For Lovers of Consort Music

Consort is the term used for a small instrumental ensemble in music written before 1700, according to New Grove. Such an ensemble could comprise various instruments, either from the same family (violins, viols, transverse flutes, recorders) or of different families. Although music for such a line-up was written across Europe in the Renaissance and the 17th century, the term 'consort music' has become especially associated with music for instrumental ensembles written in England. There consort music seems to have been more popular and more widespread among the music-loving community, and held in esteem much longer than elsewhere. The large repertoire and the fact that Henry Purcell composed the last consort music at the end of the 17th century, when the latest fashions from France and Italy had conquered England, attest to that. It was in particular the consort of viols that was popular in England. The first viols reached the country in the early 16th century, under the reign of Henry VIII.

For most of the 16th century consort music seems to have been intended for professional players, especially at the court and ecclesiastical institutions, such as the Chapel Royal. Early specimens of consort music were often based on plainchant subjects. A number of such pieces can be found in the oeuvre of Christopher Tye. John Dowland may have been one of the first who broke away from sacred connections, in particular with his collection Lachrimae These pieces, based on his song Flow my tears, reflect the melancholic fashion of his days. He added a number of other, mostly more cheerful pieces, some of which are also based on his own songs.

The Lachrimae have gained cult status in our time, and there is hardly a consort of viols that has these pieces not on its repertoire. They are also very well represented on disc, not only in the standard line-up of viols, but also on other instruments, even played with a larger ensemble. A performance on viols is the most satisfying, at least in the case of the Lachrimae pavans, as they are ideally suited to bring about their melancholic nature. The ensemble Musicall Humors [1], consisting of five viole da gamba and lute, recorded the entire collection for Alpha. It is an ensemble of highly qualified players, all of whom have made a name for themselves as soloists in other repertoire. That does not guarantee good ensemble, but here everything is right as far as that is concerned. The lute probably plays a more prominent role than in some other recordings, but that may also be due to the recording. Overall I am happy with these performances, which are rhythmically flexible and dynamically differentiated.

Ensembles may take different decisions with regard to the order of the pieces; here each Lachrimae pavan is followed by a lighter-weight dance. That creates much variation, and it is questionable whether Dowland expected the Lachrimae pavans to be played as a cycle. However, I prefer to hear them in succession. Others may feel differently. Whatever is the case, this is definitely a recording to investigate.

Dowland was undoubtedly one of the main composers of consort music, and his music is among the most frequently-performed and -recorded. Other famous composers of such music are of later generations, especially William Lawes and John Jenkins. The former figures in a programme recorded by Philippe Pierlot with his Ricercar Consort [2]. The title of the disc, "Distracted Tymes", refers to a piece by Thomas Tomkins, Sad Pavan: for these distracted times, which dates from 1649 - the year that Charles I was executed. It marks the end of the period that this recording covers. It was a time of great political turmoil, which also had far-reaching effects on the music scene. One of the prominent victims of the battle between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians was William Lawes, who, fighting on the side of the former, died in battle in 1645. He was one of the most prolific composers of consort music, and one of the most individual, for instance in the realm of harmony.

In the programme recorded by the Ricercar Consort he is represented with lesser-known pieces: six works for three 'lyra viols'. The lyra viol is basically the same as the bass viol, and most music written for the lyra viol was also played on that instrument. There are some small differences between the lyra viol and the bass viol, though. In The Division-Violist of 1659 Christopher Simpson writes that the lyra viol has lighter strings and that the bridge is less rounded. The strings of the lyra viol are fitted more closely to the fingerboard than those of the consort bass. Music specifically intende for the lyra viol was written down in lute tablature which allowed the use of different tunings and the playing of chords. That has a special effect in the performances of these pieces.

The programme also includes pieces by unfamiliar masters, such as Charles Coleman and Thomas Brewer. It is extended with two keyboard works by John Bull, played on the organ by Maude Gratton. Tomkins' piece mentioned above is also for keyboard, but - as in other cases - can be played as consort music. The organ also joins the viols in some pieces, which was common practice at the time. Such an accompaniment was especially used to keep the players in tune, which attests to the growing popularity of consort music among (aristocratic) amateurs. The Ricercar Consort covers a wide repertoire, from the 16th to the early 19th century, but here they return to their roots, and do so brilliantly. They produce a beautiful sound, the ensemble is immaculate, and the transparency remarkable. The perfect intonation makes the harmonic peculiarities, especially in Lawes, clearly discernible.

His very own idiom comes also to the fore on the next disc, in which Lawes appears alongside John Jenkins, one of the most revered and distinguished composers of 17th-century England, whose long life covered three different political stages and the changes from the style of the Renaissance to that of the Baroque. He played a major role in all of them. What is notable in all the pieces recorded by Roberto Gini and his Ensemble Concerto [3] is that the upper parts are not played on treble viols, but rather on violins. They were handled as alternatives, which indicates that the violin was treated as a consort instrument, not as a (virtuosic) solo instrument, as it was to become in the second half of the century.

In this programme we find again a piece referring to the political upheaval: in his Nuwark Seidge Jenkins depicts the clash of opposing sides in the siege of Newark in 1646, the mourning for the dead and the celebration of victory through a pavan and a galliard. The main part of the programme consists of four so-called Fantasia-suites, two by Lawes and two by Jenkins. The term 'fantasia-suite' is a modern invention; at the time of the two composers there was no particular term to describe pieces comprising a fantasia, followed by two other pieces, either dances (almain, corant, pavan, galliard) or airs. John Coprario, the teacher of Lawes, was the first who composed such works. Like Coprario, Jenkins and Lawes added an organ part to the violins and viols. Whereas Lawes specified the upper parts to be played on violins, Jenkins required treble instruments, leaving the choice to the performers.

The differences come to the fore especially in the use of harmony, where Lawes is more adventurous than Jenkins. That makes this combination of pieces all the more interesting, as it shows the variety within the genre. Roberto Gini and his colleagues deliver excellent performances, which are lively in the fast movements and have much depth and solemnity in the slower ones. The Nuwark Seidge is given a truly theatrical performance.

From Lawes to Matthew Locke is not a big step. When Lawes died, Locke was in his early twenties, and stylistically he was his own man as much as Lawes had been. The two recordings by the ensemble Phantasm [4/5] make that abundantly clear. There is also a structural connection between the two. In two of the three collections from which the pieces on these two discs are taken - Consort of four parts and The Flat Consort for my cousin Kemble - he opens with a fantazie; in the latter there are even two such pieces in the suite. In the Flat Consort the opening fantazie starts with a slow section, followed by a fugue. Therefore these suites can be considered an extension of Lawes' fantasia-suites.

In both collections the scoring is for viols; in the third collection, The Little Consort, from which some suites are played on the first of the two discs, violin and treble viol are mentioned as alternatives. In all three collections Locke added a basso continuo ad libitum. This part can be played on an organ or a plucked instrument; here Elizabeth Kenny plays this part on the theorbo.

The booklets include informative analyses of Locke's consort music; Laurence Dreyfus, the director of Phantasm, also puts him into his historical context. There are also interesting observations with regard to his stylistic idiosyncracies, which may well reflect his character. And his character may have been formed by experiences in his youth. Apart from that, Locke may have been aware that he was one of the last representatives of a style that was soon to come to an end.

Phantasm is one of the top-class consorts of viols in a world full of excellent ensembles of this kind. Its discography is impressive, and these two outstanding discs, which bring us as closely as possible to the unique musical idiom of Matthew Locke, are two further jewels in its crown. As Locke has left a considerable amount of consort music, it is to be hoped that Phantasm continues its exploration of his oeuvre.

In a way, this review ends as it started: with music that is very popular and frequently performed. Henry Purcell's fantasias have a kind of cult status, just like Dowland's Lachrimae. With these pieces Purcell bids the Renaissance farewell: although intended for viols, such instruments may not have been available for performance, with the exception of the bass viol. This may have been the motivation of some ensembles, such as the John Holloway Ensemble [6], to use violins instead, also keeping in mind that composers from the first half of the 17th century included parts for violin in their consort music, as we have seen, or indicated that it could be used as an alternative to the treble viol.

That said, it is important to keep in mind that these pieces are rooted in the tradition of consort music. Purcell was well aware of that. He was strongly influenced by Matthew Locke, whom he commemorated in an elegy. His influencec is discernible in his bold use of harmony, in his oeuvre in general, but certainly also in these fantasias. From that perspective the style of playing should be more in line with that which was common before the Restoration, when the new fashion from Italy had not yet conquered the country. In the recording by the John Holloway Ensemble the performers use a style that is more Italian than English, with strong dynamic differences. An telling example is the Fantazia III.

The ensemble consists of violin, two violas and cello. The latter is the most problematic part of it. In fact, its use has to be considered anachronistic. The fantasias are dated 1680, and at that time the 'baroque cello', as we know it today, only just made its appearance on the music stage in Italy. It is highly unlikely that Purcell knew it, or even has ever used it in his life. It was only about twenty years after his death that the cello started to become a common instrument in England. So, even when performers decide to play violins and violas rather than viole da gamba, the lowest part can only be played on the bass viol, probably with the bass violin as an alternative. This recording of the fantasias can hardly be considered an valuable addition to the discography. In that light, the short playing time - a little over 40 minutes - is not much of a problem.

[1] John Dowland: "[Complete] Lachrimae"
Musicall Humors
Alpha 944 (© 2023) details

[2] "Distracted Tymes"
Ricercar Consort/Philippe Pierlot
Mirare MIR648 (© 2024) details

[3] "Fantasia-Suites - John Jenkins and his 'most esteemed friend' William Lawes"
Ensemble Concerto/Roberto Gini
Aulicus Classics ALC 0087 (© 2022) details

[4] Matthew Locke: "For Lovers of Consort Music"
Phantasm/Laurence Dreyfus
Linn CKD 594 (© 2018) details

[5] Matthew Locke: "Consorts Flat and Sharp"
Phantasm/Laurence Dreyfus
Linn CKD 737 (© 2024) details

[6] Henry Purcell: "Fantazias"
John Holloway Ensemble
ECM 2249 (© 2023) details

The Italian keyboard, 1575 - 1725

Keyboard instruments have played a major role in European music history and continue to do so in our own time. They came and come in very different shapes, from the tiny spinet and the soft clavichord to the modern concert grand and large cathedral organs. Italy has played a key role in the development of some of the main genres of keyboard music during the renaissance and baroque periods, such as the toccata, the fantasia, the canzona and the ricercare. From the late 16th century to the early 18th century Italy experienced a kind of 'golden era' in keyboard music. In the first quarter of the 18th century a kind of decline seems to have taken place. The two most brilliant keyboard players, Giovanni Benedetto Platti and Domenico Scarlatti, left Italy to work elsewhere. Some of the main composers of the time, such as Vivaldi, Albinoni and Tartini, were no keyboard players and did not leave any music for keyboard solo. What was written is not that well-known, such as the sonatas by the likes of Benedetto Marcello, Baldassare Galuppi and Domenico Cimarosa. With the latter two we are in a different period: the galant idiom.

Thanks to Brilliant Classics our picture of the history of keyboard writing in Italy has been substantially extended. I have reviewed most of those recordings on my site and here on this weblog. In this article I want to pay attention to some recent recordings of Italian keyboard music spanning the about 150 years from 1575 to 1725.

Luigi Accardo [1] plays a programme under the title of "Harmoniae Varietates"; the subtitle indicates what he aims at: "Italian Music from the Golden Age of the Harpsichord". Obviously such a programme is a personal selection, but at least the main composers are represented: Girolamo Frescobaldi and Bernardo Pasquini had to be included. That said, the latter is not as well-known as he deserves to be (more about him later). A problem is that his large oeuvre for keyboard has not been catalogued. Ironically, Bernardo Storace is a somewhat mysterious figure, who has made a name for himself with just one collection of keyboard works, but these are probably more often played and recorded than Pasquini's music. Fortunately Accardo avoids the 'evergreen', the Ciaccona, but plays two different pieces instead, among them a nice Balletto. Domenico Zipoli is also pretty well-known, and another example of a composer who left Italy, this time for the New World. Alessandro Scarlatti is overshadowed by his son, but the complete recording of his keyboard works by Francesco Tasini (Tactus) showed that Domenico had inherited his skills from his father. Accardo includes two brilliant examples.

He closes the programme with specimens of later music. With Pescetti and Leo were are on the brink of a new era, in which the galant idiom conquers Europe. The former's Sonata IV included here is a good example. (His complete keyboard works were recorded by Paolo Bottini). Apart from organists, few keyboard players explore his oeuvre, and that also goes for Leonardo Leo, one of the main opera composers in 18th-century Naples, who has left a small keyboard oeuvre, among which the Trattenimento, which closes Accardo's recording.

He is an outstanding performer who does not show off, despite the often virtuosic nature of the pieces he has selected. It is telling that he mostly decides to end a piece not with a big bang, but rather arpeggiates the closing chord. If you look for a fine survey of Italian keyboard music in its golden era, this is a perfect choice.

The next disc focuses on one of the genres mentioned above, the ricercar(e) or ricercata. It is impossible to precisely define this form: New Grove mentions two forms, the 'preludial or rhapsodic' ricercar, and the imitative ricercar. The latter is the one which the three composers produced to which Ilaria Monticelli [2] devoted a disc on Da Vinci Classics. They are all from Naples, and their ricercares date from the last quarter of the 16th century and the first decade of the 17th. Despite the fact that all the pieces are specimens of the same genre, they are very different, as the artist explains in her liner-notes, which are very useful. These differences depend on the choice of mode and the way the thematic material is used. Some pieces show the influence of the madrigals of the time, which is not surprising, given the importance of this genre, certainly in Naples, and the fact that all three composers wrote madrigals themselves. De Macque was also in the service of Carlo Gesualdo, whose reputation is based on his madrigals.

Rocco Rodio, the earliest and also the least-known composer in the programme, was also associated with Gesualdo. He published two books of madrigals, one of which is lost. The five ricercate performed by Ilaria Monticelli are taken from his only printed edition of keyboard music, which also includes four fantasias, two of which on liturgical chants. The complete edition has been recorded by Luca Scandali on organ, and that makes Monticelli's performance on the harpsichord of the five ricercate a useful alternative.

She plays the copy of an anonymous Neapolitan harpsichord from around 1550, but is different from the original "by virtue of its broken octave and of its reconstruction of the original disposition, which had an added stop of 4’". It is the perfect tool for this repertoire and allows for an idiomatic interpretation of this compelling repertoire, under the hands of a player who shows a thorough understanding of the material. The polyphonic fabric comes perfectly off here, thanks to the clarity of the playing and the fine articulation, as well as the excellent recording.

Bernardo Pasquini was generally considered the most brilliant keyboard player in Italy in the second half of the 17th century, comparable with Frescobaldi in the first half. He was born in Pistoia and moved to Rome in 1650. Here he spent the rest of his life, although he made various appearances abroad. He performed for Louis XIV in Paris and at the imperial court in Vienna during the reign of Leopold I. His reputation crossed the borders of Italy: he attracted many pupils from all over Europe, such as Johann Philipp Krieger and Georg Muffat. He has left a large corpus of keyboard music which unfortunately has never been catalogued. That is especially problematic as his oeuvre includes a number of pieces with the same title or even without a title. That makes it very difficult to compare recordings or to identify a piece that is played.

The most - probably even all - of his keyboard works have been notated as pedagogical material, especially for the musical education of his nephew Bernardo Felice Ricordati. They have been preserved in two large sources: Ms. Landsberg 215, at the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek of Berlin, and the three books, at present bound into a single one, at the British Library in London.

The Italian keyboard player Roberto Loreggian [3], who has made many recordings for Brilliant Classics, recorded the complete Berlin collection. All the forms common in Italian keyboard music, as mentioned above, are represented, and to those Pasquini added variations (variazioni, partite), dances (sarabanda, alemanda), fugues, pieces on bassi ostinati and pieces with curious titles, such as bizzarria, tastata, as well as pieces whose titles may refer to situations or characters, such as Tastata per il Signor Melani per Genova. One wonders whether such a piece was also intended as 'pupil's fodder' (to quote New Grove about the keyboard works by Alessandro Scarlatti).

In most cases it is to the performer to decide which instrument to play. However, there are pieces which are undoubtedly intended for the organ, because of long-held notes; an example is the Toccata per Monaco, which opens the third disc.

The complete production comprises five discs, with a duration of almost six hours. That makes this project a mammoth undertaking, but the quality and variety of Pasquini's oeuvre justifies it. As I already suggested, there is much variety of forms and Loreggian has made sure that each disc includes a mixture of pieces of different kinds and size. Three discs are entirely played on the harpsichord (a copy of a harpsichord by Giusti), whereas two discs are filled with pieces performed at the organ by Bonatti (1713) in the Santuario Santa Maria in Valverde in Rezzato (Brescia, Italy). We have come to know Loreggian as an insightful and stylish player, and this is another testimony of his art. He fully explores the features of each piece, and thanks to the way he has put together the various discs and his engaging style of playing - and not to forget the two fine instruments - this is a set that no lover of baroque keyboard music should miss.

The second source of Pasquini's keyboard music, in the British Library in London, includes two sets of fourteen sonatas each, for one and two keyboards respectively. Instead of writing them out he provided only basso continuo lines which have to be worked out during performance. The latter have been recorded by Marina Scaioli and Francesco Tasini [4]. In their construction these sonatas show strong similarity with several forms of instrumental music, such as the trio sonata. They include contrasts between 'solo' and 'tutti', which is reminiscent of the concerto grosso, for example those of Pasquini's colleague Corelli. There are also passages in which the two keyboards are involved in a kind of dialogue. Each sonata consists of various movements. In his liner-notes Tasini refers to a number of movements, and therefore it is rather odd that these are not specified in the track-list.

This is not the first recording of these fourteen sonatas. The first that crossed my path is the one by Attilio Cremonesi and Alessandro de Marchi (Symphonia, 1992); that one may not be available anymore. Brilliant Classics released a new recording in 2013, in which Luca Scandali and Hadrien Jourdan play most of the sonatas on the two organs in the Basilica di Santa Maria della Misericordia in Sant'Elpidio a Mare (Fermo). These are fine instruments, but given that these pieces are intended as pedagogical material, performances on organs is not the most logical option. From that angle the recording by Scaioli and Tasini is to be preferred. They added a bonus: one of the sonatas for one keyboard (which, as far as I know, have never been recorded) indicates that "it can be done on two harpsichords". This results in a fifteenth sonata in A minor, which concludes the programme.

Marina Scaioli and Francesco Tasini have delivered excellent performances of these fine pieces, which are also historically interesting, in that they shed light on the Italian partimento practice - exercises in figured-bass playing, especially as self-contained pieces. The recording makes sure that the two instruments are clearly identifiable.

Agostino Tinazzoli (c 1660-1725) is an example of a composer whom hardly anybody may ever have heard of, before Brilliant Classics released a recording of his complete keyboard works by Simone Pierini [5]. Very little is known about Tinazzoli; in New Grove the article on Tinazzoli takes not even five full lines. The most remarkable fact is that in Rome he spent some time in prison for unknown reasons. He was released thanks to the cantata he had scratched on the wall of his cell. In later years he worked as an opera director, but did not compose any opera himself, but only arias to be inserted in operas by others. His oeuvre includes some sacred music, madrigals and keyboard works.

The latter come with three different titles: toccata, sonata and capriccio. Tinazzoli seems to have chosen those titles at random, because their forms seem to have little to do with those titles. All three can consist of only one movement or comprise several movements, either with tempo indications or the name of a dance. Stylistically they show quite some variety as well. A number of pieces remind me of the keyboard works by Alessandro Scarlatti, which is probably not surprising as they were exact contemporaries. However, there are also pieces that sound much more modern. In the Capriccio No. 15, which closes the programme, we hear drum basses in the left hand, which is a feature of the galant idiom. Even more surprising is the Sonata No. 13, whose addition Post Agnus indicates that it was intended for liturgical use. It is very operatic and points in the direction of liturgical organ music written in Italy in the late 18th century. The Partite sopra il Passagallo is the harmonically most daring work.

This should suffice to conclude that this is a remarkable recording of a remarkable composer, who deserves to be investigated by anyone with a special interest in early keyboard music. It is served very well by Simone Pierini, whose performances are impressive. He plays the copy of a Grimaldi harpsichord and an organ of 1999, which unfortunately is not specified in the booklet, but is well suited to this repertoire.

[1] "Harmoniae Varietates - Italian Music from the Golden Age of the Harpsichord"
Luigi Accardo, harpsichord
Dynamic CDS8036 (© 2024) details

[2] "Di voci affettuose - Neapolitan ricercars"
Ilaria Monticelli, harpsichord
Da Vinci Classics C00559 (© 2022) details

[3] Bernardo Pasquini: "Sonate per Gravecembalo - Manuscript S.B.P.K. Landsberg 215"
Roberto Loreggian, harpsichord, organ
Brilliant Classics 94826 (© 2020) details

[4] Bernardo Pasquini: "Quindici Sonate a due Cimbali"
Marina Scaioli, Francesco Tasini, harpsichord
Tactus TC 631804 (© 2021) details

[5] Agostino Tinazzoli: "Complete Keyboard Works"
Simone Pierini, harpsichord, organ
Brilliant Classics 96875 (© 2023) details