Next Concert

21 June 2025, 7:30pm

Monteverdi String Band in focus

Programme

Oliver Webber, in the style of  Bassano                                  Ricercata (violin solo) 

Thomas Crecquillon, c.1505-c.1557                                       Par trop souffrir de fortune ennemie
(ornaments by Webber in the style of dalla Casa)

Ascanio Mayone, c.1565-1627                                                Canzon Francese Prima (harpsichord solo)      

Biagio Marini, 1594-1663                                                         Sinfonia La Gardana 

Orlando di Lasso, c.1532-1594                                               Susanne ung jour    
(ornaments by Girolamo dalla Casa, d.1601)

Gärtner (Wroclaw manuscript 115, early 17th century)          Toccata (violin solo)    

Cipriano de Rore                                                                     Vergine bella
(with ornaments by Orazio Bassani (c.1570–1615) and Webber)

Giovanni Bassano, c.1561-1617                                             Ricercata Prima (violin solo)    

Cipriano de Rore, c.1515-1565                                               Anchor che col partire
(with improvised ornaments)

Oliver Webber, inspired by Monteverdi et al.                          Ciaccona          

INTERVAL

Michelangelo Rossi, c.1601-1656                                        Toccata Nona (harpsichord solo)         

Dario Castello, 1602-1631                                                   Sonata Prima   

Carlo G, fl. c.1600-1620                                                       Convertisti planctum

Giovanni Paolo Capriolo, c.1580-c.1627                             Vulnerasti cor meum
(with ornaments by Webber in the style of Carlo G)

Antonio Mortaro, fl. early 17th century, d. after 1620           Canzona ‘La Malvezza’
(with ornaments by Webber in the ‘canzona’ style of Francesco Rognoni)

Cipriano de Rore                                                                  Ben qui si mostra il ciel                   
(with ornaments by Webber in the style of Bovicelli)

Aurelio Virgiliano, fl. c.1600                                                 Prelude on ‘Vestiva i colli’  (violin solo)           

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina                                           Così le chiome mie   
(with ornaments by Webber in the madrigal style of F Rognoni)

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina                                             Io son ferito, ahi lasso
(with ornaments by Francesco Rognoni: ‘Modo di passeggiar con Arte e Maestria’

Monteverdi String Band in focus: 

Oliver Webber (violin) and Steven Devine (harpsichord) present 

Con Arte e Maestria

Virtuoso violin ornamentation from the dawn of the Italian Baroque

Four centuries ago, when the music in tonight’s programme was written, if you were to present a violinist with a piece of sheet music, it would simply be the starting point for his or her very personal interpretation – one which would involve not only tempo, dynamics and phrasing, but also the devising or improvising of sophisticated, often virtuosic, ornamental figures. The final work in the concert, Francesco Rognoni’s take on the Palestrina madrigal Io son ferito, represents the culmination of this tradition. It is captioned modo di passeggiar con arte e maestria: ‘manner of ornamenting with art and mastery’. The phrase con arte e maestria is used to this day in Italy to refer to consummate skill in creative fields as diverse as cookery, architecture and jewellery-making, and is understood to be an acknowledgment of an artist at the very top of their game.

 The essence of this practice is the creation of flourishes, runs, leaps, trills and other elaborate patterns from a simple original melody – typically a well-known song from the previous generation. Works by great composers of the mid sixteenth century such as Palestrina and de Rore are transformed into brilliant, complex and beautiful solo works for voice or instruments. The best of these were written down, and a vast quantity survive today, along with extensive manuals for practising and devising ornaments, providing us with a wonderful source of inspiration.

 In tonight’s programme, which presents highlights from the artists’ highly acclaimed 2021 recording for Resonus Classics, original ornamentation from the decades around 1600 is complemented by Webber’s own versions, modelled on the patterns and structures left to us by these master musicians. One of the most rewarding and fascinating aspects of our preparation for this has been the insight it has given us into the individual characters of the musicians: Dalla Casa’s deceptively simple combinations of rhythmic subdivisions which blossom into unexpected beauty, Riccardo Rognoni’s exciting combinations of runs and large leaps, Bovicelli’s rhythmic playfulness and subtle rubato, the mysterious figure of Carlo G with his captivating alternations of trills, flourishes and subtle accents, and finally Francesco Rognoni’s consummate exploitation of every technique available to him, which gives the programme its name. 

 Equally rewarding is the prospect of keeping this subtle art alive by working with students: the research involved in creating this programme was generously supported by the Innovation Department of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where students are already benefitting from the fruits of this research. To cite an oft-quoted contemporary maxim, facile est inventis addere – it is easy to add to what has already been invented. We look forward to putting this into practice as widely as possible with the next generation of  musicians.