Giovanni Maria NANINO (1544-1607)
Music for Four, Five and Eight Voices
Missa a 8 [23:49]
Magnificat VII toni a 8 [04:11]
Erano i capei d'oro a 5 [03:58]
Principes persecuti sunt a 5 [04:09]
Morir non può'l mio core a 5 [01:56]
Laetamini in Domino a 5 [02:01]
Dirige corda nostra a 8 [02:32]
Magnificat VI toni a 4 [04:43]
Haec dies a 5 [02:45]
Exultate Deo a 8 [03:32]
Orlandus LASSUS (1532-1594)
Magnificat Erano capei d’oro VII toni a 5
Gruppo Vocale Àrsi & Tèsi/Tony Corradini
rec. 14, 15 & 21 March and 27 September 2015, Capella Universitaria della Sapienza of Sapienza University, Rome, Italy DDD
Texts and translations included
TOCCATA CLASSICS TOCC0235 [62:14]
Roman polyphony of the late 16th century is almost exclusively
associated with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, a towering figure who has
- at least in modern times - overshadowed other composers of his time and
of later representatives of the stile antico. That is also due to
the fact that he was hailed as the great model of Catholic church music in
the 19th century. Gregorio Allegri is one of the few who was able to establish
himself in our time, albeit chiefly by only one work, the famous Miserere.
In the light of this, every attempt to shed light on composers that musicologists
often label as ‘minor masters’ deserves to be welcomed. One of
them is Giovanni Maria Nanino; one of the authors of the liner-notes to the
present disc, Maurizio Pastori, has made special study of this composer, who
was highly appreciated in his time. The inclusion of a number of compositions
from his pen in anthologies bears witness to that. Moreover, the programme
ends with a setting of the Magnificat by Orlandus Lassus which is
based on material from Nanino’s madrigal Erano i capei d'oro,
another token of his being appreciated by more famous contemporaries.
Nanino was born in Tivoli, north-east of Rome and was probably a pupil of
Palestrina. From 1566 to 1568 he sang in the Cappella Giulia in the Vatican
and was maestro di cappella in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
(1569-1575) and the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi (1575-1577). In 1577
he entered the College of Papal Singers as a tenor; during the 30 years until
his death he acted as magister cappellae for three years. From 1680
onwards compositions by Nanino were included in the repertoire of the papal
chapel. He also acted as a teacher; among his pupils were Gregorio Allegri
and Felice Anerio who were to become renowned composers.
The programme on this disc is a cross-section of Nanino's oeuvre. The
Missa a 8 is one of three masses from his pen; one of them is lost,
a second mass is based on Palestrina’s best-known madrigal Vestiva
i colli. This mass is for double choir and fits into Rome's own
tradition of polychorality. In contrast to the cori spezzati practice
in Venice where composers loved to score opposing choirs differently - for
instance high versus low voices - both choirs here are for soprano, alto,
tenor and bass. The cori spezzati technique is used in various ways.
Sometimes a phrase in one choir is repeated in the other; in other cases the
two choirs are both involved in the contrapuntal discourse or join each other
in order to emphasize a word or phrase. In the same vein Nanino composed his
Magnificat VII. toni, one of four Magnificats for eight voices. It
is through-composed whereas his Magnificat VI. toni a 4 is divided
into verses which are alternately sung in polyphony and in plainchant.
The madrigals are a particularly interesting part of the programme, especially
as we hear two of them twice. Erano i capei d'oro and Morir
non può'l mio core are from his first book of madrigals which
was first published in Venice, probably in 1571; that edition has been lost
but this book was reprinted no fewer than four times which attests to its
popularity. Morir non può'l mio core was even included in
an anthology which was printed in London in 1590. Both madrigals were then
included in an anthology of madrigals adapted for ecclesiastical use which
was published in Milan in 1604. The writing of new texts on pre-existing melodies
was a widespread practice in the renaissance. It was a way to use music which
was generally appreciated, for liturgical purposes. Such contrafacta
can also be seen as a token of the popularity and the dissemination of the
secular originals. Obviously they were mostly slightly adapted to the new
texts. It seems unlikely that Nanino himself had his hand in these contrafacta.
From the same collection Dirige corda nostra is taken, which is an
adaptation of Nanino's madrigal Donne vaghe e leggiadre.
Haec dies and Exultate Deo are specimens of the genre of
the motet; only one collection of motets by Nanino was published. They show
the composer's ability to illustrate a text. The former is for five
voices and organ; it is performed here a cappella. This is an aspect
which performers have to deal with as it is not always clear whether the organ
parts in sacred music are intended by the composer or added at a later date.
After all, at the end of Nanino’s career the modern style with basso
continuo manifested itself. The Missa a 8 is also preserved with
two organ parts. According to the liner-notes “these organ parts were
probably introduced after Nanino, and so they were not used in the making
of this recording”. This probably explains the omission of the organ
in Haec dies as well.
All the pieces in this recording are performed with one voice per part. That
certainly is right in the case of the madrigals; this is chamber music. I
am not so sure with regard to the sacred works; here a larger ensemble seems
perfectly possible and that may even be more in line with what was common
at the time, certainly in larger churches and chapels. The singing is satisfactory;
the qualities of Nanino’s music certainly come through. That said, this
vocal ensemble is not top-notch. I noted some insecurities in several voices
and some of them use a little too much vibrato. Those are the reasons that
the ensemble is less than perfect.
That should not reduce the importance of this disc. It is the first entirely
devoted to Nanino and all but two of the pieces in the programme are recorded
here for the first time. Lovers of renaissance music should definitely investigate
it.
Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
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