Claudio Merulo (1533-1604) - Toccata quinta del secondo tono (M. Raschietti - Organ)

L'ORGANO NELLA VENEZIA DEL XVI SECOLO
02 - Claudio Merulo (1533-1604) Toccata quinta del secondo tono
(Libro Primo di toccate d'intavolatura d'organo, 1598)

Massimiliano Raschietti

Organo del Duomo del SS. Corpo di Cristo di Valvasone (1532-1535) Autor: Vincenzo Colombo

Tastiera di 47 tasti (fa -1 / fa 4) senza i primi due diesis. Pedaliera a leggio di 20 tasti (fa -1 / re 2) senza i primi due diesis, costantemente collegata alla tastiera. Temperamento mesotonico, diapason: 1 tono sopra il la di 440 Hz. Pressione: 48 mm.

- Tenori 12
- Ottava
- Decimaquinta
- Decimanona
- Vigesimaseconda
- Vigesimasesta
- Vigesimanona
- Flauto 3
- Fiffaro

From the Middle Ages, thanks to trading with eastern and southern Mediterranean ports, the intellectual vitality of Arab culture and the artistic fervor of the Byzantine world had an influence on Venetian cultural life. The latter had quite a great impact on the development of Venetian aesthetic ideals: the taste for intense and varied colors, the predilection for gems and precious metals. The concept of Beauty thus combined the magnificence of the architecture and the meticulous attention to detail, which characterized as well the mosaic tradition with its clearly eastern origins.
In Venice, St. Marks Cathedral was the religious center for the Doges, radiating music. Documents from 1316 regarding the Basilica witness the presence of a Mistro Zucchetto, organist and organ builder. At the end of 14th century, there were two organs: the called Organum magnum (by Jacobello, 1374) and the Organum parvum (anonymous Franciscan monk, 1388). In 1490, Brother Urbano built an organ, successfully repaired in 1558 by Vincenzo Colombo under the guidance of Merulo and Padovano. The fame of the performances in St. Marks, were illustrated, among others, by the Maestri di Cappella Adrian Willaert, Cipriano de Rore and Gioseffo Zarlino. During Zarlinos period (1565-1590), the organists Claudio Merulo and Andrea Gabrieli, brought further prestige, continuing the tradition of Marc Antonio Cavazzoni, Jacques Buus, Annibale Padovano and Girolamo Parabosco.

Claudio Merulo (1533-1604) was described as a capable and extremely delicate player. He published two books of toccatas dintavolatura (1598 and 1604), transforming the organ toccata by introducing, between the two free and florid sections, a substancial polyphonic episode in strict imitative style - «Toccata quarta del sesto tono» and «Toccata quinta del secondo tono». One another imitative form was the canzone (originally born from the practice of transcribing French vocals chansons into keyboard tablature, subsequently transformed into a free paraphrase, keeping the title canzone alla francese or later canzone da sonare. Merulos «La Pazza» its a bizarre elaboration canzone of one of his original compositions for four instruments.
The organ practice mostly closely connected with the liturgy was called alternatim, were choir and organ dialogued alternating verses of sacred pieces with antiphonal structure. The organists would elaborate on a cantus firmus, playing it one time in the soprano or bass with long notes, or creating a contrapuntal texture among the different voices, or composing a brief ricercar. This is the case in Merulos «Kyrie» from the «Messe dintavolatura dorgano». We know that this repertory was improvised and that improvisation was an integral part of organ performance. This is evidenced by the tests aspiring organists had to pass in order to obtain a position at St. Marks.

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[alinarotarumusic]

Thank you for posting this. What an amazing organ playing, everything makes sense in this interpretation.