Author Archives: Nabob

Girolamo Frescobaldi: Notes and Commentary

Posted by Nabob on

“The development of instrumental music was a major development of the Baroque period. In organ music, the Baroque era found a master in Girolamo Frescobaldi.”—David Ewen, The Complete Book of Classical Music

Girolamo Frescobaldi is widely regarded as one of the most important composers of keyboard music in the early Baroque period. A child prodigy, his printed collections contain some of the most influential music of the 17th century. His work influenced Johann Jakob Froberger, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Henry Purcell, among others. He’s considered the first of the great composers of the ancient Franco-Netherlandish-Italian tradition who chose to focus his creative energy on instrumental composition. He brought a wide range of emotion to the relatively unplumbed depths of instrumental music, mostly for keyboard. He lived from September 1583 to March 1, 1643.—Excerpted from Wikipedia

Girolamo Frescobaldi Books and Music
More on Frescobaldi
Back to home page

Girolamo Frescobaldi: Complete Works

Posted by Nabob on

The following list is excerpted from Wikipedia:

Keyboard music

  • Il primo libro delle fantasie a quattro (Milan, 1608): 12 fantasies
  • Toccate e partite d’intavolatura di cimbalo, libro primo (Rome, 1615): 12 toccatas, 4 partitas, 4 correntes (revised in 1637 with additions)
  • Recercari et canzoni franzese fatte sopra diverse oblighi in partitura, libro primo (Rome, 1615): 10 ricercars, 5 canzonas
  • Il primo libro di capricci fatti sopra diversi soggetti et arie in partitura (Rome, 1624): 12 capriccios
  • Il secondo libro di toccate, canzone, versi d’hinni, Magnificat, gagliarde, correnti et altre partite d’intavolatura di cembalo et organo (Rome, 1627): 11 toccatas, 6 canzonas, 4 hymns, 3 Magnificats, 5 galliards, 6 correntes and 4 partitas (revised in 1637)
  • Fiori musicali di diverse compositioni, toccate, kyrie, canzoni, capricci, e recercari, in partitura (Venice, 1635): 3 organ masses, 2 capriccios

A single posthumous print consisting entirely of unpublished music:

  • Canzoni alla francese in partitura, [libro quarto] (Venice, 1645): 11 canzonas

Frescobaldi’s works also appeared in the Nova instructio pro pulsandis organis, spinettis, manuchordiis series of prints in the 1670s.

Manuscript sources for Frescobaldi’s keyboard music include the following:

  • D-Mbs Mus.ms.1581: 12 canzonas
  • F-Pn rés.Vm7 675: 2 capriccios, 1 trio, 1 fantasia
  • Fioretti di Frescobaldi, GB-Lbl Add.40080: 11 canzonas, 1 toccata. This manuscript is in the hand of Nicolò Borbone, Frescobaldi’s assistant and engraver for the two books of toccatas.
  • Lbl Add.36661: 3 toccatas, 2 canzonas
  • I-RAc Classense 545: 2 capriccios, 1 canzona, 1 verset

And finally, the so-called Chigi manuscripts include one (Rvat Chigi Q.IV) which is partly an autograph source and contains numerous works, including a number of unique copies (as well as a number of pieces with insecure attribution to Frescobaldi).
Other instrumental music

  • 3 canzonas a 4, 5, and 8 (1608)
  • In partitura, il primo libro delle canzoni a 1–4, bc, per sonare con ogni sorte di stromenti (Rome, 1628): 38 ensemble canzonas, edited by . Two different editions appeared in 1628, one with 3 new works; a 1634 Venice print (Canzoni da sonare) contains 28 pieces, removing some of the old works and adding 10 new ones.

Vocal music

  • Il primo libro de’ madrigali (Antwerp, 1608): 19 madrigals for 5 voices
  • Liber secundus diversarum modulationum (Rome, 1627): 32 motets
  • Primo libro d’arie musicali per cantarsi (Florence, 1630): 23 arias for 1–3 voices and basso continuo
  • Secondo libro d’arie musicali per cantarsi (Florence, 1630): 20 arias for 1–3 voices and basso continuo

Additionally, a few pieces were published in anthologies:

  • Peccavi super numerum, motet for 3 voices and basso continuo (1616)
  • Angelus ad pastores, motet for 3 voices and basso continuo (1618)
  • Alla gloria alli honori, aria for 2 voices and basso continuo (1621)
  • Ego sum panis vivus, motet for 3 voices and basso continuo (1621)
  • O bell’occhi che guerrieri, aria for voice and basso continuo (1621)
  • Era l’anima mia, aria for 2 voices and basso continuo (1622)
  • Jesu rex admirabilis, motet for 4 voices and basso continuo (1625)

Two polychoral masses are attributed to Frescobaldi by some scholars, but the attribution remains controversial:

    • Missa sopra l’aria della monica
    • Missa sopra l’aria di Fiorenza

—Excerpted from Wikipedia

Girolamo Frescobaldi Books and Music
More on Frescobaldi
Back to home page

Girolamo Frescobaldi: Books and Music

Posted by Nabob on

Selected Books
Girolamo Frescobaldi
Harvard Univ. Press, 1983
Frederick Hammond
$139.95 on Amazon

frescobaldi

Music in the Baroque Era: From Monteverdi to Bach
W.W. Norton, 1947
Manfred Bukofzer
$39.95 on Amazon

Bukofzer

Selected Music

frescobaldi3 Arie Musicali, Book 2 (2000), 1 CD

frescobaldi1 Complete Edition (2011), 15-CD set

51BIiIi9pIL._AA160_ Canzoni (2004), 1 CD

More Girolamo Frescobaldi music

More on Frescobaldi
Back to home page

Girolamo Frescobaldi, 1583-1643

Posted by Nabob on

Girolamo Frescobaldi

Selected Recordings

Il Primo Libro di Ricercari

Aria e Corrente

Il Primo Libro delle Canzoni, Part 2

Selected Sheet Music

Ave Virgo gloriosa
gloriosa

Source: IMSLP.org

Showcase Piece

I Libro di Capricci

Notes and Commentary

“The development of instrumental music was a major development of the Baroque period. In organ music, the Baroque era found a master in Girolamo Frescobaldi.”—David Ewen, The Complete Book of Classical Music

Girolamo Frescobaldi is widely regarded as one of the most important composers of keyboard music in the early Baroque period. A child prodigy, his printed collections contain some of the most influential music of the 17th century. His work influenced Johann Jakob Froberger, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Henry Purcell, among others. He’s considered the first of the great composers of the ancient Franco-Netherlandish-Italian tradition who chose to focus his creative energy on instrumental composition. He brought a wide range of emotion to the relatively unplumbed depths of instrumental music, mostly for keyboard. He lived from September 1583 to March 1, 1643.—Excerpted from Wikipedia

Books and Music

Selected Books
Girolamo Frescobaldi
Harvard Univ. Press, 1983
Frederick Hammond
$139.95 on Amazon

frescobaldi

Music in the Baroque Era: From Monteverdi to Bach
W.W. Norton, 1947
Manfred Bukofzer
$39.95 on Amazon

Bukofzer

Selected Music

frescobaldi3 Arie Musicali, Book 2 (2000), 1 CD

frescobaldi1 Complete Edition (2011), 15-CD set

51BIiIi9pIL._AA160_ Canzoni (2004), 1 CD

More Girolamo Frescobaldi music

Complete Works

The following list is excerpted from Wikipedia:

Keyboard music

  • Il primo libro delle fantasie a quattro (Milan, 1608): 12 fantasies
  • Toccate e partite d’intavolatura di cimbalo, libro primo (Rome, 1615): 12 toccatas, 4 partitas, 4 correntes (revised in 1637 with additions)
  • Recercari et canzoni franzese fatte sopra diverse oblighi in partitura, libro primo (Rome, 1615): 10 ricercars, 5 canzonas
  • Il primo libro di capricci fatti sopra diversi soggetti et arie in partitura (Rome, 1624): 12 capriccios
  • Il secondo libro di toccate, canzone, versi d’hinni, Magnificat, gagliarde, correnti et altre partite d’intavolatura di cembalo et organo (Rome, 1627): 11 toccatas, 6 canzonas, 4 hymns, 3 Magnificats, 5 galliards, 6 correntes and 4 partitas (revised in 1637)
  • Fiori musicali di diverse compositioni, toccate, kyrie, canzoni, capricci, e recercari, in partitura (Venice, 1635): 3 organ masses, 2 capriccios

A single posthumous print consisting entirely of unpublished music:

  • Canzoni alla francese in partitura, [libro quarto] (Venice, 1645): 11 canzonas

Frescobaldi’s works also appeared in the Nova instructio pro pulsandis organis, spinettis, manuchordiis series of prints in the 1670s.

Manuscript sources for Frescobaldi’s keyboard music include the following:

  • D-Mbs Mus.ms.1581: 12 canzonas
  • F-Pn rés.Vm7 675: 2 capriccios, 1 trio, 1 fantasia
  • Fioretti di Frescobaldi, GB-Lbl Add.40080: 11 canzonas, 1 toccata. This manuscript is in the hand of Nicolò Borbone, Frescobaldi’s assistant and engraver for the two books of toccatas.
  • Lbl Add.36661: 3 toccatas, 2 canzonas
  • I-RAc Classense 545: 2 capriccios, 1 canzona, 1 verset

And finally, the so-called Chigi manuscripts include one (Rvat Chigi Q.IV) which is partly an autograph source and contains numerous works, including a number of unique copies (as well as a number of pieces with insecure attribution to Frescobaldi).
Other instrumental music

  • 3 canzonas a 4, 5, and 8 (1608)
  • In partitura, il primo libro delle canzoni a 1–4, bc, per sonare con ogni sorte di stromenti (Rome, 1628): 38 ensemble canzonas, edited by . Two different editions appeared in 1628, one with 3 new works; a 1634 Venice print (Canzoni da sonare) contains 28 pieces, removing some of the old works and adding 10 new ones.

Vocal music

  • Il primo libro de’ madrigali (Antwerp, 1608): 19 madrigals for 5 voices
  • Liber secundus diversarum modulationum (Rome, 1627): 32 motets
  • Primo libro d’arie musicali per cantarsi (Florence, 1630): 23 arias for 1–3 voices and basso continuo
  • Secondo libro d’arie musicali per cantarsi (Florence, 1630): 20 arias for 1–3 voices and basso continuo

Additionally, a few pieces were published in anthologies:

  • Peccavi super numerum, motet for 3 voices and basso continuo (1616)
  • Angelus ad pastores, motet for 3 voices and basso continuo (1618)
  • Alla gloria alli honori, aria for 2 voices and basso continuo (1621)
  • Ego sum panis vivus, motet for 3 voices and basso continuo (1621)
  • O bell’occhi che guerrieri, aria for voice and basso continuo (1621)
  • Era l’anima mia, aria for 2 voices and basso continuo (1622)
  • Jesu rex admirabilis, motet for 4 voices and basso continuo (1625)

Two polychoral masses are attributed to Frescobaldi by some scholars, but the attribution remains controversial:

    • Missa sopra l’aria della monica
    • Missa sopra l’aria di Fiorenza

—Excerpted from Wikipedia

Back to home page

Heinrich Schütz: Notes and Commentary

Posted by Nabob on

“Heinrich Schütz was Germany’s most significant composer before the age of Bach and Handel. He represents the transition between not only two epochs but also two cultures.”—David Ewen, The Complete Book of Classical Music

Schütz was a German composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach and often considered to be one of the most important composers of the 17th century along with Claudio Monteverdi. He wrote what is traditionally considered to be the first German opera, Dafne, performed at Torgau in 1627, the music of which has since been lost.

Schütz’s compositions show the influence of his teacher Gabrieli (displayed most notably with Schütz’s use of polychoral and concertato styles) and of Monteverdi. Additionally, the influence of the Netherlandish composers of the 16th century is prominent in his work. His best known works are in the field of sacred music, ranging from solo voice with instrumental accompaniment to a cappella choral music. Representative works include his three books of Symphoniae sacrae, the Psalms of David, the Sieben Worte Jesu Christi am Kreuz (the Seven Last Words on the Cross), and his three Passion settings.

Schütz’s music, while starting off in the most progressive styles early in his career, eventually grew into a style that is simple and almost austere, culminating with his late Passion settings.

He was one of the last composers to write in a modal style. His harmonies often result from the contrapuntal alignment of voices rather than from any sense of “harmonic motion”; contrastingly, much of his music shows a strong tonal pull when approaching cadences. His music includes a great deal of imitation, but structured in such a way that the successive voices do not necessarily enter after the same number of beats or at predictable intervallic distances.

Schütz’s writing often includes intense dissonances caused by the contrapuntal motion of voices moving in correct individual linear motion, but resulting in harmonic tension. Above all, his music displays sensitivity to the accents and meaning of the text, which is often conveyed using special technical figures drawn from musica poetica, themselves drawn from or created in analogy to the verbal figures of classical rhetoric.

Beyond the early book of madrigals, almost no secular music by Schütz has survived, save for a few domestic songs (arien) and no purely instrumental music at all (unless one counts the short instrumental movement entitled “sinfonia” that encloses the dialogue of Die sieben Worte), even though he had a reputation as one of the finest organists in Germany.

Schütz was of great importance in bringing new musical ideas to Germany from Italy, and as such had a large influence on the German music which was to follow. The style of the North German organ school derives largely from him. A century later this music was to culminate in the work of J.S. Bach. He lived from October 18, 1585, to November 18, 1672.—Excerpted from Wikipedia

Heinrich Schütz Books and Music
More on Schütz
Back to home page

Heinrich Schütz: Complete Works

Posted by Nabob on

The following are major published works. Access complete list on Wikipedia. There are more than 500 surviving pieces in all.

  • Il primo libro de madrigali (first book of madrigals) (opus 1, Venice, 1611)
  • Psalmen Davids (Book 1) (opus 2, Dresden, 1619)
  • Historia der … Aufferstehung … (The Resurrection) (opus 3, Dresden, 1623)
  • Cantiones sacrae (opus 4, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1625)
  • Becker Psalter (opus 5, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1628, revised 1661)
  • Symphoniae sacrae (Book 1) (opus 6, Venice, 1629)
  • Musikalische Exequien (opus 7, Dresden, 1636)
  • Kleine geistliche Konzerte (Book 1) (opus 8, Leipzig, 1636)
  • Kleine geistliche Konzerte (Book 2) (opus 9, Leipzig, 1639)
  • Symphoniae sacrae (Book 2) (opus 10, Dresden, 1647)
  • Geistliche Chor-Music (opus 11, Dresden, 1648)
  • Symphoniae sacrae (Book 3) (opus 12, Dresden, 1650)
  • Zwölf geistliche Gesänge (opus 13, Dresden, 1657)
  • Historia, der … Geburt … Jesu Christi (The Nativity), (Dresden, 1664)
  • Königs und Propheten 119er Psalm … (Psalm 119, Psalm 100, and German Magnificat: “Swan Song”] (opus ultimum, Dresden, 1671)—Excerpted from Wikipedia

Heinrich Schütz Books and Music
More on Schütz
Back to home page