Review

Reviewed Work(s): Cinque Composizioni Inedite per Organo by Pablo Bruna and Carlo
Stella;
Composizioni Inedite dai 'Flores de Música'
by
Antonio Martín y Coll
, Carlo Stella and Vittorio Vinay; Seis Sonatas para clave y forte piano by
Joaquín Montero and Linton Powell; Complete Keyboard Works by Giovanni Picchi and
Howard Ferguson; Suites for Harpsichord: Book 1 (1720), Nos. 1, 3, 5 and 7 by George
Frideric Handel and Christopher Kite
Review by: Barry Cooper
Source: Early Music, Vol. 9, No. 1, Plucked-String Issue 1 (Jan., 1981), pp. 127-128
Published by: Oxford University Press
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3126614
Accessed: 28-11-2020 14:37 UTC

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through the passage of perverse
chromatic twists in Coperario's Leno,
one's feeling of credibility is stretched,
but on scoring it up it is convincing.
The sets of parts cover a usefully
wide range of consort groupings,
some with alternative clefs for treble
or tenor viol.
JOAN WESS
Cinque Composizioni Inedite
per Organo
PABLO BRUNA (1611-79)
Edited by Carlo Stella
Edizioni Suvini Zerboni, 1979, ?8.15
Composizioni Inedite dai
'Flores de Mtisica'
ANTONIO MARTIN Y COLL
with the
in alla breve style with numerous strongest influences being
sus-
pensions. They are well constructed, Scarlatti and Haydn. Linton Powell's
rich in invention, and madeedition is no doubt of some historical
particu-
larly lively by Bruna's skilful use
value, of
helping to extend our know-
certain irregular rhythmsledge charac-
of late 18th-century keyboard
teristic of much Spanish baroque music in Spain. But with such paucity
music, such as 3+3+2 quavers in 4/4 of musical invention the sonatas are
time, and rapid alternation of 3/2 and likely to be of more interest to lib-
6/4. Harmonic asperity is provided by rarians and music historians than to
frequent use of the so-called English keyboard players seeking un-
cadence, where a flattened seventh in discovered gems.
one part is followed by a sharpened The name of Giovanni Picchi is
seventh in another. The editing is probably most familiar from a single
clear, with a full critical commentary, toccata in the Fitzwilliam Virginal
and a detailed historical introduction
Book. This is now edited by Howard
is provided in five languages. Ferguson, along with Picchi's 13 other
extant harpsichord pieces, which are
Martin y Coll's four large key-
board manuscripts were copied inin a somewhat different style and all
1706-9 and include music from the based on dance forms. The four

Edited by Carlo Stella and Vittorio whole of the 17th century, though passamezzi are quite substantial works
Vinay most of it is anonymous. The care-of about a hundred bars or more, but
Edizioni Suvini Zerboni, 1979, ?8.15 the balli and saltarelli are much
fully edited anthology now published
shorter. All the pieces apart from the
contains five pieces from each of the
Seis Sonatas para clave y toccata tend to have the characteristic
four manuscripts, in a variety of forms
forte piano texture of three-part chords for left
including obras, tientos, a short organ
JOAQUiN MONTERO
hand accompanying ornate melodies
Mass, dances and variations (diferen-
Edited by Linton Powell
in the right. Picchi was by no means
cias). Again the music is of generally
Union Musical Espafiola, 1977, ?6.90 a musician of the first rank (his
high quality, especially the five pieces
Complete Keyboard Works from the first manuscript, which highest achievement was to be nearly
GIOVANNI PICCHI include an expressive, highly appointed as second organist at St
Edited by Howard Ferguson chromatic obra de falsas and an obraMark's, Venice, in 1624), but these
?6 could be described as a study inpieces have a certain attraction and
Zen-on Music/Universal, 1979,that
texture or musical device, each suc- Howard Ferguson has provided a
Suites for harpsichord: cessive device being appropriatelygood edition of them, with helpful
Book 1 (1720), nos. 1,3,5 and
labelled 7 manuscript. Nearly all suggestions for ornamentation in
in the
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL
the pieces in the anthology, like thoseappropriate places. He has also
Edited by Christopher Kite of Bruna, are intended for a one- managed to produce a satisfactory
Stainer & Bell, 1979, ?2.50
manual organ with divided compass.version of the last two bars of the
Much early keyboard music Several such organs have been built in toccata, which are clearly corrupt in
from
Spain has been published in theBritain
lastin recent
20 years and this musicthe manuscript, although he has sub-
would seem
years, but there still seems to be plenty ideally suited to them, stantially altered another part of the
waiting to be discovered, for three ofif they possess incisive piece (bars 62-4, which are trans-
particularly
the five editions under review here reeds and mixtures so characteristic of posed up a tone) with rather less
contain more or less unknown Spanish baroque organs. justification.
Spanish music. Of these three The the
six sonatas byJoaquin Montero There is no shortage of modern
most interesting is probably the
are from a later epoch, having been editions of Handel's first collection of
collection of five excellent organ
published as the composer's op. 1 in Suites de Pidces pour le Clavecin, but
pieces by Pablo Bruna, a blind1790. and
By this date Spanish keyboard most either clutter the text with in-
clearly gifted composer from had declined considerably, for authentic dynamics and slurs or
Aragon.
music
Three of the five are tientos although
de medio Montero was one of the present an Urtext with virtually no help
registro, in which one handmore
is given
important composers of his day to the performer. Neither type is ideal,
the sonatas
solos accompanied by the other on are
a slender in content and for an Urtext edition of these pieces
divided keyboard; one piece is in
lacking a cohesion. Each consists ofwill
a contain numerous passages that
batalla and the fifth is an obra
slow
defalsas are liable to misinterpretation by
movement followed by a fast one,

EARLY MUSIC JANUARY 1981 127

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modern performers. To fill the gap, minor fugue, and virtually the whole Finally, a plea for more convenient
Christopher Kite has produced a new of every allemande, to be played in page-turns.
a Of the editions listed
edition of them which aims to explain above, only in the Handel are they
jerky rhythm, when notes inigales were
everything the performer could consistently manageable; very few
very much a French phenomenon?
possibly want to know about their pieces in any of the other editions can
The editor attempts to justify his inter-
correct interpretation. The arpeggio be played without awkward turns
pretation by saying that 'Handel wrote
passages (e.g. those in the first quickly and was not concerned about which can only be managed by the
prelude) are provided both in absolute precision'; but the source of
player if important notes are omitted,
Handel's version and a fully realizedthese pieces is no rough autograph the time interrupted, or the music
one; phrase ends are indicated byintended only for personal use-it is memorized.
a This is particularly
commas or short vertical lines; orna- carefully prepared printed edition irritating to organists since they are
ments are explained, and where neces-intended for wide dissemination. frequently expected to play in public
sary written out in full; various typesKite's edition also creates the dangerwithout the luxury of a page-turner.
of overdotting and inequality are sug-that insensitive performers mayThe playproblem could have been easily
gested; and certain notes are markedprecisely what he has written, which overcome in many cases by a more
to be held on longer than Handel would be worse than playing ancareful un- planning of the layout on the
indicates. adorned Urtext and which is anyway page, as was generally done at the time
The edition is not entirely success- not what he intends. But the edition these pieces were composed.
ful. The suggested phrasing is a has many merits-the arpeggios, for BARRY COOPER

curious mixture of 18th-century and example, are well worked out and very
19th-century styles, and some notes effective in performance-and it must
marked to be prolonged through the be regarded as a step in the right
next note would be better shortened direction in an area where much
and detached. Kite has also been far editorial work still needs to be done,
9

and where there is still plenty of con-

too liberal with his suggestions for in-
troversy about certain aspects of per-
equality: are we really to suppose that
Handel intended the whole of the D formance practice.

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128 EARLY MUSIC JANUARY 1981

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