The cornett was one of the most celebrated instruments in the
16th century and the first half of the 17th century. It was
played across Europe. In Italy it was held in high esteem, and
here some of the best and most virtuosic players were active.
When independent instrumental music emerged in the early 17th
century the cornett experienced strong competition from the
violin; the instruments were often considered alternatives.
One of the reasons for the cornett's reputation was that it
was considered closest to the human voice.
In the 16th century the cornett - like other instruments - was
used in church to support or replace the voice. Towards the
end of the century solo music for the cornett came into existence,
in particular diminutions (or divisions) on one or more parts
from sacred or secular vocal pieces. Girolamo Dalla Casa, who
in 1568 founded the first instrumental ensemble in the San Marco
in Venice, wrote an important treatise on the art of ornamentation,
or - as he called it - la bella Minuta. In this book,
Il vero modo di diminuir (1584), he laid down his esthetic
ideals: "[Let] everyone strive to make a nice sound, lovely
articulations, and beautiful divisions, and to imitate the human
voice as much as possible". In the next decades numerous sets
of divisions were composed, by the likes of Giovanni Bassano,
Giovanni Battista Bovicelli and Francesco Rognoni. In his own
divisions on Josquin's Mille regretz and Palestrina's
motet Nigra sum Bruce Dickey makes use of ideas which
were written down in treatises or demonstrated in compositions
by several of these masters.
The programme of this disc includes only a small number of diminutions.
The largest part is devoted to other genres of music, which
were mostly not specifically written for the cornett or not
even for treble instruments, but can be perfectly played on
it. The pieces by Mayone and Trabaci are for keyboard, but here
they are mostly performed with the cornett playing the often
florid upper part. Considering the flexibility of composers
of that time in regard to scoring there is no objection to this
practice. Gioseffo Guami did not indicate any specific scoring
for his canzonas, and here they are played by Dickey with either
the organ or an ensemble of three gambas and harp. The combination
of organ and cornett works particularly well and was frequently
practised at the time. It was called "playing in the organ",
and as the cornett and the organ are both wind instruments the
cornett sounds like a stop of the organ. In these pieces Dickey
has added some ornaments of his own, as was expected from performers.
That includes singers: they were supposed to add their own ornaments
to the music as it was written down. Not every singer had the
necessary skills to do so. This explains that Bartolomeo Barbarino
published a collection of solo motets with ornamented and unornamented
versions printed side by side. This way they can be sung by
singers with various skills: the least-skilled can sing the
unornamented versions, the better ones can perform the ornamented
versions and the very best can sing the unornamented versions
and add divisions of their own. By including various motets
Dickey emphasizes the connection between the cornett and the
human voice.
The programme is played in the basilica of Santa Barbara in
Mantua which has two balconies, one with an 16th-century organ.
Both balconies are used. The pieces with cornett and organ are
performed in the organ loft while the other loft accommodates
the cornett with gambas and harp. Two pieces by Guami are set
for two groups: L'Accorta and the Canzon XXV a 8.
Here we get a nice dialogue between the organ and the other
instruments at the opposing balcony. It has to be said, though,
that a part of the music played here was very likely never performed
in church; rather in the more intimate surroundings of the palaces
of the aristocracy. In his liner-notes Dickey gives an interesting
example of a player who played with a harpsichord which was
completely closed and was still able to play so softly that
the cornett didn't exceed the sound of the harpsichord. Luzzaschi's
madrigal O primavera is played with harp only to give
some impression of what it could have been like, but in this
acoustic that doesn't really come off.
Let us not be too picky, though. This is simply a brilliant
recording. I find this music endlessly fascinating and can listen
to it for hours, because of its versatility, the huge variety
in ornamentation and the gorgeous sound of the instruments.
Moreover, Bruce Dickey once again proves to be the king of all
cornettists. His technical prowess is astonishing, and in every
piece he shows his thorough knowledge of the repertoire and
of period performance practice. The extensive splendid liner-notes
bear witness to that as well. Liuwe Tamminga is an expert in
Italian organ music of the 16th and 17th century and displays
the various colours of the organ in an undemonstrative way.
The harp adds a special flavour to this recording and the three
gambas produce a warm sound which blends perfectly with cornett
and harp.
This disc impressively documents the art of the cornett and
the brilliance of the cornettists of the time around 1600.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanveen
Track listing
Ippolito [TARTAGLIANO] (1539?-1582)
Canzon a 4 sopra Susanna [3:30]
Ascanio MAYONE (c.1565-1627)
Canzon francese quarta [4:13]
Gioseffo GUAMI (1542-1611)
La Novellina [3:43]
Giovanni Pierluigi DA PALESTRINA
(1525-1594)/arr Francesco ROGNONI (d.1626 or
later)
Quanti mercenarij (Io son ferito) [7:11]
JOSQUIN DESPREZ (c.1450-1521),
arr Bruce DICKEY
Mille regretz [6:30]
Giovanni Pierluigi DA PALESTRINA
, arr Bruce DICKEY
Nigra sum a 5 [5:40]
Gioseffo GUAMI
L'Accorta [3:16]
La Guamina [2:08]
L'Armoniosa [4:10]
Giovanni Maria TRABACI (c.1575-1647)
Durezze e Ligature [3:21]
Antonio BRUNELLI (1577-1630)
O quam suavis [3:56]
Giovanni Maria TRABACI
Consonanze stravaganti [1:48]
Luzzasco LUZZASCHI (1545?-1607)
O primavera [3:21]
Cipriano DE RORE (1515/16-1565),
arr Angelo NOTARI (1566-1663)
Ancor che col partire [4:37]
Giovanni Maria TRABACI
Canzon francese terza [3:53]
Bartolomeo BARBARINO (d.
after 1649)
Per fulgeat [3:33]
Gioseffo GUAMI
La Brillantina [3:09]
Canzon XXV a 8 [2:40]
Bruce Dickey (cornett), Claudia Pasetto, Leonardo Bartolotto, Alberto
Rasi (viola da gamba), Maria Christina Cleary (harp), Liuwe Tamminga
(organ) 