Girolamo Cavazzoni (?1525-?1577)
Recercar Primo
Recercar Secondo
Recercar Terzo
Recercar Quarto
Ricercare
Recercar
Hymnus Christe Redemptor omnium
Hymnus Ad Coenam Agni providi
Hymnus Lucis creator optime
Hymnus Ave Maris Stella
Hymnus Veni creator Spiritus
Hymnus Exultet coelum laudibus
Hymnus Pange lingua gloriosi
Hymnus Iste confessor
Hymnus Iesu nostra redemptio
Hymnus Iesu corona virginum
Hymnus Deus tuorum militum
Hymnus Hostis Herodes impie
Canzon sopra I le bel e bon
Canzon sopra Falt d’argens
Magnificat Primi Toni
Magnificat Ottavi Toni
Magnificat Quarti Toni
Magnificat Sexti Toni
Missa Apostolorum
Missa Dominicalis
Missa de Beata Virgine
Credo Cardinalis

Federico Del Sordo, orgue, clavecin
Nova Schola Gregoriana
Alberto Turco, direction

Nous voici plongés en pleine Renaissance italienne avec cette intégrale pour orgue de Cavazzoni dont toutes les pièces sont religieuses puisqu’il s’agit d’hymnes, messes ou magnificat à l’exception de deux d'entre elles, écrites malgré tout sous la forme d’un motet liturgique. L’usage liturgique de l’époque voulait que les versets soient alternés de chant grégorien a capella et d’orgue avec scansion du texte pieux, permettant de méditer le texte sacré de deux façons différentes. Ici, seul l’orgue et le grégorien sont restés. Le premier semble improviser sur la mélodie grégorienne qui le précède, donnant plus de diversité musicale grâce aux différentes lignes mélodiques. Tandis que dans les versets en grégorien, c’est l’unité qui préside. Les hymnes font exception à ce schéma puisque seul le premier verset est chanté, laissant ensuite toute sa place à la majesté de l’orgue. Il est intéressant de souligner que Cavazzoni lui-même a supervisé la construction de l’orgue utilisé pour cet enregistrement : le choix ne pouvait donc être meilleur pour restituer le timbre et l’ambiance de l’époque ainsi qu’une musique vocale ou instrumentale qui porte au recueillement et au sacré. (Mathieu Niezgoda)

The most comprehensive collection of organ music by a major forerunner to Monteverdi, recorded on a historically significant instrument by an organist with a distinguished catalogue of 17th-century repertoire. Born in northern Italy around the turn of the 16th century – no more precise data is available – Girolamo Cavazzoni became organist of the cathedral in Mantova in 1621 and soon after entered the service of the Gonzaga family whose lavish artistic patronage sponsored and encouraged many of the finest Italian composers of the day. During his Mantuan years Cavazzoni taught the organ to Costanzo Antegnati (1549–1624), son of the organ builder at S Barbara, Graziadio Antegnati. Costanzo's L'arte organica (Brescia, 1608) recalls Cavazzoni as ‘Hieronimo d'Urbino già mio honorato maestro’. In 1565–6 he supervised the building of the organ in the church of S Barbara, Mantua, and also played the organ there at Mass. This is the very instrument played by Federico Del Sordo, lending his recording a unique authenticity and powerful sense of place and time. The restoration of the single-manual Santa Barbara organ (1995-2006) was undertaken by Giorgio Carli with the aim of returning the instrument to its original pristine state as far as possible, rather than extending or ‘improving’ it, and thus the colours of the instrument closely resemble those with which Cavazzoni was familiar. Much of the music here was written for liturgical performance in the alternatim fashion, whereby verses of the Mass text, the Magnificat or an antiphon are alternatively played and embroidered by the organ and then chanted by a choir. Federico Del Sordo draws on two original volumes, printed in Venice in the 1540s, plus a pair of ricercars to be found in multi-authored collections of the time. Together they build a portrait of a composer as stylish as he was pragmatic