Release Date: 07 January 2004
Label: Naxos - Nxc / Naxos Classics
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 747313213122
Genres: Classical
Composer/Series: Dialogue for Two Organs
Description
Dialogue for Two OrgansCherubini Galuppi Clementi Bonazzi Busi CannetiDialogue: \a verbal interchange, conversation betweentwo or more persons ... a composition for two or morevoices or instruments. Intelligence, logic and reason allhave a part to play, not only in human conversation, butalso in musical dialogues, through simplicity ofexpression, hexachordal mutation of Gregorian chant,well-considered responses to musical cues, and so on.These dialogues for two organs originate in partfrom the practice of alternatim, in which the instrumentwould both add to and draw inspiration from a complexpolyphonic texture. Organ improvisation is moreovercenturies-old, as shown by this reference made to it byGirolamo Diruta (c.1550- after 1612) in his organtreatise Il Transilvano: "... listening in St Mark's(Venice), that most famous of churches, to a duelbetween two organs responding to one another withsuch skill and grace that I was almost beside myself, andlonging to meet these two great champions, I waited bythe door until I saw appear Claudio Merulo and AndreaGabrieli...". The cities of Venice, Milan, Padua,Bologna, Rome and Naples -- whose churches boastedinstruments constructed by the greatest organ-builders-- all, thanks to the musical genius and imagination oftheir organist-composers, played a part in establishingcompositional criteria and various different musicalforms, of which this CD contains a number of examples,the latest work dating from the mid-nineteenth century.The Sonata for two organs by the Florentinecomposer Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842) is dated 1780,Milan. The lighthearted opening theme is followed by amasterful display of counterpoint in two fugues, for thefirst and second organ respectively. The initial themereturns at the end in a duel of rhythm and movementbefore the two join in unison at the final cadence. In hislight and elegant Sonata for two harpsichords, or organand spinet, Baldassare Galuppi, "Il Buranello" (1707-85), favours the style galant, the simplified and styliseddescendant of the Baroque. The score of the nineteenthcenturySonata for two organs by an "anonymousItalian", like those of the Clementi and Bonazzi pieces,is held in the Milan Cathedral archive. All these workshave been newly published by Armelin (Padua). In theanonymous piece, the thematic elements (variouslytransposed) are passed back and forth, echo-like,between the two instruments, thereby creating atransparent, flowing musical texture, with richerharmonies generally occurring at the cadences.Also included on this CD is the Sonata for twoorgans by Muzio Clementi (1752-1832), prodigy,composer, pianist and publisher. His skill in thepianistic idiom is evident in this piece, which is dividedinto three principal sections: Allegro molto-Allegretto-Allegro molto. Ferdinando Bonazzi (1764-1845) wasfirst organist at Milan Cathedral and his Suonata andPastoral for two organs both come from its archive. Weknow that there were two organists at Milan, who wouldtak
Tracklisting
Dariia Lytvishko
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Marin Alsop
Alice Di Piazza; Basel Sinfonietta; NDR Bigband; Titus Engel
Anna Alas i Jove; Miquel Villalba
David Childs; Black Dyke Band; Nicholas Childs
Yaqi Yang; Margarita Parsamyan; Robynne Redmon; Minghao Liu; Frank Ragsdale; Kim Josephson; Kevin S
Vilmos Csikos; Olivier Lechardeur; Manon Lamaison
Tomas Cotik; Martingale Ensemble; Ken Selden
