 | This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations .(December 2019) |
Bernardo Storace (fl. 1664) was an Italian composer. Almost nothing is known about his life; his only surviving collection of music contains numerous variation sets and represents a transitory stage between the time of Girolamo Frescobaldi and that of Bernardo Pasquini.
Very little is known about his life, except that in 1664 he served as Vice- Maestro di cappella to the senate of Messina. This fact is mentioned on the title page of Selva di varie compositioni d'intavolatura per cimbalo ed organo, the single surviving collection of Storace's music, which is also the only source of information on the composer. Messina was twice devastated by earthquakes, in 1783 and in 1908, so archival research is impossible. Given that Selva di varie compositioni was published in Venice and the music is stylistically somewhat more related to that of northern Italian composers, it is possible that Storace was originally from the north of Italy.
Storace's main interest in Selva di varie compositioni is the variation form. Particularly notable are the four passacaglias, which contain, in total, 320 representations of the descending tetrachord. Two of these works are split into several sections connected by modulatory passages: Passagagli sopra D sol re per # contains four sections (D major, A major, E major, and B minor; a total of 91 variations) and Passagagli sopra Fe fa ut per b three (F minor, B-flat minor and E-flat major; a total of 72 variations). The single chaconne included in the collection also comprises variations on a four-bar pattern.
The rest of the variation sets tend to feature longer patterns, up to 24 bars in Aria sopra la Spagnoletta. The theme of the latter piece is, curiously, not related to Frescobaldi's Spagnoletta; it is only found in a 16th-century Florentine manuscript. Storace uses a transposed version of it and produces six variations with very brief connecting passages between them. A similar situation is observed in Partita sopra il Cinque passi: there are fifteen variations on a six-bar theme, connected by brief transitions, and the theme is again not related to the more well-known Cinquepassi of The Mulliner Book, or to cinquepassi as explained by Michael Praetorius in his writings. Storace's Follia uses the same theme as Frescobaldi's Follia, but neither is related to the famous La Folía . Finally, Storace's variations on the Passo e mezzo include one on the moderno variant of the theme and two on the antico ; all three sets are examples of mixed variations, for they include sections marked gagliarda or corrente, i.e., dances.
Storace's two toccatas are rather brief pieces, less complex harmonically than their Italian predecessors. The two ricercars, on the other hand, are masterful works–the first (titled simply Ricercar) is in fact a triple fugue, the first theme of which is Frescobaldi's, from the famous Ricercare con l'obbligo di cantare la quinta parte senza tocarla from Fiori musicali . The last piece of Selva di varie compositioni is also its most intriguing: Storace's Pastorale is a very long work consisting of numerous repeated figures, variations, etc., all over an incessant pedal note. There are five sections arranged symmetrically: prima parte and seconde parte are followed by an aria, which is followed by terza parte and quarta parte.
Selva di varie compositioni contains the following works (listed here in the original order):
A chaconne is a type of musical composition often used as a vehicle for variation on a repeated short harmonic progression, often involving a fairly short repetitive bass-line which offers a compositional outline for variation, decoration, figuration and melodic invention. In this it closely resembles the passacaglia. It originates and was particularly popular in the Baroque era; a large number of Chaconnes exist from the 17th- and 18th- centuries.
The passacaglia is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used today by composers. It is usually of a serious character and is often, but not always, based on a bass-ostinato and written in triple metre.
Girolamo Alessandro Frescobaldi was an Italian composer and virtuoso keyboard player. Born in the Duchy of Ferrara, he was one of the most important composers of keyboard music in the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. A child prodigy, Frescobaldi studied under Luzzasco Luzzaschi in Ferrara, but was influenced by many composers, including Ascanio Mayone, Giovanni Maria Trabaci, and Claudio Merulo. Girolamo Frescobaldi was appointed organist of St. Peter's Basilica, a focal point of power for the Cappella Giulia, from 21 July 1608 until 1628 and again from 1634 until his death.
Georg Muffat was a Baroque composer and organist. He is best known for the remarkably articulate and informative performance directions printed along with his collections of string pieces Florilegium Primum and Florilegium Secundum in 1695 and 1698.
The sonatas and partitas for solo violin are a set of six works composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. They are sometimes referred to in English as the sonatas and partias for solo violin in accordance with Bach's headings in the autograph manuscript: "Partia" was commonly used in German-speaking regions during Bach's time, whereas the Italian "partita" was introduced to this set in the 1879 Bach Gesellschaft edition, having become standard by that time. The set consists of three sonatas da chiesa in four movements and three partitas in dance-form movements. The 2nd Partita is widely known for its Chaconne, considered one of the most masterly and expressive works ever written for solo violin.
Giorgio Pacchioni is an Italian performer, professor, and composer.
Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger was an Austrian-Italian virtuoso performer and composer of the early Baroque period. A prolific and highly original composer, Kapsberger is chiefly remembered today for his lute and theorbo (chitarrone) music, which was seminal in the development of these as solo instruments.
Alessandro Poglietti was a Baroque organist and composer of unknown origin. In the second half of the 17th century Poglietti settled in Vienna, where he attained an extremely high reputation, becoming one of Leopold I's favorite composers. Poglietti held the post of court organist for 22 years from 1661 until his death during the Turkish siege that led into the Battle of Vienna.
The year 1664 in music involved some significant events.
Fiori musicali is a collection of liturgical organ music by Girolamo Frescobaldi, first published in 1635. It contains three organ masses and two secular capriccios. Generally acknowledged as one of Frescobaldi's greatest works, Fiori musicali influenced composers during at least two centuries. Johann Sebastian Bach was among its admirers, and parts of it were included in the celebrated Gradus ad parnassum, a highly influential 1725 treatise by Johann Joseph Fux which was in use even in the 19th century.
Johann Krieger was a German composer and organist, younger brother of Johann Philipp Krieger. Born in Nuremberg, he worked at Bayreuth, Zeitz, and Greiz before settling in Zittau. He was one of the most important keyboard composers of his day, highly esteemed by, among others, George Frideric Handel. A prolific composer of church and secular music, he published several dozen of his works, and others survive in manuscript. However, hundreds more were lost when Zittau was destroyed by fire in 1757, during the Seven Years' War.
Passacaglia in D minor is an organ work by Dieterich Buxtehude. It is generally acknowledged as one of his most important works, and was possibly an influence on Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, as well as Brahms' music.
Il secondo libro di toccate is a collection of keyboard music by Girolamo Frescobaldi, first published in 1627. A work of immense historical importance, it includes the first known chaconne and passacaglia, as well as the earliest set of variations on an original theme. Il secondo libro di toccate is widely regarded as a high point in Frescobaldi's oeuvre.
The Chaconne in G minor is a Baroque composition for violin and continuo, traditionally attributed to the Italian composer Tomaso Antonio Vitali. A Dresden manuscript that may have been transcribed in the early 18th century is the earliest known version of the chaconne, but it was not published until 1867 when Ferdinand David arranged it for violin and piano. The origin of its composition has been debated, with some musicologists hypothesizing that the work is a musical hoax composed by David rather than Vitali. Léopold Charlier made significant alterations to the chaconne in the early 20th century, transforming it into a virtuosic, Romantic-style showpiece. It has been arranged by numerous other composers, including Hans Werner Henze, who used it as the basis for his work Il Vitalino raddoppiato (1977).
| General | |
|---|---|
| National libraries | |
| Scientific databases | |
| Other | |
