Giovanni Battista Fasolo (1598-1664)
Salve Regina
Canzon prima
Canzon seconda
Canzon terza
Canzon quarta
Canzon quinta
Canzon sesta
Canzon settima
Canzon ottava
Magnificat Primi Toni
Magnificat Secundi Toni
Magnificat Tertii Toni
Magnificat Quarti Toni
Magnificat Quinti Toni
Magnificat Sexti Toni
Magnificat Septimi Toni
Magnificat Octavi Toni
Ricercata prima
Ricercata seconda
Ricercata terza
Ricercata quarta
Ricercata quinta
Ricercata sesta
Ricercata settima
Ricercata ottava
Fuga prima sur « la Bergamasca »
Fuga seconda sur « Girometta »
Fuga terza sur « la Bassa Fiamenga »
Fuga quarta sur « Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La »

Federico del Sordo, orgue, clavecin
In Dulci Jubilo
Alberto Turco, direction

La vie de Fasolo est mal connue. On a longtemps cru que l'œuvre majeure de ce moine compositeur, l'"Annuale", publiée en 1645 à Venise — le plus gros compendium de musique d'église italienne à l'époque, qui « contient tout ce que doit faire un organiste durant l'année, pour répondre au chœur » — était postérieure aux "Fiori Musicali" de Frescobaldi (1635) et que Fasolo avait suivi l'exemple et subi l'influence ce dernier. On sait aujourd'hui que cet "Annuale" est antérieur et a été composé aux environs de 1632. Ces CD offrent une belle anthologie de pièces de ce corpus, où, comme ailleurs dans la tradition catholique, l'orgue (ou le clavecin, prescrit notamment pendant le Carême ou l'Avent) alternent selon des règles strictes et complexes avec le plain-chant confié ici à un chœur féminin. Cette musique sans austérité, d'une clarté et d'une lisibilité exemplaire, jaillissant d'une architecture dont l'assise, simple et solide, fait la part belle à l'écriture fuguée (même en dehors des fugues proprement dites), est très bien servie par l'organiste et le chœur vocal. L'inspiration profane se laisse toujours deviner et est même revendiquée (canzone, références à la Bergamasca, à la Girometta, à la Bassa Fiamenga). On retrouve ici la fraîcheur, la vigueur des grands aînés européens, tels Sweelinck, par exemple. (Bertrand Abraham)

The major surviving works of a late- Renaissance friar-musician working in the chapels and courts of southern Italy, performed by one of Italy’s premier earlymusic ensembles. Giovanni Battista Fasolo (1598-1664) took Franciscan orders as a young man and worked in Naples and Rome as a master of music at various chapels before moving Sicily, where he held the post of maestro di cappella to the Archbishop of Monreale, near Palermo, from 1659 until his retirement or death in 1664, when his name disappears from the historical record. Interspersed here with solo organ works are eight alternatim settings of the Magnificat, in which a choir intones a line of the hymn, followed by an instrumental fantasia based on the line of chant. Two organs are represented on the album, both of historical significance. The Magnificats, the Salve Regina, the Ricercate, and the Fughe sopra Girometta and Ut re mi fa sol la were recorded on the Antegnati organ (c. 1589) in Verona Cathedral; whereas the Canzoni are played on the organ at Trevi in Umbria, built in 1509 by Paolo Pietro da Montefalco. Despite subsequent alterations, the original nucleus of the pipes remains intact, such that when the instrument was restored during the 20th century the sound equipment was found to be pretty much as it was when it was first installed. Today it is recognized as one of the earliest organs in the world. This album is the latest in a series of successful partnerships on record between the organist and harpsichordist Federico del Sordo and the priest and conductor Alberto Turco. Together they have also recorded alternatim mass settings by Claudio Merulo (BC95145) and Giovanni Salvatore (BC95146). del Sordo has also accompanied the violinist Valerio Losito in Baroque sonata albums by Telemann (BC95131), Tessarini (BC94787) and Veracini (BC94822). The Merulo album was welcomed by MusicWeb International for its ‘stark beauty’ as ‘a fine experience… well worth exploring.’ There is much rewarding listening here for fovers of Renaissance and Baroque choral music as they explore another overlooked figure.