Album insights
In the midst of the Spanish semi-desert, a dusty little town with temperatures soaring close to 40 degrees hosts the Daroca Festival near Calatayud in Aragón, Spain. The highlight features José Gonzales Uriol delivering solo performances of ancient Spanish masterpieces on a majestic, ancient organ in a somber, cool church interior. The grand, solemn sounds of this organ, emerging from unseen depths, captivate listeners with their shadowy harmonies and lavish adornments. The Cornetto concert emerges from an unexpected setting - the capability of Spanish organs with 'halved' keyboards to produce rich, vibrant tones.
During the 16th and 17th centuries in Spain, Cornettos accompanied vocalists widely, although a lack of developed publishing hindered the local repertoire. However, the surviving organ pieces featuring a line for the Corneta stop are exceptionally suited for the Cornetto. The expressive nature of the Cornetto, with its vivid contrasts akin to the Spanish Golden Age art, complements and enhances this music. Furthermore, the improvised ornamentation of melodies, particularly exhibited in the Tiento de medio registro by Francisco Correa de Arauxo, showcases the refinement of this art form.
The late 16th and early 17th centuries were marked by a musical isolation in Spain, clinging to Renaissance forms while neighboring Italy flourished with new musical ideas and techniques. Italy's artistic explosiveness during this time birthed operas, recitatives, and dramatic cantatas, leading to heightened expressivity in vocal and instrumental music, exemplified by the selected pieces in this album. Following this period, instrumental virtuosity extended beyond polyphony, evolving into new melodic forms like the solo sonata.
The chosen sonatas by Giovanni Battista Fontana, Tarquinio Merula, and Dario Castello, reveal varied approaches to this new form, reflecting personal styles. These sonatas, representative of the early Baroque period in Italy, differ in tonality, character, and structure, presented artistically by skilled performers. The selection of keyboard works on this record illustrates a spirit of extravagance, showcasing stylistic intricacies and chromatic complexities in compositions like those by Giovanni de Macque, Merula, and Rossi.
Harpsichord and lute solos captured on this record, penned in Rome, represent another facet of Italian instrumental music – variations on themes. Works like Frescobaldi's Partite and the bass variations of Ciaccona by Kapsberger display a diverse landscape of Italian instrumental repertoire, with the former displaying refined variations while the latter focusing on dance music traditions.