September 8, 2014.A remarkable week.Almost every year the second week of September brings an exceptionally large number of anniversaries: depending on the year, eight or nine birthdays of eminent composers fall within these seven days.This year the composers are: Antonin Dvořák, born on this, September 8th, in 1841, Henry Purcell – on September 10th of 1659; then the following day, the 11th of September, is the birthday of William Boyce, one of the most important English composers of the 18th century.On the same day, but almost three centuries later, in 1935, the wonderful Estonian composer Arvo Pärt was born.And that’s not all –September 13th is the birth date of three composers: Girolamo Frescobaldi in 1583, Clara Schumann in 1819, and Arnold Schoenberg in 1874.Michael Haydn, the younger brother of Joseph and an excellent composer in his own right, was born on September 14th of 1737, and finally Luigi Cherubini was also born on September 14th, in 1760.In the past we’ve written about some about these composers, this week we’ll turn to an Italian, Girolamo Frescobaldi.
Girolamo Frescobaldi, probably the most influential keyboard composers of the early Baroque, was born in Ferrara.For almost four centuries the Dukes of Este, famous as patrons of arts, ruled this city.The duke at the time of Frescobaldi’s birth was Alfonso II d'Este, and as a music lover he turned Ferrara in one of the most important musical centers of Italy.He maintained an orchestra, had a large collection of instruments and also a significant music library.Alfonso also established Concerto delle donne, probably the first professional female ensemble in history.Many composers visited Ferrara, among them Orlando di Lasso and Carlo Gesualdo.Young Frescobaldi studied with Luzzasco Luzzaschi, the court organist and at the time a highly respected composer (unfortunately most of his works were since lost).When he was in his twenties, Frescobaldi moved to Rome.His first job was as the organist of the important church of Santa Maria in Trastevere.Within the next year he undertook several trips to Flanders.He was in Antwerp when the Chapter of San Pietro elected him the organist of the St. Peter’s Basilica.He stayed in Rome till 1628 with the exception of a short period in 1614, when he moved to Mantua after the Duke Ferdinando Gonzaga offered him a large salary.Mantua was the city where the great Claudio Monteverdi had worked as a court composer for almost 20 years.Things didn’t work out for Frescobaldi: the court seemed to have no interest in him, and he returned to Rome.In 1628 Frescobaldi moved to Florence, into the employ of the Grand Duke and stayed there for seven years.He then returned to Rome, to his old position in St-Peter’s but also as a musician for the Barberini family, one of whose members, Maffeo Barberini, was at the time the Pope Urban VIII (many visitor to Rome know the magnificent Palazzo Barberini well, as it now houses the National Gallery of Ancient Arts).Frescobaldi stayed in Rome for the rest of his life; he died there on March 1st of 1643.
Frescobaldi was the first European composer to write mostly for a keyboard instrument; practically all music written by his great predecessors such as Orlando di Lasso and Claudio Monteverdi, was vocal and instrumental.His organ music influenced generations of composers, including Johann Sebastian Bach.One of Frescobaldi’s most important compositions was a 1635 collection of several Masses and other liturgical music called Fiori Musicali (Musical flowers).Parts of the Fiori were included in the famous book by Johann Joseph Fux called Gradus ad parnassum, a treatise on counterpoint written in 1725 but used as a textbook till the late 19th century (Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven all used it in their studies).Bachcopied the text of Fiori with his own hand.The three masses of the Fiori are: Missa della Domenica, Missa degli Apostoli, and Missa della Madonna.We’ll hear the first one, Missa della Domenica in the performance by the organist Roberto Loreggian.You’ll also hear the choir of Schola Gregoriana Scriptoria directed by Nicola M. Bellinazzo.
Remarkable week 2014
September 8, 2014. A remarkable week. Almost every year the second week of September brings an exceptionally large number of anniversaries: depending on the year, eight or nine birthdays of eminent composers fall within these seven days. This year the composers are: Antonin Dvořák, born on this, September 8th, in 1841, Henry Purcell – on September 10th of 1659; then the following day, the 11th of September, is the birthday of William Boyce, one of the most important English composers of the 18th century. On the same day, but almost three centuries later, in 1935, the wonderful Estonian composer Arvo Pärt was born. And that’s not all –September 13th is the birth date of three composers: Girolamo Frescobaldi in 1583, Clara Schumann in 1819, and Arnold Schoenberg in 1874. Michael Haydn, the younger brother of Joseph and an excellent composer in his own right, was born on September 14th of 1737, and finally Luigi Cherubini was also born on September 14th, in 1760. In the past we’ve written about some about these composers, this week we’ll turn to an Italian, Girolamo Frescobaldi.
Frescobaldi was the first European composer to write mostly for a keyboard instrument; practically all music written by his great predecessors such as Orlando di Lasso and Claudio Monteverdi, was vocal and instrumental. His organ music influenced generations of composers, including Johann Sebastian Bach. One of Frescobaldi’s most important compositions was a 1635 collection of several Masses and other liturgical music called Fiori Musicali (Musical flowers). Parts of the Fiori were included in the famous book by Johann Joseph Fux called Gradus ad parnassum, a treatise on counterpoint written in 1725 but used as a textbook till the late 19th century (Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven all used it in their studies). Bach copied the text of Fiori with his own hand. The three masses of the Fiori are: Missa della Domenica, Missa degli Apostoli, and Missa della Madonna. We’ll hear the first one, Missa della Domenica in the performance by the organist Roberto Loreggian. You’ll also hear the choir of Schola Gregoriana Scriptoria directed by Nicola M. Bellinazzo.