"In 1614, Giovanni Maria Trabaci (1575-1647), organist of the royal chapel in Naples, succeeded Giovanni de Macque as 'maestro di cappella' of the same chapel. The position was and important and enviable once. The second organist from 1602 was the famous Ascanio Mayone (1565-1627). Trabaci was ten years younger than the latter, which possible explains why despite Trabaci's growing reputation in the musical world of Naples, Mayone is mentioned, but not Trabaci, by the celebrated theorist Scipione Cerretto in his list of the most excellent musicians of Naples (1601). Trabaci, who was fully and justifiably aware of his own value as a musician and the originality of his compositions, was indeed bolder, more unpredictable and more inventive than almost all of his Neapolitan colleagues. His talent undoubtedly shoes in his major keyboard publications, the two books of 1603 and 1615, both of which are represented on this recording: 'Ricercate, Canzone franzese Cappricci, Canti fermi... Libro Primo' (Naples, 1603, Costantino Vitale) and 'Di Gio. Maria Trabaci Maestro della Real Cappella... Il secondo libro de Ricercate, & altri varij Capprici...' (Naples, 1615, Gio. Giacomo Carlino). It is interesting to note the difference between the two titles: in 1603 the presentation is quite ordinary (content, author's name, position, bibliographical address), but in 1615 Trabaci's name is brought to the fore, as if it were publicity enough for the work - it appears in large print at the beginning of the title, immediately followed by mention of his flattering position as 'maestro di cappella' to the Spanish viceroy in Naples; other details are of secondary importance.
"Neither of the two title pages mentions the instrument for which the works are intended: the first books tells us simply that Trabaci was an 'organista' in 1603, and that all the pieces are 'a quattro voci'. The title of the second book is more reserved: the work contains a number of pieces for five voices - some of them with an 'ad libitum' fifth voice, which appears in the appendix at the end of the book. We may add that the music is presented 'in score', like most Neapolitan polyphonic music of the time, rather than in tablature, which was used chiefly for solo instrumental music. The latter is easier to read on the keyboard, but the printing process involved is music more complex and less appropriate to independent reading of voices. For the instrumental indications, the musician there has to look through volumes and read the prefaces. Even if it is clearly state at the beginning of the 'Partite sopra Zefiro' of 1615, partly dedicated to the harp, that the harpsichord is the king of instruments, several pieces are clearly intended for the organ, either through their function (as church music), or through their writing, calling particular for a pedal for certain held notes. Testifying to the composer's Spanish descent, the harp (Asciano Mayone was also a harpist) is mentioned several times in the text or the table. Furthermore, one of the accompanying texts included in the volume mentions the fact that a 'canzona' already published in the 'Libro Primo' of 1603 is presented again here, simply because of its sustainability for a string ensemble. Instrumental variety is thus a clear intention, butr always in the spirit of the time, 'per ogni sort di stromenti', without constraint, but with constant concern for euphony in the chosen combination, and not only for the limitations imposed by the availability of the instruments, their range, their distinctive technical features. When a keyboard is used, the performer often finds himself faced with difficult situation, moreover: unlike Frescobaldi, Trabaci does not worry about providing a reduction of his compositions - this is somewhat paradoxical for a keyboard musician of his stature. One of the consequences of this is that notes sometimes have to be sacrificed or transposed by an octave or entrusted to an assistant. This type of compromise is, moreover, explicitly requested in a number of cases, as when the alterations are absent on some non-tri-harmonic (or panchromatic) harpsichords: for example, in the 'secondo libro', we Read that 'in this Toccata ['terza sopra il cembalo cromatico', because of one or two notes that may be missing, all the third that cannot be played in the major mode must be played in the minor mode, so long as they do not belong to the final cadence' (!). Obviously, emphasis is thus laid on the quality of the musical ideas and the value and ingenuity of the artifices they bring into play, rather on the final result in sound terms, which depends on the possibilities of the chosen instrument. The prefaces to the two books make it clear that, in the final analysis, this result is up to the interpreter, who must show not only fine virtuosic qualities and great insight into the meaning of the inventions contained in the writing, but also fine judgement in the more or less inevitable adaptions required by his intepretation and by the instrumentation.
"The first book of 1603 is relatively sparing of information and observation. We find only a short preface before the 'tavola' at the beginning, an explanation of the repeat signs used in the book and a note about how to cancel in composition for tri-harmonic harpsichords, alteration by means of an (Odonian) letter qualifying the natural pitch. Furthermore, in the initial 'Ricercari', the score is systematically peppered with information about the subjects and their transformations ('inganni'). In the second book of 1615, we find many extremely interesting annotation, showing Trabaci'd didactic concern as well as a rather narcissistic need to underline the author's originality and his competence as a theorist. Some of the ideas contained in the preface of 1603 - in particular, the affirmation of the importance of the performer's role in the success of the work - are taken up again in the new preface after the initial 'tavole'; several other extensive texts deal in due course with a particular problem: 'Alli lettori', on the various compositional styles for different instruments, 'A'lettori' on the unorthodox treatment of the 7th mode for variety in the 'versi', and 'A'lettori' on the orthography of the alterations for chromatic harpsichords. Finally, numerous notes scattered throughout the music specify the composer's intentions from a practical point of view: tempo, reprises, type of writing, abbreviated trills and various ornaments, etc. For instance, 'allarga la battuta' ('Verso 2' of the 'Quinto tono', 'Verso 50' of the Quarto, 'Verso 4' of the 'Secondo tono') is an instruction closely akin to the one used by Frescobaldi in his Toccate of 1615, requesting the player to slow down on the cadences; 'battuta stretta' and in proportione are instructions specifying the nature of the time signature, in which 'battutta stretta' is the equivalent of 'alla breve' in duple time, and 'proportione' is the equivalent of a triple time. We also come across 'cromatico' or 'in canone', referring to specific writing process characterising the whole - a sort of 'a priori' regulating and justifying the discourse as a whole. Even as regards writing, and not just practical performance, at least once Trabaci writes a note in the margin of the last 'ricercar' expressing his regret that the canonic constraints he has imposed upon himself prevent him from composing in a more graceful manner ('un miglior garbo')! What is most surprising in this book is the existence of a 'Tavola de i passi e delle cose più notabile', immediately after the main 'Tavola'. In this table, the author refers to what he considers the most remarkable ideas - a complete piece or even a single bar (in the case of the twelve initial 'ricercari'), and the bar is pinpointed with a number in the music itself! The composer takes the liberty of deviating from the strict rules of 'stile osservato' (strict classical counterpoint), thus creating interesting instances of dissonance, irregular in its treatment (such systematic licences are sometimes found formulated in the title of the 'Ricercari' of 1603). This aspect of the work, the 'table of the most remarkable things', is so important in Trabaci's eyes that it is mentioned on the title page itself ('...con due Tavole, una di tutta l'Opera, e l'altra de is passi e delle cose più notabili').
"Perhaps the most original section in the second book is the 'Cento Versi sopra li otto finali ecclesiastici'. These short contrapuntal pyrotechnic displays, following the more classical 'Ricercari' (on the 12 modes), undoubtedly form a set that is unique of its kind, even though the principle had already been explored by several great predecessors or contemporaries (Claudio Merulo, for example). Trabaci himself reminds us of their function in a preface devoted to them, in which he notes that he thinks it would be wise 'for the professional organist to accompany the preceding 'ricercari' with a hundred verses on the eight church modes for Masses, Vespers, and all divine Offices or any other sort of occasion'. The artful side of these precious miniatures is immediately obvious in the curious (and inexplicable) decision to write exactly -one hundred- verses to cover the eight church modes - which forces Trabaci into a grouping 7x12 plus 1x14... Trabaci uses the word 'Fioretti' - indicative of their unusual character, since the term is rather unusual for this type of composition - to refer to them in a passage from the same preface, in which he contrasts '...questa materia di Versetti, ò Fioretti (come dimandargli vogliamo) ò [...] una Canzona Francese, Gagliarde, Partite diverse, ò [...] una Toccata...' with the most reserved 'Ricercari' in contrapuntal style: he points out that if the writing of the ricercari is dependent on the classical vocal style implying a scale rarely going beyond a range of about twenty notes - those of a vocal range - these compositions, on the contrary, take advantage of the much vaster artificial range offered by musical instruments stemming from the ingenuity of man, 'who would not have invented it had it not been appropriate'. By drawing this parallel, Trabaci shoes us where the main difference between these two styles lies: unlike the 'stile osservato' used in the 'ricercari', these 'versetti' make the most of a wide instrumental range and are governed by a spontaneity of invention and a freedom in the contrapuntal realisation that often them closer to the toccata or to pieces in 'galant' style than to traditional liturgical works. All sorts of brilliant devices are explored, providing the dumbfounded modern reader with an extensive catalogue of the idioms that were subsequently developed in the history of instrumental music. Each of the pieces may be seens as a sort of variation on an abstract theme, a sort of 'obligo' or contrapuntal, thematic, motivic constraint that is merely hinted at and unfolded over an average of 3 to 10 bars. As an illustration, let us mention a few examples that are easy to spot, all of them taken from the initial group of the 'Primo tono': No. 3, elaborated over four successive entries of the same descending run, merging into the final cadence (Chopin's Prelude No. 8!); No. 5, over a chain of trills; No. 6 'in proportione' (in triple time) with its uncharacteristic fifth-fourth entry, answered by fourth-fifth - ascending formulas which are repeated twice with a plunge into the low register; No. 9, based on an expressive syncopated rhythm of two ascending notes answering and supporting one another polyphonically; No. 11, based on a chromatic motif announcing Frescobaldi; and No. 12 based on 'ostinato' dotted rhythms. We are lucky to hear all eight modes on this recording, in a 'rondo' presentation, i.e. alternating all the 'versi' in the same mode with other compositions.
"Among the other pieces from the second book recorded here, the 'Toccata 1a' stands somewhat alone: basically polyphonic, it begins with an 'entrée' in imitation that is much closer to the ricercar than to the free style one expects of a toccata. Unfolding over about thirty bars, it then turns to a mode of writing similar to the 'madrigal passeggiato', implying chains of diminutions betwen the chords, occasionally interrupted by a brief motivic section in imitation. Immediately following the 100 'versetti' in the original version, it thus forms a serious transition to the other 'toccate', which are in many ways more adventurous and individualised.
"In the second book of 1615 we also find the very curious 'Gagliarde 1a' and '2a a quattro' and the 'Gagliarda 1a a cinque'. They differ from those included in the book of 1603 (represented here by the 'Gagliarda 'quinta') in several formal aspects. The group of 'Gagliarde a quattro' opens with a preface explaining the signs that are used to clarify the reprises and with a note on instrumentation: Trabaci tells the ready that the 'gagliarde' for four voices may also be played by five voices, with viols or a group of violins; the fifth voice for all the 'Gagliarde a quattro' is presented at the end of the volume. This curious way of adding a fifth voice in an appendix again draws out attention to the dogmatic priority Trabaci gives to the idea over its realisation, considered in the context a sort of instrument polymorphism, and therefore the priority given by the composer to what is written. The version presented here is for four voices, which suffice to bring out Trabaci's remarkable polyphony - writing in imitative counterpoint already present in the first book of 1603, bold use of clashes and dissonance, and frequent false relations. Unlike those of the first books, the 'gagliarde' of the second book bear titles evoking people or moods: 'detto il Galluccio (Gagl. 1a)', 'detta la Morosetta (Gagl. 2a). The only 'Gagliarda a cinque' presented here is the first one in the group, 'detta la Galante'. We find a complex formal organisation that was not to be found in the first book of 1603: sections in duple metre right from the start, and the usual triple metre (normal for this form). Furthermore, 'La Morosetta' is in duple metre right from the start, and the usual triple metre does not appear until the very end. 'La Galante' for five voices is even more innovative: it takes the form of a sort of series of inextricably entangled variations, giving the impression that they are in a form with refrain: after two sections in triple metre, the first section in duple metre is even entitled 'partita 3a'. Needless to say, this piece is far from easy to play: Trabaci is merciless in his treatment of the keyboard player who has to use all sorts of stratagems to make up for not having enough fingers!
"The other pieces are all taken from the first book of 1603. The 'Canto fermo primo del primo tono' is a contrapuntal elaboration based on a famous melody, frequently used from the end of the fifteenth century until the Baroque era, and known by various names, the most common being 'Re di Spagna', or 'La basica di Costanzo Festa'. The four 'Canti fermi' contained in this volume are, moreover, based on the same theme and treated in the same way: the 'cantus firmus' is taken by the same voice from beginning to end in short, equal note values, thus forming a sort of Baroque parody of this very old technique. As the melody comprises 37 notes, each piece is also in 37 bars. In the first, it is carried by the tenor. The formal articulation is based on the intervention of secondary motifs more or less defining each section by giving it a distinct rhythmic form. The piece as a whole (like the other three pieces in the volume) represents a pinnacle of contrapuntal artistry.
"The piece entitled 'Decimo tono trasportato con una fugha sola' is a ricercar based, as its title indicated, on a single subject ('fuga' at that time meant 'subject'). But the subject is in fact split into two parts, the second serving as a counterpoint to the first. The formal articulation, in three parts, shows a macroscopic concern for diversity which the composer intends to be perfectly perceptible even to a listener who is inattentive to the polish of the compositional details: the contrasting middle section interrupts the rhythmic flow with its theme in triple metre, before the return of duple time, more natural in this type of writing. This articulation, original for a form of this type - the ricercar - was imitated by Frescobaldi in his 'Fantaisie' of 1608, but not in his his 'Ricercari' of 1615, which show no metrical contrast. Notice the impressive ornamented cadence at the end of this piece, which is unique in these 'ricercari'.
"Inspired by his teacher G. de Macque, the piece entitled 'Durezze e ligature' (dissonances and suspesnions) belongs to the free toccata genre, but in which the invention is concentrated exclusively on the creation of bold, dissonant, constantly changes harmonic progressions, forming a static kaleidoscope of sound - immobile in being attached to no particular key. This model was often used subsequently, particularly by Frescobaldi, in whom it inspired forms of the same type developing this technique throughout, but also a distinctive mode of writing that was capable of characterising an episode in a composition making use of contrast, such as the toccata.
"The two 'canzoni' on this recording complete the picture of the genre that was begun on the previous CD in this series. The 'Canzona franzesa settima cromatica' is one of the very first examples of this type of piece based on the impressive chromatic progression of the main theme, a process used by many composers up to and including J.S. Bach - Tarquinio Merula is a fine example. Here the work is articulated like a lmost all of Trabaci's 'canzoni', in several sections, differentiated either by the appearance of a new countersubject accompanying the principal motif, or by a variation of this motif itself, using the diverse figures of classical counterpoint, or by recourse to metric contrast with a variation in triple time. The 'Canzona sesta' served as an ideal model for later compositions by Frescobaldi, in that it is articulated, like the seventh, on a metrical contrast, but with a clarity and insistence that almost give it the appearance of a rondo! Indeed, the whole piece is based on the same subject, which changes rhythmically and metrically to serve as a motive for the constrasting sections. We thus obtain the pattern -a b a' c a"-, in which 'b' and 'c' are the variations in triple metre and 'a' represents the sections that develop variations in duple time on the initial motif. If we add to that the existence of 'extended' cadences in free toccata style, acting as buffers between the sections, we obtain exactly the pattern of Frescobaldi's 'canzona' variation, which was possibly inspired by Trabaci. The conclusion of the 'Canzona sesta' is particularly interesting in its scope and virtuosity." (Etienne Darbellay, tr. Mary Pardoe. From the liner notes.)
Performer: Michèle Dévérité
1. Toccata Prima A Quattro
2. Versi, Quarto Tono
3. Durezze E Ligature
4. Versi, Settimo Tono
5. Gagliarda Quinta
6. Versi, Sesto Tono
7. Canto Fermo Primo Del Primo Tono
8. Versi, Primo Tono
9. Gagliarda Prima A Quattro Detta Il Galluccio
10. Versi, Terzo Tono
11. Canzona Franzesa Settima Cromatica
12. Versi, Quinto Tono
13. Ricercar Decimo Tono Trasportato Con Una Fugha Sola
14. Versi, Ottavo Tono
15. Gagliarda Seconda A Quattro Detta L'Amorosetta
16. Canzona Franzesa Sesta
17. Gagliarda Prima A Cinque Detta La Galante
18. Versi, Secondo Tono
