Giovanni Battista Bassani 1647–1716 Sinfonie Op.5 sonatas for two or three instruments with basso continuo Compact Disc 1
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43’23
1 2 3 4
Sonata No.2 in D minor I. Grave II. Presto III. Grave IV. Presto
1’20 1’06 3’16 0’54
5 6 7 8 9
Sonata No.4 in D I. Allegro II. Grave III. Allegro IV. Adagio, e forte III. Adagio – Allegro – Adagio
1’30 2’26 1’15 1’18 1’14
10 11 12 13
Sonata No.1 in A minor I. Allegro II. Grave III. Allegro IV. Adagio – Prestissimo – Adagio, e forte – Prestissimo
1’43 2’06 1’14 4’30
14 15 16 17 18
Sonata No.3 in G I. Allegro II. Grave III. Allegro IV. Largo V. Allegro
1’42 2’08 0’58 0’57 1’18
19 20 21 22
Sonata No.6 in F I. Largo II. Allegro III. Grave – Adagio IV. Prestissimo
1’22 1’48 1’42 0’33
23 24 25 26 27
Sonata No.5 in A minor I. Allegro II. Grave III. Vivace IV. Adagio V. Presto
2’04 1’54 0’53 0’47 1’10
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Compact Disc 2
1 2 3 4 5
Sonata No.7 in A I. Allegro II. Grave III. Allegro IV. Largo V. Allegro, allegro
6 7 8 9 10 11
Sonata No.8 in G minor I. Grave II. Presto III. Grave IV. Allegro V. Grave VI. Allegro
12 13 14 15 16
Sonata No.11 in D I. Largo – Presto II. Grave III. Vivace IV. Adagio V. Presto
38’25
1’29 1’56 1’10 1’06 1’02
0’34 1’39 1’14 0’57 0’26 0’47
1’31 1’10 1’02 0’49 0’27
17 18 19 20 21 22
Sonata No.10 in C minor I. Adagio II. Presto III. Largo IV. Prestissimo V. Grave VI. Presto
2’15 1’37 2’25 0’56 0’21 0’40
23 24 25 26 27
Sonata No.9 in C I. Presto II. Grave III. Allegro IV. Largo V. Presto
1’56 1’20 1’29 0’52 0’43
28 29 30 31
Sonata No.12 in A I. Largo II. Allegro III. Adagio – Largo IV. Presto
2’02 1’00 2’43 0’31
Ensemble StilModerno Editions Bologna (Silvani) 1688, Amsterdam (Roger) 1708
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Bassani: Sinfonie Op.5 Alongside Torelli and Corelli, Giovanni Battista Bassani was undoubtedly one of the representative composers of Bolognese instrumental music at the end of the 17th century. Sadly, since the dawn of discography, music lovers have not found many opportunities to become acquainted with his compositions. He was quickly forgotten, even if his works remained in the concert repertoire for almost two centuries after his death. Bassani’s instrumental output consists of just 24 sonatas, divided between two collections (Op.1 and Op.5), and a few other works published as contributions to anthologies; frankly, not much in comparison to his 30 printed collections of vocal works (Masses, motets, cantatas, psalms etc.), to which operas, oratorios and many unpublished liturgical works could still be added. This discrepancy must not allow us to underestimate Bassani’s importance, since his Sinfonie Op.5 were a real hit of the time. This is evident from the four reprints (Bologna 1683 and 1688, Antwerp 1691, Amsterdam 1708), the high number of extant handwritten copies spread all over the world and, mostly, from the high esteem with which he was held by famous composers including Bach and Handel. To name but one example, in the English vocal anthology Harmonia Sacra (second edition, 1694) an elegiac ode for Henry Purcell was included where, to exalt the instrumental craft of the Orpheus Britannicus, the anonymous poet says ‘In thy performance we with wonder find / Bassani’s genius to Corelli Joyn’d’. In England Bassani’s music was therefore understood as an archetype, even though he never travelled out of Italy. The Sinfonie a due e tre istromenti Op.5 have an explicit ambiguity in their name because, while the front page bears the title ‘sinfonia’, in the table of contents the term ‘sonata’ is used instead – thus indicating a musical genre that was still not completely defined. On the other hand, reading between the lines, one can assume that these works
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were destined for use in the church, due to their strong coherence with the topoi of sacred instrumental music (see, for example, Frescobaldi’s organ masses): the canzona (at the Epistle), the ricercare (often Cromatico, after the Creed), the solemn toccata before the Mass, the ‘durezze et ligature’ toccata (for the Elevation) and some dance movements suitable for Communion or the end of the service. The inscription ‘a due e tre istromenti’ (which translates literally as ‘for two or three instruments’) refers to the practice for sonatas to contain a cello playing either an independent part (obbligato) or just an ornamentation on the organ line (a beneplacito). Nothing is known about the development of this collection, but it is evident that the final result was highly sought after, representing a perfect synthesis of Bassani’s skills as a composer, violinist and organist; surely it wasn’t a coincidence that its first publication was in 1683, when Bassani was Principe (chairman) of Bologna’s Accademia dei filarmonici. In the collection there are three different schemas: sonatas in four movements – slow/fast/slow/fast (Nos. 2, 4, 9 and 12); in five movements – fast/slow/fast/slow/fast (Nos. 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7); and in six movements, with three slow/fast pairs (Nos. 5, 8, 10 and 11). The first schema later became the standard one: a solemn toccata followed by a piece in the form of a canzona or ricercare, a movement with wider ambitions (see the tasteful passacaglia in the Sonata No.12, or the dramatic Adagio of Sonata No.2), and a light dance theme as a conclusion. In the second schema, instead, a quick dance movement features in the centre, surrounded by two adagios, providing opportunities for modulation and diminution. Finally, the third schema unifies the other two: a solemn beginning merged with the symmetry of the five-movement structure. One element of true novelty that Bassani introduced to the musical landscape of his time was the use of exercises in style – building movements on the same sound materials but applying different methods. The inversion of the same subject in Sonatas Nos. 7 and 9 is evident, but there is more than meets the eye. For example, the central
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movements of Sonatas Nos. 4 and 10 share a theme, in the major and minor respectively; the same theme is also used in Sonata No.3, this time with a symmetrical exchange of the first two notes. In Sonatas Nos. 2 and 10 Bassani was even more daring, using the same bass line and building on it, in one case, a canzona and, in the other, a part game where the arsis and thesis are exchanged between the three main actors. Finally, the Sonata No.5 has a kind of cyclical structure, since both the first movement (a ricercare) and the third movement (a corrente) are built on the same notes. Bassani had real insights. Although he wrote contrasting themes with different characters, he never used more than two in a movement, thus anticipating an element of sonata form. Moreover, he often developed movements horizontally by moving between different moods. It is no wonder that in 1901 Luigi Torchi suggested a comparison between Bassani and Beethoven! But above all, Bassani’s music retains a personal mark, an original style, a defined personality, which the listener can easily identify. Bassani can, therefore, be placed among the highest representatives of European Baroque music. 훿 Carlo Centemeri, 2012 Translation: Silvia M. Reseghetti & Carlo Centemeri
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StilModerno Giorgio Tosi violin I (Benigno Saccani, Milano, 1910) Micol Vitali violin II (E. Malagutti, Milano, 1984) Nicola Brovelli cello (Nicolas Augustin Chappuy, Parigi, c.1780) Carlo Centemeri organ (Carlo Mascheroni, Giussano, 2010) Flora Papadopoulos Baroque harp (D. Pontiggia, copy of the Barberini harp, c.1600) Grasiela Setra Dantas harpsichord (Carlo Mascheroni, Giussano, 2010) Management: Eleonora Biscardi, ArtUpArt (Milan) (http://www.artupart.com) Founded in 2005 in Milan, ensemble StilModerno is composed of musicians and musicologists who specialise in Baroque music. Since 2007, StilModerno has performed with the same line-up: Giorgio Tosi and Micol Vitali (violins), Eleonora Regorda (viola), Nicola Brovelli (cello), Carlo Centemeri (organ and harpsichord) and Francesco Spiga (flute), with the addition of internationally renowned players depending on the programme. The group blends a rigorous, historically informed study of Baroque performance practice with the choice to perform on modern instruments: their aim, therefore, is to deliver a contemporary sound that remains consistent with the original aesthetic. StilModerno’s approach to Baroque repertoire has been praised internationally by audiences and press: the Italian newspaper L’eco di Bergamo described their performance as ‘cohesive, rich in sound and full of vivacity and exuberance’. Aside from their concert schedule, the group is committed to recovering rare or forgotten music masterpieces. Their world premiere recording of the oratorio La tromba della Divina Misericordia by Bassani won CdClassico.com’s ‘CD of the month’ award in 2009. This is their first CD with Brilliant Classics. http://www.stilmoderno.com 9
Acknowledgements StilModerno thanks Lalla Pecorini for the rehearsal space, the suggestions and the kind assistance; Fernanda Tucci and Alberto Capsoni for the hospitality; Muriel Pusterla for all the photographs. Nicola Brovelli thanks Martino Ius for the help in the maintenance of the cello. Giorgio Tosi thanks Franco Simeoni for the loan of the Saccani violin. Micol Vitali thanks Rosanna Ottonelli for the loan of the Malagutti violin. Carlo Centemeri thanks Museo della Musica di Bologna, Clifford Bartlett and Giampaolo Polvani for the help in the research of the documentation.
Recording: 29 October – 1 November 2011, Pieve Protoromanica, Palazzo Pignano, Cremona Sound engineer: Edoardo Lambertenghi · Recording supervision: Eleonora Regorda & Alberto Intrieri Editing: Eleonora Regorda & Edoardo Lambertenghi · Mastering: Edoardo Lambertenghi Cover image: Detail from Gloria della Trinità (c.1640) by Isidoro Bianchi (1581–1662), located in the Church of San Giovanni Battista, Brenzio, Consiglio di Rumo (near Como). Photograph by Edoardo Lambertenghi. Booklet photographs: Muriel Pusterla, Fabiana Nisoli & Edoardo Lambertenghi StilModerno logo by Laura ‘TheMoonArt’ De Munari & 훿 2012 Brilliant Classics
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