June 2012 Pp. 22-25 .Indd
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Inspired by Italy: Encounters with Italian Historical Organs, Their Surroundings, and Their Music Christina Hutten hat if I told you that there is surviv- Wing Italian organ music as splendid as Giovanni Gabrieli’s In Ecclesiis and as ethereal as Gregorio Allegri’s Miser- ere? A few months ago, I would not have believed it either. In fact, I was under the impression that compared to Italy’s glorious tradition of ensemble music, its organ music was of lesser importance, and its historical organs were pretty but small. On paper, every instrument looked the same—a single manual, one octave of pull-down pedals, and a stop- list consisting of a principal chorus (the Ripieno), a fl ute or two, and perhaps a Voce Umana.1 Three months of studying organ in Italy with Francesco Cera radi- cally changed my mind. I went intend- ing to obtain a more complete picture of early organ music, having already spent time in France, Holland, and Germany. I left in love with a magnifi cent collection of keyboard music. My change of heart began not with the music but with the art and architecture of Italy. The entire country is like a giant Figure 3. The bird stops of the Bonatti open-air museum. Visitors can enter and Figure 1. The domes of San Marco organ in Verona experience the very places where Ga- brieli, Frescobaldi, and so many others An exquisitely crafted Regale with rare made music. That they were inspired by original parchment resonators mounted their surroundings is impossible to con- on a separate windchest like a Brustwerk test. These places are by defi nition inspir- is also playable from the main manual. ing. They were designed by the world’s The second manual controls the Organo greatest architects and fi lled with art by Piccolo, a tiny 4′ echo division situated the greatest sculptors and painters from behind the player. Other special effects anonymous Roman masters to Pinturic- include a chorus of bird stops (Figure 3) chio, Raffaello, Michelangelo, Bernini, and a Tamburo (a stop played by the low- Tintoretto, and many others. Elaborate est pedal note that imitates a drum using organ cases are among the most striking a cluster of bass pipes). The pedals are architectural features of many Italian permanently coupled to the main man- churches and palace chapels. I began to ual, but this organ also includes an inde- realize that such glorious spaces where pendent pedal reed and Contrabassi— the organ had so much visual impor- octave of 16′ wooden pipes. The tone of tance simply must have resounded with the organ is sweet and elegant, thanks in impressive organ playing. part to its comparatively low wind pres- The instruments themselves also pro- sure, a common feature of Italian organs. vided indisputable proof. They were The wind pressure of this Bonatti organ far from boring. Though their stoplists is set at 53–55 mm. By contrast, the wind were similar, their tonal character var- pressure of the comparably sized 1704 ied widely from region to region in a Schnitger organ in Eenum, the Nether- way that perfectly complemented the lands, is set at 62.5 mm. The tonal variety art and architecture of the area. What of and elegance of the Bonatti organ make the music that survived for these instru- it perfect for 18th-century music, includ- ments? At fi rst glance, it seemed simple ing the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mo- to me, appeared not to require pedals, Figure 2. The keyboard of the Antegnati organ of Santa Barbara zart, who, incidentally, played this instru- and certainly seemed an inappropriate ment while on tour in Italy. choice for performance on modern in- eyes. Appropriately, Venice’s painters— 1577). Its 16′ plenum is glowing rather struments. Fortunately, all of this was Titian, Tintoretto and others—are famed than brilliant, perfect for Cavazzoni’s Music of the Venetian and Emilian only an illusion created by a style of mu- for their use of color and the way that music, which is closely related to choral Schools sical notation that left many crucial inter- light seems to shine from within their polyphony. As was the norm in Italy until The keyboard music of northern Italy pretive decisions to the discretion of the paintings. Of the city’s 114 churches, the the 18th century, the organ is tuned in reached its peak during the Renaissance. performer, who would have been famil- Basilica Cattedrale di San Marco is the mean-tone temperament, but the key- Its focal point was the Basilica di San iar with the contemporary musical style most famous (Figure 1). One of the fi n- board has split keys (Figure 2), allowing Marco in Venice. The splendid polycho- and performance practices. I learned est examples of Byzantine architecture, the player to choose between D# and Eb ral tradition of the basilica profoundly in- why an understanding and appreciation its exterior is covered with inlaid marble and between G# and Ab, thus enabling fl uenced the organ music of the Venetian of historical art, architecture, and instru- and carvings, while its interior glows with one to play in many more tonalities and school. Composers of the Venetian school ments and a knowledge of the surviving gilded mosaics. Besides its breathtaking to better imitate the pure intonation that were responsible for some of the most repertoire and treatises are so crucial for opulence, the sheer size of the cathedral a vocal ensemble is able to achieve. The important developments in keyboard today’s performer. is impressive. Remarkably, at the time of keyboard and pedalboard both have par- composition of both the Renaissance and Early Italian keyboard music is most Claudio Merulo (1533–1604), Andrea ticularly long compasses, the keyboard the Baroque. Marc’Antonio Cavazzoni’s successful when its interpretation is Gabrieli (1533–1585), and the rest of the from C to F5 and the pedalboard from collection, Recerchari, mottetti, canzoni– informed by historical sources and in- illustrious line of musicians who worked C to A2. The music of Marc’Antonio Libro primo, printed in Venice in 1523, spired by the conviction that it is the here, San Marco was not a cathedral, but Cavazzoni (1485–1550), Girolamo’s fa- is one of the most important examples of aural representation of Italy’s breathtak- the private chapel of the Doge of Ven- ther, demands such a compass. This long early 16th-century organ music. Cavaz- ing visual splendor. Italy’s art, architec- ice, and Venice was one of the richest key compass also permits the organist to zoni was born in Bologna, where he ture, and music can be organized into and most important cities in the world! play in different octaves, using the 16′ probably received his musical training at regional schools based in four of Italy’s My impression of Venetian organ music Principale at 8′ pitch, for example. The the Basilica di San Petronio, and likely most historically important cities: Venice changed completely when I examined it winding of this organ is a special treat. knew the famous 1475 Lorenzo da Prato and Florence in the north, Rome in cen- through the lens of Venice’s vibrant color Rather than supplying an electric blow- organ there. Later he moved to Venice tral Italy, and Naples in the south. Allow palette and astounding splendor. er, Giorgio Carli installed an automatic and was an assistant to Adriano Willaert me to share some of the highlights of my bellow lifter to pump the bellows. This at San Marco. Cavazzoni’s recerchari are journey to discover their art, historical Organs of Northern Italy allows the player to experience the won- particularly signifi cant, because they are organs, and keyboard music. The organs of northern Italy are char- derful fl exibility of playing on pumped among the earliest free compositions acterized by their cantabile tone. Some wind without the trouble of hiring a per- for the organ. These recerchari are ma- Venetian Splendor also have much more colorful stoplists son to pump the bellows. jestic pieces written in an improvisatory Today, the city of Venice continues to than organs in other parts of Italy. In Near Mantua, in the Chiesa di San style. Like later toccatas, they investigate exist mainly because of the tourists. Many 2006, Giorgio Carli completed the res- Tommaso Cantuariense in Verona, stands idiomatic keyboard fi guration rather of the locals have moved to the mainland. toration of the 1565 Graziadio Antegnati a well-preserved 18th-century organ built than counterpoint. While his father, Nevertheless, the city’s colorful vibrancy organ of the Basilica di Santa Barbara, by Giuseppe Bonatti in 1716. It is a two- Marc’Antonio, was a pioneer in develop- and the remnants of its former grandeur the private chapel of the duke of Mantua. manual instrument with an unusually ing idiomatic keyboard fi guration, Giro- are very evident. The reds, oranges, and The organ’s case is beautiful. Its richly colorful stoplist and a lavish complement lamo Cavazzoni, organist at Santa Barba- yellows of the houses and shops, the painted doors contrast with the white of special effects. The main manual con- ra in Mantua, was a master of imitating green of the canals, the aquamarine of walls of the chapel. This instrument was trols the Grand Organo—the usual Ripi- vocal polyphony at the keyboard. An 2 the lagoon, and the glistening white of built under the direction of organist and eno plus a Cornetto (in two parts: 4′-2 ⁄3′ understanding of the text of the chants, 3 the church façades are a feast for the composer Girolamo Cavazzoni (1520– and 2′-1 ⁄5′), Trombe reali, and two fl utes.