(Hit the back button on your browser to return to product listing.) The Diapason Featuring the organ music of Niccoló Moretti, Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli, Andrea Lucchesi, Baldassarre Galuppi, Ignazio Spergher, Marcantonio Cavazzoni de Bologna, Giulio Segni da Modena, Francesco Landini, Guiseppe Frescobaldi, Claudio Merulo, and Giovanni Battista Pescetti played on the organs at Feltre, Tai di Cadore, Bologna, Vifnole-Quarrata and Mestre. Organists are Sergio De Pieri, Umberto Pineschi, and Liuwe Tamminga. The history of this disk is unusual, resembling a quest more than the standard recording project. The disk was recorded and produced over a period of six yuears by David Litwen with the help of Francesco Ruffatti of Fratelli Ruffatti in Padua. Ruffatti is an authority on and a leading restorer of historic Italian organs; thus it is no accident that four of the instruments on this disk (Feltre, Tai di Cadore, Vignole-Quarrata, and Mestre) are restorations made by his firm. The project was a labor of love initiated by a visit to Lucca in 1990, during which Litwen overheard the sound of an organ being played softly. "The sound, in its peculiar sweetness, was like nothing I had ever heard, and it had the same compelling effect on me as if I were a child hearing the pied Piper of Hamelin: all other sounds fell away and there were only these breath-like tones." Litwen's goal, of "recording some historic instruments in Italy in order to share them with people who couldn't make the trip to hear them in person," has been admirably realized. Thus we have a rare example of a product living up to its promotional material, viz., "a spectacular experience second only to being there." From start to finish, this disk holds delightful auditory surprises both from the instruments, so unlike Northern European organs, and the music, most of which is unfamiliar (ever heard of Niccoló Moretti, born 29 years before Rossini? Or Ignazio Spergher, born in 1734?). Any American organist who has played an old European organ knows how difficult it is to adjust to the touch, sound, and non-AGO specification keys and pedals of the instrument, not to mention the acoustics of ancient churches. It takew years of living with an historic instrument to coax forth the glorious sounds intended by the builder. Thys we respect and appreciate fully the work of the organists on this disk who know these instruments intimately. Whether it's De Pieri thundering away on the Moretti Sonata X on the Ripieno at Feltre, or Tamminga spinning out the Cavazzoni Ricercar, the playing is stunning. Although the requisite triumvirate of a musical performance–performer, music and instrument–appears perfectly baanced on this disk and each aspect is worthy of discussion, the focus is on the instruments themselves. Specifications are not provided, unfortunaterly, leaving one to rely on other printed descriptions of Italian organs. (1) What impresses the listener most, even after several hearings, is the clear, pure sound of the stops on these instruments. Flutes are sweet and recorder-like, and the principals (narrow-scaled, as opposed to the wider-scaled principals of northern instruments) are full and strong, "imitably clear and yet restrained."(2) Separate principal ranks at pitches of 2/3', 1/2', 1/3', and 1/4'. when drawn together, provide richness and brilliance in the absence of mixtures. The Feltre organ is not unusual in having two classifications of stops, the ripieno (principal-scaled ranks) and the registri da concerto (flute-scaled and reed ranks). The principals may be played in various combinations or collectively, activated by a tiratutti (a rotating habdle placed on top of the corresponding stop knobs). Flutes are used as solo and chorus stops, while reeds are obviously only used as the former. The tromboncini, a trumpet-like regal on the Callido organ at Mestre, is memorable against a chorus of flutes in the Lucchesi Rondo. Two of the six organs on this disk predate the Baroque era: the Lorenzo da Prato "Epistelorgan" at San Petronio in Bologna, built in 1471-1475 and the oldest extant organ in Italy, and the Malamini "Gospelorgan," also in San Petronio, from 1595. (3) The others date from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, long after other musical styles had replaced that of the Baroque. Nonetheless, the influence of the concerto, born in the 18th century musical centers of Bologna and Rome and raised to maturity in Venice is apparent in the tobal design of these instruments. Many of the pieces included here were clearlty intended to be played with contrasting registrations in the manner of a concerto grosso. Orchestral effects are further enhanced by the use of a Timpano stop on the Vignole-Quarrata organ in the anonymouos pieces performed by Pineschi. Anyone with an interest in historical organs and organ music should have this disk. By identifying and skillfully recording important, and in some cases, unfamiliar instruments, Litwen has performed a great service to organists and organbuilders everywhere. But although its educational value is indisputable, a more important reason for owning this recording is the sheer pleasure to be had from listening to it. Sarah Mahler Hughes Notes: 1. See Francesco Ruffatti's article, "Gaetano Callido (1727-1813). Organbuilder in Venice," The Diapason, December 1998. Ruffatti describes the Feltre organ in detail and discusses the temperament and condition of the Tai de Cadore instrument in addition to providing general information about the composition and tuning of Italian organs. 2. Peter Williams, The European Organ 1450-1850, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1982) p. 213. 3. Ibid. Williams provides specifications for the da Prato organ in Chapter 6, "Italy," pp. 205-233. Sarah Mahler Hughes The Patrlot Ledger ItaIian are famous for making fabulous violins. It should be no surprise that these artistic people also make wonderful pipe organs. producing instruments of diffennt character than their neighbors to the north. David Litwin, a West Coast composer, organist and owner of an audio production facility, had the happy notion of recording some of Italy’s grand old organs after hearing"the soft flutey tones" of a church instrument one Sunday afternoon in Lucca. Subsequently, he planned and recorded the interesting survey of six historic northern Italian organs "Organi Storicia d’Italia" captured on Lyrichord’s CD. That the listening expericnce is different from the usual recording of organ music is immediately apparent from the first two tracks. There’s an honest, unadorned and earthy quality about the organ of the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle at Future in the Veneto region, playing sonatas of Nicceio Moretti (1763-1821). Litwin sought to record each organ in the music of the period and the region "in such a way as to take full measure of the acoustic spaces, to place the listener there in each organ’s unique habitat . ." He has Largely succeeded. in these 21 pieces taped in 1991 and 1992. The sense of space and reverberation are present throughout. Occasionally, you can hear the clunk of an organ’s mechanism, or in the cathedral at Mestre, near Venice, the twittering of swallows on these organs, the flute stops are particularly beautiful. Much of the music is by obscure composers, such as the tuneful pair by Ignazio Spergher (1734 -1838). There are also works by such famous 17th century masters as Giovanni Gabrieli and Girolamo Frescobaldi. A lovely, Mozartian melody catches my ear. Performed on an1813 organ at a church in Tai di Cadore. high in the Dolomites, the piece is by Baldanarre GaIuppi (1706 -1785) Such a flamboyant name is not easily forgotten. Eventually I remember: Robert Browning wrote a poem About this 1ong-gone organist at St. Mark’s Cathedral recalling the glory days of Venice: "Oh, GaIuppi, Baldassarre, this is very sad to find," it begins. ". . Here you come with your old music and here’s all the good it brings. Old music old organs, they may be, and they make enjoyable listening on Lyrichord’s CD. Peter M. Knapp |