Il labirinto della chitarra - Guitar music from 17th-century
Francesco CORBETTA (c.1615-1681)
Balletto fatto nella Bariera sopra la Sala di Bologna [1:18]
Sua Corrente [0:51]
Giovanni Paolo FOSCARINI (?-c.1650)
Gaspar SANZ (1640-1710)
Carlo CALVI (17th C)
Sarabanda I [0:44]
Sarabanda II [0:47]
Domenico PELLEGRINI (17th C)
Giovanni Paolo FOSCARINI
Caprice de Chacone [4:05]
Giovanni Battista GRANATA (1620?-1687?)
Ferdinando VALDAMBRINI (1623-c.1690)
Nicola MATTEIS (?-after 1713)
Aria I [1:21]
Aria II [1:45]
Private Musicke (Pierre Pitzl, Hugh Sandilands, Daniel Pilz, Christopher Dickey
(guitar), Jesús Fernandez Baena (theorbo), Leonardo Massa (cello), David
Mayoral (percussion), Daniel Oman (colascione))/Pierre Pitzl
rec. 18 - 20 November 2010, Bischöfliches Palais, St Pölten, Austria.
ACCENT ACC 24239 [59:04]
The guitar does not play a central role in the modern classical music scene;
certainly not in comparison with the piano or the violin. There are many celebrated
players of these instruments who perform with the major orchestras, but how
often does a guitarist take centre-stage? On the other hand, among amateurs
the guitar is far from uncommon but in all probability they play mostly popular
tunes rather than classical music. In fact this is in line with the first stages
in the development of the guitar. The 5-course guitar, known as guitarra
spagnuola, came to Italy at the end of the 16th century and soon became
so dominant that it developed into serious competition for the lute. "In the
first half of the 17th century there were already over 100 publications with
guitar music. Perhaps its instant popularity was due to the fact that it was
easy for a beginner to play. A notation system known as alfabeto or 'Italian
alphabet' was quickly developed. With the Italian alphabet, even an amateur
who couln't read music was able to play easy dances and accompany songs"; so
say the liner-notes.
In the early days of historical performance practice the guitar wasn't taken
all that seriously. The late James Tyler played a crucial role in the rediscovery
of the guitar of the renaissance and the baroque. This came about through his
research and writings and his own performances and recordings. Today the guitar
regularly turns up in performances of early music both in a solo role and in
the basso continuo. It has to be said, though, that its growing popularity has
led to less plausible appearances. It seems out of place in performances of
North-German repertoire, for instance. You can hear this in a disc with cantatas
by Buxtehude by the Lautten Compagney Berlin (review).
It is however pleasing that the number of early music recordings with music
for guitar is growing.
The present disc also bears witness to the trend of playing guitar music with
additional instruments, like a string bass, another plucked instrument or percussion.
The documentation of this disc falls short in telling us about the original
scoring of the pieces in this programme. From the liner-notes I gather that
all of them - or at least the large majority - were written for just one guitar.
The question is why so few of them are performed with one guitar. The liner-notes
state that it is an instrument which invites improvisation, also because the
notation of many pieces is rather sketchy. That may be true, and there is no
objection to a guitarist using his own - historically informed - imagination
in working out such pieces. But it escapes me why such improvisations should
be a licence to add instruments at will.
The liner-notes are a bit confusing in this respect. In the English version
it is stated that there is documentary evidence of Francesco Corbetta travelling
with an accompanying instrumental ensemble and that this has "moved us to perform
several solo pieces as chamber music". Strangely enough there is no reference
to this in the German liner-notes which seem to be the original. So, what exactly
has happened here? Has the translator added something of his own? Talking about
the liner-notes, I am just wondering who wrote them. The name of the author
is given as Asher Middwoch. My search on the internet was fruitless.
I suspect that this could be a pseudonym, probably of Pierre Pitzl? In German
Aschermittwoch means Ash Wednesday and Middwoch is the
Bavarian version of Mittwoch. So is this a little joke?
Returning to the subject of ensemble performances, the very fact that Corbetta
performed with an ensemble tells us nothing about the type of instruments which
accompanied him. And what about the other composers on this disc? For instance,
the guitar is accompanied by the theorbo in various pieces - was this common
practice at the time? And what exactly was the role of the percussion? Was it
used with the guitar, and if so, when and where? This takes us to the question
about where exactly pieces like those recorded here were performed: in the homes
of private persons or in public, at the court of aristocrats or in royal palaces?
Most of the music on this disc is written in the so-called mixed style, a mixture
of strummed (rasgueado) and plucked (punteado) techniques. A notation
system for this style was also developed. The result was an increase in virtuosity
and a proliferation in experiments in regard to harmony. All the composers on
this disc were guitar players themselves. The best-known are Gaspar Sanz - his
famous Canarios is almost always included in performances of guitar music
- and Francesco Corbetta. The latter was guitar teacher of Louis XIV of France,
which is an indication that the guitar also developed into an instrument of
the upper classes. He later went to England with Charles II. Probably the first
composer to adopt the mixed style was Giovanni Paolo Foscarini, who also moved
in aristocratic circles. Sanz, on the other hand, switches between the two styles.
He appears in a programme with Italian music because he studied in Naples and
his compositions show Italian influences.
There are also some little-known names. About some of them hardly anything is
known, like Carlo Calvi and Domenico Pellegrini. One of the most eccentric composers
is Giovanni Battista Granata, a pupil of Corbetta. He left no fewer than seven
books with pieces for the guitar. Ferdinando Valdambrini left some compositions
which even guitarists don't understand.
In the light of my criticism I should hasten to add that musically speaking
this is a fine disc. The music is great and often intriguing and the performances
are excellent. Even so, I would have liked it more if the guitar pieces had
been played with a guitar alone. If a performer decides to play these works
as ensemble pieces, he should try to explain why he does so and how he has come
to his decisions in regard to the scoring.
Johan van Veen
The music is great and often intriguing, the performances are fine, but the
scoring raises questions.