Composer: Giovanni Picchi
Performer: Simone Stella
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Brilliant Classics
Release: 2021
Size: 1.39 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Toccata, Fvb 95
02. Intavolatura di Balli D’arpicordo: I. Pass’e Mezzo
03. Intavolatura di Balli D’arpicordo: II. Saltarello Del Pass’e Mezzo
04. Intavolatura di Balli D’arpicordo: III. Ballo Ditto Il Pichi
05. Intavolatura di Balli D’arpicordo: IV. Ballo Ditto Il Stefanin
06. Intavolatura di Balli D’arpicordo: V. Ballo Alla Polacha
07. Intavolatura di Balli D’arpicordo: Vi. Ballo Ongaro
08. Intavolatura di Balli D’arpicordo: VII. Todescha
09. Intavolatura di Balli D’arpicordo: VIII. Padoana Ditta La Ongara
10. Intavolatura di Balli D’arpicordo: IX. L’ongara a Un’altro Modo
11. Intavolatura D’organo: I. Passe E Mezzo di Mg. Gio. Picchi
12. Intavolatura D’organo: II. Passo E Mezzo di Giovan. Picchi
13. Intavolatura D’organo: III. Saltarello Del Detto
14. Intavolatura D’organo: IV. Passe E Mezzo Del Giovanni Picchi
15. Intavolatura D’organo: V. Saltarello Del Detto Prima Parte
16. Toccata Del Vi Tono
17. Ricercare Del XII Tono
18. Canzon À 4, Dita “La Bovia”
19. Toccata I “Undecimo Detto Uinto Tono”
20. Canzon Francese Detta Frais Et Gaillard
21. Toccata
22. Fuga Del IX Tono
23. Ricercare Del VII E VIII Tono
24. Canzon I Detta La Spiritata
The only complete survey available of the keyboard music written by a forward-looking contemporary of Monteverdi.
Giovanni Picchi (1572-1643) flourished in Venice, notably as the organist at the Scuola di San Rocco. He became renowned as a composer of both secular and sacred music, attested by his presence in the Nobiltà di dame by Fabrizio Caroso, the most important collection of dance music of the time. A collection of his canzone was published in 1625 and his fame spread to England, where a Toccata for harpsichord was transcribed within the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book (of which Brilliant has recently released the first-ever complete recording, 95915).
Other important sources for his keyboard music include collections published in Venice in 1621 and an undated collection of intablatures (transcriptions and elaborations of music by other composers) which is now held in Turin. Together they amount to some of the most brilliant and appealing music for the harpsichord from 17th-century Italy. Picchi’s harmonic language was especially daring, and his flair as a performer is reflected in the style of his writing, which exploits the full range of the instrument.
In complement to Picchi’s work, Simone Stella has chosen other jewels from Venetian composers of the time: toccatas, ricercare and canzone by Annibale Padovano, Claudio Merulo, Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli and Vincenzo Bellavere. Bellavere is another neglected figure nowadays, but the Toccata recorded here is a gloriously ornate example of the genre, alternating intricate counterpoint with filigree decoration.