For I doubt, if more it diminishes, That foolish I shall go through the world wandering. 6. VIVER LIETO VOGLIO: G. Gastoldi (1556-1622) 1. Viver lieto voglio Senza alcun cordoglio. La la. Tu puoi restar, Amor, Di saettarmi il cot, Spendi i pungenti strali Ove non paiian frali, Nulla ti stimo o poco E di te prendo gioco. La la. 2. Bacco adoro et amo E'l liquor suo bramo. La la. E i fammi allegro star E i m'e diletto car, Con lui e notte e giorno Io volontier soggiorno, Lui sempre lieto invoco E di te prendo gioco. La la. 1. To live happily I wish Without any deep sorrow. La la. You can cease, Love, From shooting my heart, Make use of your sharp arrows Where they may not seem weak, I have little or now esteem for you And I make fun of you. La la. 2. Bacchus I adore and love And I yearn for his liquor. La la. And he makes me happy And is to me dear delight, With him both night and day I willingly stay, To him always happily I call, And I make fun of you (Love). La la. 7. IO MI SON GIOVINETTA: D. Ferrabosco (1513-1574) Io mi son giovinetta, e volontieri M'allero e canto en la stagion novella, Merze d'amore e de' dolci pensieri. Io vo pe' verdi prati riguardando I bianchi fiori, ei vermigli, e' gialli, Le rose in su le spine, ei bianchi gigli, E tutti quanti gli vo somiglando Al viso di colui ch'amandomi Mi presa e terra sempre. I am a young lady, and gladly Rejoice and sing
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    Diamonds Uncovered
    Well-known American composer David Diamond received many accolades for his compositions, which include works in such diverse genres such as symphonies, concerti, chamber works, and vocal compositions. This sonata was written for Jean-Pierre Rampal (1922-2000) on the occasion of his 65th birthday and remains unpublished today. Frequently changing meters and a lyrical dissonance are elements of the characteristic compositional style that permeate the work. The caption for the fourth movement both illustrates Diamond's sense of humor and acknowledges the moments of disjunction between the two instruments, the piano and flute do eventually reunite to complete the work with a resounding flourish. A student of Nadia Boulanger and Vittorio Giannini, Thomas Pasatieri received the first doctorate awarded by the Julliard School of Music at age nineteen. Best known for his vocal and operatic compositions, Pasatieri writes in a musical style highlighted by lyrical and tonal melodies. A 1986 commission by the Verdehr Trio led to the composition of a number of instrumental works, including this work for flute and piano, written in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the Music Academy of the West. The use of whole tone scales and gentle chromaticism in the first movement, a lullaby-like rocking triple meter in the second, and a romantic, atmospheric flute melody in the Allegro vivace all combine to create a wholly enjoyable soundworld not unrelated to the many film scores on which Pasatieri has worked. Emma Lou Diemer wrote her flute sonata in 1958, while studying for her Ph.D. in composition under Bernard Rogers. Diemer acknowledges a specific connection to Johann Sebastian Bach's flute sonata in E-flat major (BWV 1031, 1730-34), which also features a Siciliano as the second of it's three movements. Diemer writes, "The Bachian interplay and equality of the writing for flute and keyboard was uppermost in my mind, and also a lyricism and tonally uncomplicated style - though moving quickly through changing tonalities." The first two movements have neoclassic ternary formal structures, while the third is in sonata form with a fughetta in the development section. It was dedicated to Mark Thomas, for whom Diemer also wrote a flute concerto. This is the first recording of this work. Denis Bédard, an actively performing French Canadian composer and organist, wrote this flute and piano work while teaching at the Conservatoire de musique de Québec. The work was premiered by Barbara Todd-Simard, who also performed it on CBC radio. Bédard describes the work as having been written in his "usual chamber music style, which is very 'French'." Compositionally, the work is at times influenced by the style of Francis Poulenc, and the third movement pays an unmistakable debt to the first Gymnopedie (1888) by Erik Satie. The formal structures are clearly articulated and the harmonies are at times quite adventurous. Bédard acknowledges a "concern for immediate communication with as vast a public as possible" as one of his principal aesthetic goals, this enjoyable and challenging piece undoubtedly fulfills that ambition. Julliard faculty member Samuel Zyman is one of the leading Mexican composers today, with an extensive catalogue of works including symphonies, concerti, chamber works, and the film score to The Other Conquest. This sonata, regarded as a major repertory piece and frequently performed worldwide, features technically demanding writing with particularly appealing rhythmic power and drive. Composed at the bequest of Mexican flutist Marisa Canales who premiered the work in 1993 with Argentinian pianist Ana Maria Tradatti, the work was published four years later. Zyman's aesthetic concept for this piece was that it be "exciting, intense, and emotional," he pairs a contemporary sound with formal structures that bow to the western tradition and a true partnership between the two instruments. With jazz-inspired syncopations, imitative counterpoint between the flute and piano, and an urgently-paced third movement he envisions as "reckless and insane," Zyman's energetic composition is a favorite for many flutists. - Laura Moore Pruett, Ph.D.
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    Brazilian Dances & Inventions for Bassoon Flute &
    Brazilian Dances and Inventions is a meeting of popular and erudite musical forms, portraying the deeply melodic, rhythmically complex nature of Brazilian music through the voices of bassoon, clarinet and flute. Dances such as the polka, baião, forro, samba and waltz contrast with inventions that incorporate imitative counterpoint in a range of tonalities. Artists Bios Janet Grice, bassoon, has a Doctorate from Rutgers University and degrees from the New England Conservatory and New York University. A recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship in Brazil and grants from the National Endowment, Meet the Composer and Arts International, she performed internationally, recorded for Music Minus One and numerous jazz and classical artists, and produced three CDs of original and Brazilian jazz. She freelances in New York, performs regularly in Brazil, is a bassoon instructor, and teaches for the New York Dept. Of Education. Kevin Willois, flute, played on the R&B circuit in New York, then earned a Bachelors and Masters Degree from Rutgers University. He plays with the Sonora Winds, Actor's Net regional theater in Pennsylvania, and Chelsea Opera, and teaches flute and music theory at the Westminster Conservatory, Rutgers University, and the Peddie School. Sarah Bednarcik, clarinet, has a Bachelors degree from Northwestern University and a Masters from Rutgers University, and freelances in New Jersey ensembles. She is a public school music teacher and maintains a private clarinet studio. Vento Trio began performing together while graduate students at Rutgers University. The group performs 'Music of the Americas' programs in the New York City metropolitan area, and performed in Brazil and France.
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    Missa non sine quare
    The Missa non sine quare is the first of a collection of six masses published in Munich in 1689. In this mass, Kerll gives proof of his undeniable mastery of counterpoint and of contrapuntal blend. Both the solo and the tutti sections exhibit the use of superb, imitative counterpoint. Kerlls melodic ingenuity, contrapuntal finesse and harmonic audacity were admired twenty years later by JS Bach.
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    Keyboard Music of Girolamo Frescobaldi
    Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) is considered one of the founding fathers of solo Italian keyboard music. By the age of 14, he was somewhat of a child prodigy and was listed in 1597 as organist of the Ferrarese Accademia della Morte as successor to Ercole Pasquini. His teacher was the famous Luzzasco Luzzaschi, then ducal organist and composer under Alfonso II d'Este. By age 25, Frescobaldi embarked on what was to be a lifetime career in Rome when he was appointed organist at St. Peter's Basilica. Thousands of people were reported to have witnessed his first performance. Like many musicians today, Frescobaldi often held several jobs at once: freelancing in Rome and teaching harpsichord and organ to many students, most notably to the family members of Enzo Bentivoglio, the noble household in which he was in service. In 1613, Bentivoglio said "Sr. Girolamo came here, but now he does not come here at all ... The poor man is half crazy as it seems to me." Between 1610-13 Frescobaldi entered into the service of Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini. Aside from a brief visit back to Mantua, he remained there until his move to Florence (1628-34), where he was employed at the Medici court as one of it's most highly paid musicians. He returned to Rome in 1634 under the patronage of Pope Urban VIII and remained there until his death in 1643. Throughout his life, Frescobaldi enjoyed sophisticated patronage and was praised by well-known musicians and theorists, such as Adriano Banchieri and Marin Mersenne, among others. As a continuo player, he played with the famous castrati Loreto Vittori and Marc Antonio Pasqualini, and he performed in the Lenten services at the Oratorio del Crocifisso. His musical output showed an overwhelmingly large focus on keyboard music. He achieved a reputation not only for his compositional talents but also for his brilliant improvisatory skills, virtuoso playing, contrapuntal mastery, and general inventiveness. Frescobaldi was both influenced by and influential upon the seconda pratica, known chiefly for it's renewal of ancient rhetoric and oratory through music. Composers of this "nuova maniera," such as Claudio Monteverdi, Giulio Caccini, Jacopo Peri, and Sigismondo D'India, advocated the clear delivery of text through the use of declamatory rhythms, expressive dissonances, startling chromatic lines, and shocking contrasts of rhythm and harmony. Frescobaldi's keyboard works exemplify this vocal practice. In particular, we see this type of prosaic freedom in his toccatas. In many ways, they reveal a musical narrative without a text, a kind of instrumental recitative. He compared the performances of these pieces to a modern madrigal, playing "now languidly, now quickly, sustaining it according to feelings and words." Plentiful are the dramatic mood changes, sudden cadential flourishes, and spicy harmonic surprises. From one measure to the next, he shifts from free passagework to more rhythmical, imitative writing. In the foreword to Book I of his Toccata e partite d'intavolatura di cimbalo et organo, published in 1615 and later expanded in 1637, he tells us: "Li cominciamenti delle toccate sieno fatte adagio, et arpeggiando è così nelle ligature o vero durezze, come anche nel mezzo del opera si batteranno insieme, per non lasciar voto l'istromento, il qual battimento ripiglierassi à beneplacito di chi suona." The beginnings of the toccatas should be played adagio and arpeggiated. The same applies to the suspensions [or held chords] or dissonances, which also in the middle of the piece are to be played together in order not to leave the instrument empty [i.e., not to let the sound die away]. Reiterating the notes may be repeated at the player's discretion. The term adasio (adagio) also appears in Frescobaldi's Fiori musicali (1635). The word suggests playing at ease and freely, in a more prose-like manner than in other more metrical sections. As he instructs the performer to be flexible with the tempos within the toccatas, he also advises the player to choose broad tempos for expressive passages and in runs, to play slowly and arpeggiated in the opening chords, and to pause at the ends of trills, runs, or when the mood deems appropriate. When playing sixteenth notes with both hands, he tells us to pause on the preceding note, even if it is a short note, and "then play the passage resolutely in order to show off the agility of the hands." Above all, he remarks that one should use good taste and judgment. More straightforward in form are Frescobaldi's canzonas and capriccios. Although they are somewhat similar in their sectional structure and multiple meter changes, their origins differ. The baroque canzona was an instrumental piece of music derived from the vocal chanson, described by Michael Praetorius in his Syntagma musicum (iii, p.19) as a series of short fugues for approximately four to eight parts (instruments). Many examples of the solo canzona were arrangements of polyphonic vocal works, including elaborated transcriptions of chansons, such as those by Andrea Gabrieli. Tarquinio Merulo was one of the first to write a canzona not based on vocal models but on other ensemble pieces. Vincenzo Pellegrini wrote canzonas for keyboard that were sectional with contrasting speeds and meters, although the sections were not always based on the same material. Ascanio Mayone and Giovanni Maria Trabaci were more influential upon motif-based canzonas, issuing the term "variation canzona." Frescobaldi's canzonas lean towards this variation technique. Capriccios, like the canzona model, are lengthy compositions that are subdivided into contrasting sections, often juxtaposing passages in the fantastical style of the toccata with dance-like rhythms in major keys. From Frescobaldi's own advice preceding the Capricci, we learn that, "One must commence with the beginnings slowly in order to give great spirit and beauty to the following passages, and, in the cadences, sustain them before the next passage begins, in triple and sesquialtera meters, if in a major key, they should be played adagio, and, if in minor, more quickly, if there are three quarter-notes, play them even quicker yet, if there are six quarter-notes, they must be given their time by walking the beat rapidly. At certain dissonances, one should stay there and play the chord as an arpeggio so they will be more spirited than the next passage. I say this modestly, for I place myself before the good judgment of scholars." Certain Capricci make use of popular melodies known throughout Italy, such as Bassa Fiamenga and Spagnoletta. Praetorius called the keyboard capriccio a "phantasia subitanea" ("a sudden whim"). He writes, "One takes a subject but deserts it for another whenever it comes into his mind to do so. One can add, take away, digress, turn, and direct the music as one wishes, but while one is not strictly bound by the rules, one ought not go too much out of the mode." These comments are descriptive of Frescobaldi's toccatas as well. In 1624, Frescobaldi said about his own capricci, "In those passages which do not seem to conform to the rules of counterpoint, the player should seek out the affect and the composer's intentions." Frescobaldi's partitas are essays in the art of variations upon popular ground bass or melodic and harmonic patterns, such as Monicha, Ruggiero, Romanesca, and the Chaconne and Passacaglia. Monicha (also monica or monaca) was a popular Italian song from the early 1600s. The opening line laments a young girl forced to become a nun, hence the minor mode and sad quality of the tune. Frescobaldi composed two sets of variations on this theme: Partite sopra l'Aria di Monicha (6 variations in 1615 and 11 in 1637, including some from the earlier set) and a Messa [to be performed during mass] sopra l'Aria della Monica. The Ruggiero, like the Romanesca, was used for dances, instrumental variations, and for singing Italian poetry, especially those with rhyme schemes in ottav
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