Francesco Geminiani: Opera Omnia Volume 5.

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1 Francesco Geminiani: Opera Omnia Volume 5. 6 Sonatas Op. 5 (versions for cello and basso continuo H ; for violin and basso continuo H ). Christopher Hogwood, editor. Ut Orpheus Edizioni, 2010 (112 pp. clothbound). AlthoughGeminiani( )washeldtobetheequalofCorelliinhisown day andindeedthoughtbysometobesuperiortohiscontemporaryhandelin instrumentalcomposition hisconsiderableoutputofmusicanddidacticwritings hasonlybeenavailableinpiecemealfashion,muchofitneverreissuedsincehis lifetimeexceptinfacsimile,andthuslargelyinaccessibletomodernperformers. Thislackofmaterialdesignedforpracticalperformancehasconcealedthe enormousoriginalityheshowedbothinwritingandre writinghisownmusic,and thatofcorelli.francescogeminianioperaomniarectifiesthisomissionwiththefirst uniformandaccuratescholarlyeditionofallversionsofhismusicandwritingsina formthatallowspertinentcomparisonandreevaluation. Soopensthegeneralprefacetothisfirstvolume(ofseventeen)inUtOrpheus completegeminianiedition,andamorefelicitousintroductionitwouldbedifficult toimagine.foracomposerofsuchimportance,particularlyonewhoselimited outputstandswellwithinthelogisticalandeconomicconstraintsofthemusic publishingindustry,hisneglecthasbeenastonishing.untiltheperiodinstrument movementgotgoinginthepastseveraldecades,thiswasalsotrueofgeminiani s representationonrecordings afactthatresultedinaparticularlyamusingepisode frommyownpersonalwanderingsthroughthesometimesstrangeworldof classicalmusiccollectingandappreciation.itrustyouwillagreethatit sworth sharinghere. Duringmycollegedaysintheearly1980s,Iwastheproudownerofagoodlychunk ofphilips LivingBaroque seriesoflps,andwasenjoyinggettingtoknowallof thoseitalian elli, ani, oni, and ini composers.forreasonswedon tneedtogo into,imadetheacquaintanceofanextremelypretentiousmarriedcoupleaffiliated withtheuniversityinsomeway,andtheycameovertomyplaceforavisitone evening.theywereinterestedinmyrecordcollection(prettyexcessiveeventhen), andwheniaskedthemwhattheyenjoyedandiftheywantedtohearsomething,the husbandtooktheopportunitytosaythattheywereparticularlyfondoftheitalian Baroque.IrandownthelistofcomposerIknewIhadonhand:Locatelli,Corelli, Tartini,Albinoni,maybeacoupleofothers andrefusingtobeimpressed,hesaid: We reparticularlyfondofgeminiani. Ididn thaveanygeminiani.ididn tevenknowiftherewasanygeminianitohave. Ofcourse, hepressedobnoxiously, everyseriousbaroquemusicenthusiastloves Geminiani.Youmusthavesome,don tyou? Ishouldhavejustsaid, No andleftit atthat.afterall,he dalreadymadeitclearinpreviousconversationthathedidn t knowthedifferencebetweenaharpsichordandaclavichord.nevertheless,my pridewasoffended,andiwassoeagertoimpressthatijustwouldn tgivehimthe satisfaction. Justasecond, Isaid,runningintothenextroom,wherethestereoand 1

2 thelpshappenedtobelocated.igrabbedalocatellidisc,putinon,crankedupthe volume,andsaid, Isn tgeminianijustwonderful? Ohyes, heenthused.asthemusicplayed,hestoppedperiodicallytopretendto humalongandextolthevirtuesof Geminiani. Imanagedtokeepastraightfacethe wholetime,andigotthecoupleoutofmyapartmentnonethewiser.itwasn tuntil muchlaterthatiactuallyheardgeminiani smusic.therereallyisn tverymuchofit: threecollectionsofsonatas(countingthepresentvolumeasone),threecollections ofconcertosplusahandfulofothers,concertotranscriptionsbasedonthemusicof Geminiani steachercorelli,andfinallyacoupleofkeyboardalbumsandafew individualvocalandinstrumentalpieces.that sit.inacademiccircles,geminianiis perhapsanevenmoreimportantfigureforhisdidacticworks,includingmost famouslytheartofplayingontheviolin(1751),butaswithcorelli,thesmallsizeof Geminiani soutputdoesnotdiminishanartistofstrongpersonalityandaveryhigh levelofcraftsmanship. Furthermore,thecombinationofGeminiani sdetailednotation,hishabitofrevising andtranscribingbothhisownandcorelli swork,andtheinformationcontainedin hisvarioustreatises,makeshimperhapsthemostimportantfigureofhisera concerningissuesofearlytomid18 th centuryinstrumentalperformancepractice. Considerthepresentvolume.ThesixsonatasofOp.5werecomposedin1746for celloandcontinuo,thenimmediatelytranscribedforviolin.theircompositionwas partofthelargerprocess,describedbychristopherhogwoodinsomedetailinhis excellentpreface,bywhichthecellograduallysupplantedthebassviolasthelower stringedinstrumentofchoice.originalrepertoireforthecellowasstill comparativelyrareatthistime,andsogeminiani ssonatasrepresentanimportant contributiontotheirgenre,alongsidethatofitaliancolleaguessuchasvivaldi, Bononcini,andMarcello. Inarrangingthesesonatasfortheviolin,asHogwoodpointsout,Geminianididnot merelytranscribethemliterally;herecomposedthemextensively,making comparisonaparticularlyfascinatingexerciseforthoseinterestedinbothbaroque performancepracticeaswellastheinnerworkingsofthecreativemind.forthat reason,havingbothversionsprintedtogetherinasinglevolume,ashere,provesa greatadvantagetoscholarsandperformersequally.thereisnoparticularreason, forinstance,whyaviolinistneedignoretheversionforcello,andtheopposite obviouslyisjustastrue.studyofbothinvitestheplayertofindpractical interpretivesolutionsthatareatonceimaginativeaswellasstylistically appropriate. InordertoseemoreclearlythekindofadjustmentsthatGeminianimadein transcribinghissonatasfromtheircellooriginalstotheviolin(aswellasthe obvioussuperiorityoftheutorpheuseditionintermsofclarityandlegibility),itis worthconsideringafewexamples.geminiani sautographmanuscriptsforthese worksnolongerexist;allofthesourcesforthepresentvolumeconsistofearly 2

printededitions.here,then,istheentireopeningmovement(anintroduction, really)tothefourthcellosonataasitappearedinitsfrenchfirstedition: (FacsimileofOp.5,No.

3 printededitions.here,then,istheentireopeningmovement(anintroduction, really)tothefourthcellosonataasitappearedinitsfrenchfirstedition: (FacsimileofOp.5,No.4[Andante]:ÉditionsFuzeauClassique) ForgetabouttheRomannumeral VI intheaboveexample.it saprintingmistake, andshouldread IV. There sanother SonataVI initscorrectpositionafter SonataV, andsothistrulyistheopeningofsonataiv.hereisthesamemusicasit appearsinthenew,farlesscrowdedutorpheusedition: (CelloSonataOp.5,No.4[Andante]UtOrpheusEdition,p.27) Asyoucanseeplainly,theneweditionisnotablyeasiertoread,andthepractical performancematerialthatwillbepublishedinassociationwitheachvolumeofthis seriesshouldencouragemodernperformers,whetherbaroquespecialistsornot,to explorethisrepertoireingreaterdepth.it sworthmentioninginthisrespectthat 18 th centuryeditionsofsolosonataswereprintedinfullscore,andnotissuedas individualparts thecommonpracticetoday. 3

4 Hereistheviolinversionofthisbriefmovement: (ViolinSonataOp.5,No.4[Andante]UtOrpheusEdition,p.71) Eveninthistinymovementcontainingamerefourbars,thechangesarenumerous. Oneinparticulardeservesspecialcommentsinceitshedssomelightonperhapsthe singlemethodologicalweaknessofhogwood swork,oneprettymuchendemicto theschoolofearlymusicperformancetowhichhebelongs.thewavylinesinthe lastbararegeminiani snotationalsignforleft handpitchvibrato.othereditors havenoissueacknowledgingthemassuch.forexample,nicolasfromageotinhis prefacestothefacsimilereproductionsofothergeminianisonatasforeditions Fuzeauidentifiesthissymbolasa vibratoofvariablespeed, whichisexactlyhow GeminianidescribesitinTheArtofPlayingontheViolin,savethatterminologically hecallsiteithera closeshake or tremolo. Indeed,inthetableofornamentsincludedinthepresentvolume,Hogwoodalso unambiguouslyidentifiesthissymbolas vibrato. Andyet,indiscussing performanceissues,hesuggeststhatthewavylinemeansthatthemusicianshould playthepassageasaseriesofimprovisedarpeggios,notevenmentioningasa distinctpossibilitygeminiani sownclearlydefinednotationalpractice.thisis unquestionablyaseriousomission,althoughitjustsohappensthathogwood s recommendation(forreasonsexplainedbelow)alsoisentirelyconsistentwith Geminiani sinstructionsintheartofplayingontheviolin.nonetheless,itisnot whatthewavylinesymbolmostprobablymeansinthiscontext.sowhatisgoing on? Hogwood shandlingofthisissuerepresentsaconfluenceoftwoanalyticalflaws. First,itrepresentsaclassiccaseofthemodern authentic performercollidingwith thescholar,andunsurprisinglytheplayerwins.therefusaltoconsiderseriously 4

theideathatthe18 th century suseofvibratowasnotallthataudiblydifferentfrom today sisawhollymodernconceit,oneinherentintheearlymusicmovement s

5 theideathatthe18 th century suseofvibratowasnotallthataudiblydifferentfrom today sisawhollymodernconceit,oneinherentintheearlymusicmovement s insistencethatwhateverapproachsoundsthemostdifferentfromtraditionalnorms mustnecessarilybethemostcorrect.second,manymodernscholarsseemcuriously unwillingtoacceptthefactthatperformerscandomorethanonethingatthesame time forinstance,thattheycanplayarpeggiosandusevibrato eventhoughin reallifetheydoitallthetime,composersexpectit,andtheirnotationoftenquite plainlyreflectsthisfact. Hogwoodistoohonestascholartopermithisbiastointerferewithhisworkonthe actualmusicaltext.onlyhisinterpretationofitspossiblemeaningslacks completeness,buttheresultiscuriousallthesame,aswellasunnecessarily confusing.geminianidoesnotofferanyspecialnotationalsymboltoindicatethata passageshouldbeplayed arpeggio, nordoesheneedto.intheartofplayingon theviolin,heincludesanextensiveexample(no.xxi)inwhich areshewnthe differentway[s]ofplayingarpeggiosonchordscomposedof3or4sounds.here arecomposed18variationsonthechordscontainedinno.1[seebelow],bywhich thelearnerwillseeinwhattheartofexecutingthearpeggioconsists. (Geminiani:TheArtofPlayingontheViolin[Performer sfacsimiles]p.28) First,itshouldbeclearthatGeminianirequiresnoadditionalsigntoindicatethe possibilityofarpeggiatingtheabovepassage.forhim,asforanyplayerinhisday, thecorrectprocedureisinherentinthenotation.inthejust citedexamplefromop. 5,thepresenceoftripleandquadruplestopsinlongnotesatanadagiotempotells theplayerallheneedstoknowaboutcorrectexecution.thewavyline,then,simply indicatesthatevenifgeminianiwantsarpeggios,theplayeralsoshouldcontinueto usevibrato,andthisinturnsuggeststhekindofarpeggiopatternbestemployed.i say continuetousevibrato becausegeminianihasalreadysaidofthe close shake that itshouldbemadeuseofasoftenaspossible, ifonlybecauseit improvesthetonequalityevenofshortnotes. 5

6 Inthearpeggioexampleabove,youwillnotethattherhythmicpatternofthevery firstvariation(marked 2a )providesanopportunityfortheplayertoaddvibrato tothelong(dotted)noteineachfour notegrouping.geminianioffersseveralsuch patterns.thuswefindinthetwelfthvariation: (Geminiani:TheArtofPlayingontheViolin[Performer sfacsimiles]p.29) BecauseGeminianibyhisownprescriptionexpectedstringplayerstousevibrato prettyregularly,itfollowsthathewouldonlyneedtonotateitinexceptional circumstances:passagesrequiringanunusualdegreeofvirtuosity,orinplaces wheremusiciansmighttendnottouseitbecausetheyaretoobusydoingsomething else,likeexecutingrapidarpeggios.thisexplainshisuseofthewavylineinthe aboveexamplerathermorelogicallythandoeshogwood stheory.itwillbevery interestingtoseehowhedealswithgeminiani sdidacticworks;ifheacceptsthat theyreallymeanwhatthesay,ortriestointerprettheirwordstosuitthewholly modernand(ironically)notalwaysstylisticallycongruentneedsoftheearlymusic movement. Incidentally,thesometimesaudiblyunfortunateconsequencesofthecurrent school sapproachtoperiodperformancepracticecanbeheardonhogwood s recordingoftheop.5cellosonatasforl oiseau lyre.there,hisrobustand characterfultreatmentofthekeyboardcontinuoroundlyovershadowsthehoarse, raspy,andotherwisetimbrallychallengedcelloplayingofanthonypleeth.ifyou re interestedinhearingthismusiconperiodinstruments,considercellistjaapter LindenwithharpsichordistLarsUlrikMortensenonBrilliantClassics,amore economicalyetfarmoresatisfyingoption.attheendoftheday,andwhateverone s personalchoiceonthevibratoquestion,there snosubstituteforacellistwithan ingratiatingbasictone,andthere ssimplynoexcuseforthelamentablemodern tendencytoequateuglinesswithauthenticity. GeminianidedicatedhisOp.5sonatastoGiacomoFrancescoMilanoFranco d Aragona,PrinceofArdore,ambassadortoFrancefromtheKingdomoftheTwo Sicilies.TheworkswereimmediatelypublishedbothinFranceandinHolland,and sometimelaterinengland.ashogwoodnotes: Geminianiwasunusuallyconscious ofthelegalrightsavailabletocomposersfortheprotectionoftheirworksina societywhereinternationalcopyrightdidnotexistandwherepublishingpiracy wasrife;heappearstohavebeenthefirstcomposertoinitiatelegalproceedingsto protecthisworks(op.2about1731)andby1746wasthemostlegally protected composerofthecentury. 6

7 BecausetheautographmanuscriptsofOp.5nolongerexist,modernscholarsmust relyoncontemporaryprintedsources.geminiani spersonalinvolvementwiththe publicationofhismusichasensuredthatthesearebothcleanaswellasrelatively consistentwitheachother.nevertheless,errorsalwayscreepin(asmosttriviallyin themistakenidentificationaboveofsonataivassonatavi),andhogwoodhas correctedtheseandlistedthem alongwithotherinconsistencies appropriatelyin thecriticalcommentarythatfollowsthemusicaltext.henotesthatoneofthe motivatingfactorsforthedutchreprintmayhavebeentheneedtoreplacethe Frenchtrillsign(+)withthemorefamiliar(tr),whichwasinmoregeneraluse. Hogwood sowneditionnaturallyadoptsthelatter,whichalsoconformstomodern custom. Otherwise,HogwoodreproducesGeminiani s(orhispublisher s)originalnotation, andparticularlyhisornamentation,withadmirablefidelity.it sinterestingto observethattheviolinversionstendtobemoreelaborateinthislastrespect,and cellistscertainlyshouldstudythemcarefully.considerforexampletheadagiothird movementofsonataii,whichisstrikinglybareintheoriginal,butfarmorefully fleshed outintheviolintranscription.there,geminianiaddsavarietyof embellishmentstowhatstartsoutasasimplemelodycomprisedlargelyofhalfnotesin3/2time includingportatobowing,turnsofvariouskinds,mordents (called beat bygeminianiandindicatedbytwoslashes[//]abovethenote),and hisown,wedge shapedcrescendosign.thetableofornamentsprecedingthe musicaltextspellsoutallofthenecessaryembellishmentsprecisely. Nottheleastofthepresentvolume sattractionsisthereproduction(andhelpful translation)ofthevariouscopyright privileges Geminianireceivedfromthe governmentsoffrance,holland,andengland.anyonefamiliarwithmodern contractlawintheenglish speakingworldsurelywillrecognizethewords containedintherecitalclauseofhisenglishprivilege: Toalltowhomthese PresentsshallcomeGreeting: thissameformulaisstillinuse.itisironicthata composerwhotooksuchpainsoverthepublication,dissemination,andprotection ofhismusicshouldhavehadtowaituntilnowforacomplete,moderncritical edition.appearingingoodtimeforthe250 th anniversaryofgeminiani sdeathin 2012,thisUtOrpheusprojectrepresentsamajorefforttowardcorrectinga longstandinginjustice. DavidHurwitz August2010 7

6 Concertos, Op.2 (Concerto No.4 In D Major): Full Score [A3284] By Francesco Geminiani

6 Concertos, Op.2 (Concerto No.4 In D Major): Full Score [A3284] By Francesco Geminiani Arcangelo Corelli - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - such as Francesco Geminiani, a portion of the Christmas Concerto,