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Uncategorized – Ensemble Symposium
Nuovi impulsi per la musica d’Europa

L’Ensemble Symposium ha interpretato con grande successo musiche italiane dimenticate

Di Hans Karweik (Wolfsburger Nachrichten, 1 Aprile 2019)

  • Ensemble Symposium

Migrants è il titolo del concerto dato dall’Ensemble Symposium al castello di Wolfsburg. Qui sono stati presentati alcuni brani ritrovati e riportati in vita di compositori italiani che girovagarono per l’Europa, come Dora Balistrieri del Consolato Italiano di Wolfsburg ha spiegato: Felice Giardini, Giovanni Battista Cirri, Giuseppe Cambini e, in particolare, Luigi Boccherini. Migranti sono i musicisti stessi: Cristina Vidoni (violoncello) si è trasferita da Udine a Basilea. Oggi fa musica assieme Ars Musica Zürich e con la Cappella Neapolitana. Beatrice Scaldini (violino) ha proseguito i suoi studi alla Royal Academy of Music a Londra. Simone Laghi (viola) si è addottorato a Cardiff (Wales) proprio sulla musica da camera italiana del diciottesimo secolo, la quale risuona in una Gartensaal completamente piena. All’inizio il pubblico ha accolto questa musica colmo di aspettative, senza preconcetti, e alla fine l’ha applaudita entusiasta. È una reazione del tutto inconsueta per lavori sinora sconosciuti di autori che sono appena familiari. Ma tale reazione è davvero giustificata! I componenti dell’Ensemble Symposium suonano ben controllati, alzano gli occhi, si scambiano fugaci sguardi, e basta la sola posizione dell’arco per raggiungere in un decimo di secondo l’intonazione. Con la loro tecnica esecutiva interpretano al meglio lo stile galante e sentimentale delle opere che suonano. Qui sono i pianissimi ad avere rilievo. Suonati così leggeri, delicati, dolci come prescrive il gusto dell’epoca tardobarocca, il quale alle orecchie contemporanee risuona straordinariamente melodioso. Ai primi esponenti dello stile galante appartiene in Inghilterra Johann Christian Bach così come il torinese Felice Giardini (1716-1796), del quale l’Ensemble suona il Trio Vanderbouzzen “In stile Italiano” in do maggiore. Giardini volle nella sua musica esprimere sentimenti, commuovere attraverso melodie emotive e armoniose. A quel tempo, nel diciottesimo secolo. Ma oggi l’Ensemble Symposium con un’interpretazione efficace e fedele all’originale colpisce anche gli ascoltatori del ventunesimo secolo. Secondo fonti non confermate il migrante Giardini morì povero, a Mosca, nel 1796.

               E suo contemporaneo fu Luigi Boccherini (1743-1802), di cui risuonano il Trio op. 14 n. 4 G. 98 in re maggiore e, dopo l’intervallo, il Trio op. 47 G. 108 in sol maggiore. Carl Ludwig Junker nel 1776 lo definì: “troppo pieno di ombre, troppo cupo, troppo imbronciato”; mentre Ernst Ludwig Gerber, al contrario, lodò Boccherini per la “libertà delle modulazioni, l’intimità del suo canto, e la sua veloce ed inesauribile vena creativa”. Così l’Ensemble italiano suona i suoi lavori, vicini al belcanto, anche se qui le voci sono strumentali. Balistrieri ha omaggiato i musicisti di rose bianche e Davide Leonardi con le sue parole.

Traduzione: Benedetta Saglietti

Foto: Gianandrea Uggetti

Vanderbouzzen trios: musical migrants and culture clashes

Who was Jacque Vanderbouzzen?
Apparently, he never existed, and most probably this nickname was used by Felice Giardini (1716-1796) to publish a set of two trios, one in Stile Tedesco (two violins and bass), and one in Stile Italiano (violin, viola and cello).
He published this set in 1792, when he was about to leave London for good to establish himself in Russia. Giardini’s style at the time was old fashioned, he was struggling in keeping up with the brilliance of the younger performers as the Italian instrumental genre in London was being overshadowed by the arrival of the new music from the Austro-German school, and especially by Haydn, called by the same Giardini “the German dog”.Read More

Barbella and the musical life in 18th-century Naples
The lively Neapolitan musical scene has been described by Giuseppe Sigismondo (1739–1826), in the book recently published by SEDM. In these memoirs, I found the inspiration for the project dedicated to the Sei Duetti a Due Viole by Emanuele Barbella.
In his diary, Sigismondo recalled a funny argument that took place during a private musical gathering in Naples between the castrato Mazzanti and Barbella.
 

Pietro Fabris (1740-1792) – A musical Gathering in Naples, 1771

“Mazzanti was one of the pupils of Nucci who truly honoured the glory of his master. He played the harpsichord, violin and viola perfectly. He composed duos, trios, quartets, which he would rehearse with tw
o violins and a violoncello even when engaged here in Naples, playing the viola himself and delighting in unearthing his compositions with such professors. These were don Carlo Camarino on first violin, Emmanuele Barbella on second, and Domenico Francescone on the violoncello. They would convene at ten o’clock in the morning, drink some coffee and then play until one or two in the afternoon, followed by a good lunch for the entire company, both performers and audience, finishing with coffee and rosolio in winter and ice cream in summer. […]
During one of our salons I was the first to approach Mazzanti to let him peruse a cantata for the name-day of signora donna Rosa, wife of the famous cavalier Nolli, which was composed by the renowned poet, abbé Giuseppe Passeri and was to be sung by Mazzanti as well as set to music by me. Now, whilst we were discussing the subject, Barbella happened to arrive and, joining in our conversation, told us that the previous evening he had drafted a first allegro of a sonata for solo violin, and would be delighted for him to examine it. In saying this, he reached for the score inside his bag and presented it to him. After examining it for some time, Mazzanti returned it to him saying:
“Very good, signor Barbella, you have written a good piece of solfeggio.” Barbella was astounded, and replied:
“Don Ferdinà, are you mad? How is this sonata a piece of solfeggio?”
“A solfeggio indeed” replied Mazzanti; and Barbella:
“So you will sing it?” Mazzanti replied:
“Honestly! Is there anything unusual in this? Would you bet an ounce on it?”
“Go on” said Barbella. At this point Mazzanti rose and headed to the harpsichord. Barbella wanted to take his violin out, but Mazzanti said:
“No, no, signor Barbella. I am singing, I have no need for instruments.” And so he set the key and began the allegro con brio, arriving half way. Barbella’s complexion altered, and perturbed by anger, he took the score aw
ay from the musician to tear it apart. Mazzanti began to laugh and shouted:
“What are you doing, madman?”
He took the sheet back from him and added:
“What are you angry about? Have I by any chance mistreated or ridiculed your composition? No, sir!”
“So it can be said that Barbella has written a violin sonata that a singer can sing?”
“In fact this is its greatest quality.”
“You have no i
dea what you are talking about.”
“You should be glad that I have been able to sing it, this being excellent proof of its perfection; but you can be certain you won’t find another Mazzanti who will take on the challenge.”
As this point other members of our musical congress arrived and we discussed the performance. Mazzanti demonstrated his ability by finishing to sing the piece, and all were stunned and applauded him. However, the bet was never mentioned, and Mazzanti only demanded a copy of the composition from Barbella once he had finished it.”
 
Giuseppe Sigismondo, Apotheosis of Music in the Kingdom of Naples
edited by Claudio Bacciagaluppi, Giulia Giovani and Raffaele Mellace
Introduction by Rosa Cafiero
English translation by Beatrice Scaldini
Barbella – Six Viola Duets

On the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Neapolitan violinist Emanuele Barbella (1718-1777) I decided to organize the premiere recording of his Sei Duetti a Due Viole. The recording, made by Fabio Framba, will be accompanied by the first publication of the score of this set of duets by DaVinci editions.

Barbella studied with his father, Francesco, and with Pasquale Bini, one of Tartini’s favorite pupils at the Scuola delle Nazioni in Padua. The Sei Duetti belong to the Italian instrumental repertoire from the mid-18th century. Emanuele Barbella was the teacher of Ignazio Raimondi (1735-1813), another Neapolitan violinist who had been very active in the British musical environment up to the beginning of the 19th century. The importance of Tartini’s school for the development of the European violin tradition deserves to be underlined, also in the wake of the upcoming 250th anniversary of Tartini’s death (1770-2020).

Andreas Moser, in his Geschichte des Violinspiels, described these Sei Duetti as one of the most significant of Barbell’as works. These pieces are featured by the typical elegance of the Italian chamber music of the 18th century and were probably destined to the private entertainment of amatori e dilettanti. They are characterized by great fantasy and by a variety of ideas and certainly reach beyond the traditional didactic scope of the duet genre.

The “Bassetto Manfredo” Reloaded

We just launched our first crowdfunding campaign, in order to support the restoration project of a small double bass from the eighteenth century, a rare instrument that needs some repairs in order to resound again. You can help us reaching the goal on the Kickstarter platform at this link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/154005492/the-bassetto-manfredo-reloaded

The Bassetto Manfredo (as we called it) belongs to the Comune di Faenza, in Italy, and was part of the Museo del Teatro. It was probably used in the local theatre and possibly also in the music chapel in the Duomo of the town. It is the work of an unknown local luthier, and is a rare instrument because it has not been modified in its structure. Read more about it on the kickstarter page, and support us! We are really looking forward to use it in our next projects!

 

L. Boccherini – Stabat Mater

We just received the first copies of our last recording, the Stabat Mater G 532 by Luigi Boccherini, in the 1781 version for soprano and string quintet (with two cellos). The soprano Francesca Boncompagni provides an enchanting interpretation of this intense sacred work.

The recording is based on the new critical edition prepared by Luca Levi Sala for the Centro Studi Opera Omnia Luigi Boccherini, and was published by UtOrpheus in 2015. We are the first ensemble to perform and record this music from this new edition, which provides new interesting points of view, especially for the treatment of the bass lines.

To complete the album, the String Quartet Op. 41 n. 1  G 214, in c minor: this work is tightly related to the Stabat Mater, as some of the melodies of the sacred work has been used for the Flebile and the Trio of this string quartet.

The album is now available on our website and you are more than welcome to order your copy right now! Check the Shop section.

Viotti’s exile
A short excerpt from Giovanni Battista Viotti’s letter to his first patron, Prince della Cisterna from Torino, written in Schonfeldz on 30 June 1798, during his forced exile from England.
In this intense passages we can find all the emotional distress of his last years. The letter was translated (from French to English) by Warwick Lister, and is included in the appendix of his really interesting book Amico (Oxford University Press, 2009). […]

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