Manuscript LBII II. nr. 40 (Library of Leuven?)(Folie des Spanie)Originally from Belgium and The Netherlands, the carillon is found throughout the world and is experiencing a real golden age at this point in history. There are close to 200 instruments in North America alone, and the performers are frequently superb virtuosi on the instrument. A modern carillon is capable of extraordinary sensitivity to touch and has, in the latter part of the 20th century, become a true concert instrument. There are national schools in The Netherlands (Amersfoort), Belgium (Mechelen), and France (Douai). In North America, while there is no national school, there are two large centers of carillon study: the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and at Berkeley. The difficulty in playing comes not from the delay between striking the note and the sound of the bell (that is minimal in a modern instrument), rather the real difficulty comes in controlling such a large collection of very heavy weights and still taking care with voicing and other musical matters
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Duration: 0'47", 754 kB. (128kB/s, 44100Hz) |
| Folies d'Espagne (2003) Sint-Pieterskerk, Leuven, Belgium |
Published by the magazine "Campanae
Lovanienses" June 2003, page 29, used with permission |
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| © sheet music by Nieuwsbrief
Campanae Lovanienses
The sheet music of the automatic-play drum. The drum's rotation,
similar to a music box, |
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Dos estrellas le siguen, morena,
y dan luz al sol :
va de apuesta, señora morena,
que esos ojos son.
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Duration: 1'58", 1760 kB. (128kB/s, 44100Hz) |
Jacques-André Houle wrote for the slipcase:Nearly the equal of Hidalgo and Marín by the quality if not the quantity of his output (two other composers featured at the compact disc, editor), Manuel Machado (c.1590-1646) was a composer and instrumentalist of Portuguese extraction who pursued his career in Spain. He seems to have been much appreciated at court as a chamber musician and he mastered a number of instruments. Only twenty works of his are extant, all secular songs in Spanish, and all of exceeding beauty. A case in point is the finesse of his 'Dos estrellas le siguen', comprising a single stanza. This gem of a song, which opens this recording, is encased in a series of variations elaborated by our musicians on the famous 'Folía', a ground bass that was popular throughout Europe.
The famous Follia is a dance of Portuguese origin of the XV century. Exported to Spain, France and Italy becomes a society and court dance. On the contrary, Lei foulié espagnolo, also known as Danse du Turc, was performed in Provence as a representation of two young Saracens’ story. .
Manuscript di Venezia, Music in the Biblioteca Palatina di Parma.
Original source: LVSITANA MUSICA, 1/ opera mvsica selecta - 2 Uma tablatura
para guitarra barroca - O livro do Conde de Redondo, edição
fac-simile, Lisboa, 1987. Edited by the Musicology Departement of IPPC - Portugal |
Duration: 2'10", 1781 kB. (112kB/s, 44100Hz) |
Although the manuscript is not dated, it must have been
produced after 1700. In this manuscript there is a Giga from Corelli's Op.
5 (that was published on 1700). Monica Hall thinks that around 1730 is more
likely because it sounds similar to S.Murcia's book published on 1732. I
can agree with this.
In the Iberian tradition, the book is notated in numerical (as opposed to
alphabetical) tablature; though the notes are there, however, as is the
case with the two other Portuguese baroque guitar sources, rhythmic indications
are lacking (with a small number of exceptions), the interpretation in this
respect being left to the performer (I reconstructed the rhythmic structure
by myself).
| Theme of Folias de Espanha (c.1700) | Transcribed by P. Galvão, used with permission |
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The variations on the Folias are also highly idiomatic, and a brilliant rhythmic and melodic exploration of this famous basso ostinato theme.
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Duration: 1'26", 03 kB. |
| Theme of Diferencias de las Folías (c.1700) | Hudson, Richard Vol I, p. 122 |
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The Folia is a danza of Portuguese origin with an extensive history in Spain - there being references to it as far back as the fifteenth century. During the course of the seventeenth century the harmonic pattern known as the folías de España became widely used (the three that we include here follow that pattern).[...] The Diferencias de Folías taken from an anonymous book of harp tablature coming from Avila (and preserved today in the Biblioteca Nacional de España in Madrid) are of particular interest as they contain three original variations in plucked style (clearly those in the strummed style are additions here) which correspond to the two most common forms of folías known in the Spanish Baroque; folías a la Italiana (variations I and III) and folías a la española (variation II). The latter are distinguished by their melodies with upbeats and a clear preference for the dominant key. The use of the campanela (a frequently employed guitar resource in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries) which consists of plucking the melodies with the fingers on several strings whilst allowing them to resonate, in this way perfectly imitating the sound of the harp.
Folies d'Espagnes (f. 6v). By far the longest and most difficult piece in the collection, this work is a series of variations on the well-known theme and bass of La Folia. Couperin's set is noteworthy for more than one reason. First, its unusual length is impressive: containing no fewer than 27 couplets, it is longer even than d'Anglebert's famous set. The set in Couperin's manuscript has clear links with d'Anglebert's work, which was published only after Couperin left for Turin: 4th couplet = d'Anglebert's 4th, 7th couplet = d'Anglebert's 6th, 13th couplet = d'Anglebert's 22nd, 16th couplet = d'Anglebert's 21st, 26th couplet = d'Anglebert's 16th. Some of these correspondences are extremely close, even down to the little ornamental notes, and cannot be the result of coincidence. We may conclude that Couperin had some contact with d'Anglebert. Perhaps he studied harpsichord with him. The work is conceived according to a solid plan, not without its own internal subtlety. After the opening statement of the theme, there follow four groups of six variations (couplet 2-7, 8-13, 14-19, 20-25), followed by a short coda (the last two variations). Each group of six is different as a result of the increasing virtuosity but is nevertheless built in the same way structurally and organised identically: (i) figuration for th e right hand, followed by (ii) the same figuration for the left hand and (iii) a melodic variation starting on D. Then (iv) the two previous figurations of each hand combined together in both hands, followed by (v) a melodic variation starting on F, derived from (iii). Each group of six variations ends with (vi) a bass solo. The most elaborate and rapid figuration is reached in the 23rd couplet, after which the intensity relaxes somewhat.
Tono I from the books for keyboard San Rafael of Chiquitos, collected by the
originally Swiss Jesuit missionary Martin Schmid (born in Swiss 1694, arrived
in Bolivia in 1729 and left for Lucern, Swiss in 1768, where he vanished in
1772) for the spiritual education of the Indian people of Chiquitos.
Played on the famous bamboo organ in the village of Las Pinas just outside the Philippine capital.
There is no documentation about the anonymous Folia included at the vinyl release
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Duration: 1'38", 1.5 Mb. (128kB/s, 44100Hz) |
First comes an anonymous setting of the theme from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book and then an extemporised version by the whole band.
Michel Keustermans wrote for the slipcase (translation by Rachel Stacchini-Betton-Foster):'Pagginton's Pound' was one of the most popular ballads in England during the Elizabethan era, for which one can count no fewer than 100 different texts with numerous immoral themes: criminality, infidelity, thefts, executions, hangings, etc. This is a dialoque between a valet and his mistress who complains that her husband is always drunk, stupid and a liar. Only a few verses are used here because of course the mistress leaves with the valet. This song is based on the bass line of a primitive Folia for which we have used Corelli's variations and parts of du Faronel's Ground.
In the slipcase is written about this tune:An Elizabethan tune, Packington's Pound was so popular that by the end of the seventeenth century more than a hundred ballads has been printed calling for the tune. It continued in popularity until at least the middle of the eighteenth century and instrumental versions abound. This recording attemps a performance such as would have been heard on a street corner in the seventeenth century. No ballad survives to tell us who or what Packington was, but there are three people with whom the tune may have associations: Sir John Pakington (a favorite of Queen Elizabeth); his great uncle, Sir Thomas Pakington (who was instrumental in walling up the fourth side of the Inner Temple Gardens); and Thomas Paginton (a court musician who died in 1586). ('Paginton's Round' is called for on some ballads.)
Andrew Lawrence King mentions in the slipcase:
The modal tunes of Pakingtons Pound & Parsons Farewell and the rhythmic 'Scotch snaps' in Stingo sound Celtic, but they are all based on the Spanish folías ground.
The later Folia-theme is briefly quoted twice as an arrangement of Pakington's Pownde, but I fail to see any similarity with the theme of the early Folia and the tunes mentioned above.
That the Folia theme is also present in the Beggars Oper (Pepusch e.o.) may have its origins here:In the eighteenth century the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book manuscript was owned by the composer Johann Christoph Pepusch. His wife, an excellent harpsichordist, found the pieces in the FWV technically far more demanding than the most difficult sonatas by Scarlatti.
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Duration: 2'38", 06 kB. |
| Theme of The Spanish Follye | by Hudson Vol I, p. 113 |
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From the slipcase:
the program opens with one of the many sets of variations on the theme of Folia de España by an anonymous composer of the 16th century.
Not much to go on, but the 16th century as indication needs some correction because the later Folia melody and chord progression is involved (introduced in 1672). As the name already indicates i guess some variations of the manuscript collected by Martín Y Coll are involved.
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Duration: 0'29", 01 kB. |
| Manuscript from the archive Bosch van Rosenthal | © Rijksarchief Gelderland, used with permission |
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Duration: 5'08", 17 kB. |
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6 page in pdf-format, 97 kB |
| Manuscript from the archive Bosch van Rosenthal | © Rijksarchief Gelderland, used with permission |
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Duration: 2'43", 08 kB. |
| Theme of Folías graves | by Hudson Vol I, p. 140 |
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What is strange about the Oxford manuscript is that the French tuning (aka D minor tuning) required for this piece was not commonly used in Britain. So, the manuscript may be French. If it is French it probably is from before 1700 because new music for the lute was not produced anymore in France after 1700.
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Duration: 0'32", 01 kB. |
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Valéry Sauvage plays |
Duration: 3'31" direct link to YouTube
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Duration: 3'47", 07 kB. |
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1 page in pdf-format, 71 kB |
In the preface was written about Folies d'Espagne:.Folies d'Espagne (Spanische Torheiten), eine Lautenkomposition mit Variationen aus dem handschriftlichen Lautenbuch des Grafen Wolkenstein- Rodenegg (Ms. Berlin), um 1685, deren weite Verbreitung aus ihrer Wiederkehr in zahlreichen zeitgenössischen Lautenbüichern erhellt; ja, damit nicht genug: auch für verwandte lnstrumente aller Art iibertrug man sie - ais Kuriosum sei ihr Auftau chen als "Folie de Spange" in einer Berliner Handschrift (Mus.MsA0267) für das "Hamburger Cithrinchen" (eine Art Cither mit 5 gleichgestimmten Saiten) vermerkt. Dabei ist die Melodie hochst ansprüchslos und einfach, ebenso wie die gewiss harmlosen Variationen über sie, und hat hier hauptsächlich wegen ihrer enormen Popularität als Probe einer volkstümlichen Lautenkunst Aufnahme gefunden*). - Franzosische Tabulatur
Faronells Ground (from 'The division flute') as played by Romeo Ciuffa and Giancarlo delle Chiaie
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An anonymous set of divisions on the famous Follia ground bass, from The Division Flute issued by Walsh in London, 1704
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Duration: 5'50", 11 kB. |
| Theme of Follías de España | by Hudson Vol I, p. 143 |
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Many composers were inspired to write variations to the
famous dance piece Folias de Espan˜a. For centuries it rated in the top
ten along with Greensleeves. My version is from a manuscript datet 1764
in Barcelona containing a vast collection of Hammered Dulcimer music
(Salterio). It is the piece de resistance in my programs. I love playing
it and put it in the programs, since it allways arrives well even with
folk audiences. So for the last 2 years I played it in various concerts
(Folk and Classical) in Canada and Argentina. I play the Folias 1 tone
lower (in d-minor) because the range of my instrument is not high enough.
I combine pizzicato and hammering in my interpretation. Var 6 both hands
Pizz. (as suggested in the edition by Schickhaus). Var 7 and 10 'melody'
pizz. lower part hammered after var 10 I repeat the theme pizzicato.
I play the variations on a Appenzell stile Hackbrett which I built in
a Hackbrettbuilding course at the Heimatwerkschule in Richterswil, Switzerland
back in 1992 in the tradition of the Alpstein region in eastern Switzerland,
where it is THE regional instrument . All music schools offer lessons
on the Hammered Dulcimer and it is now enjoying a revival at the Conservatory
level in Europe. That is when I started playing the instrument.
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| serinette manufactured by Gavot
1763 © Musée Auguste Grasset de Varzy Click picture for magnification |
Bird-organs, in french 'serinettes' derived from the word
'serin' meaning European canary (in Latin serinus serinus) were intended
to learn domestic birds to sing melodies by repeating the tunes over and
over again.
In our museum collection we have such an 18th century bird-organ. This charming
mechanical instrument (table-model) was dated March 28, 1763 and signed
by 'Gavot', a well known instrument manufacturer from the city of Mirecourt
(in the Vosges, east of France). The organ is well-equipped with two stops
(registers) of 10 pipes each,
one in the upper register (treble-notes, in french registre aigu) and one
in the lower register (registre grave). So people could choose to play melodies
in one of the two registers. However it is not possible to make use of both
registers at the same time. The barrel contains 10 tunes and the titles of
the melodies are labeled with handwritten paper on the box of the serinette
(see photo).
Recently the instrument has been restored in its full glory by the restorer
Bernard Pin. Now it can produce the original sound again of all the ten melodies
(small airs and dances) in both registers for which it was originally intended.
Because of the extraordinary pure and authentic sound, I decided to record
all the ten melodies in both registers for a compact disc release, with the
financial help of the 'Association des Amis du Musée Grasset Conseil
général de la Nièvre'. The last melody is 'Les Folies
d'Espagne' a tune which will have your special interest. You might notice
the very high tempo of the Folia-theme, especially in the last eight bars.
The speed is also more up tempo compared to the other tracks which have less
bars than the sixteen of the Folies d'Espagne because of the limited absolute
duration of the pieces to be played. On a serinette, to come full circle of
the barrel, must be achieved by the player (the guy that turns the crank)
in more or less than 20 seconds. Otherwise, the bellows will not blow air
enough, and the notes are not hold.
About the name of the man who did put all these small things of brass (in
french 'picots') on the wood roll : i should say 'anonymous'. There was, in
the 18 th century, a man specialized in this sort of job in every workshop.
Unfortunately, he has no name, and the only signature we know here is 'Gavot
fils' (the son of Gavot). Some specialists in mechanical music told me, after
listening to the record, that the roll was very well 'noted'. Some others
are much more simplified. And the notes of the 10 pipes are unusual, compared
to other serinettes made at the same time. However due to its very specialized
disposition the compact disc is not available in record shops as you might
understand.
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Duration: 0'22", 254 kB. (96kB/s, 44100Hz) |
This Folia was part of a manuscript in the collection of the duc d'Aiguillon, now preserved in Agen (France), known as Folia in La mineur, F 6,7 Ms. Agen. The piece is written down in two sections: A and B. I recorded the piece as A-B-A to extend the solemn atmosphere of the composition and as you probably will know the theme was often repeated at the end of these kind of Folias.
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Duration: 1'55", 964kB. (64kB/s, 44100Hz) |
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2 pages in pdf-format with fingersetting, 71 kB |
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| Text: | |
| Joy to great Caesar, long Life, Love, and Pleasure 'tis a Health that Divine is, fill the Bowl high as mine is. Let none fear a Feaver, but take it off thus Boys. let the King live for ever, 'tis no matter for us Boys, Try all the Loyal, defy all. give denial sure none thinks the Glass too big here, nor any Prig here, or sneaking Whig here, of Cripple Tony's Crew, that now looks blew, his Heart akes too, the Tap won't do, his Zeal so true, and Projects new, ill Fate does now pursue Let Tories guard the King, let Whigs in Halters swing. let Pilk- and Sh- be sham'd, let bugg' ring O be damn'd. let cheating Pl-- be nick'd, the turncoat Scribe be kic'd. let Rebel City Dons never beget their Sons. let ev'ry Whiggish Peer that Rapes a Lady fair and leaves his only Dear the Sheets to gnaw and tear, be punish'd out of hand, and forc'd to pawn his Land t'attone the grand Affair |
Great Charles, like Jehovah, spares Foes would unking him, and warms with his Graces the Vipers that sting him. 'till crown'd with just Anger the Rebels he seizes. Thus Heaven can Thunder when ever it pleases Then to the Duke fill, fill up the Glass, the Son of our Martyr, belovev'd of the King. Envy'd and lov'd, yet bless'd from above, secur'd by an Angel safe under his Wing Faction and Folly, and State Melancholy, with Tony in Whigland for ever shall dwell. let Wit, Wine and Beauty, then teach us our Duty, for none e're can love, or be wise and rebel |
Text: Jean de La Fontaine (1621-1695), created 1687, published after his death| Text: | |
| On languit, on meurt près de Sylvie C'est un sort dont les rois sont jaloux. Si les dieux pouvaient perdre la vie, Dans vos fers ils mourraient comme nous. Soupirant pour un si doux martyre, A Vénus ils ne font plus la cour; Et Sylvie accroîtra son empire Des autels de la mère d'Amour. Le Printemps parait moins jeune qu'elle D'un beau jour la naissance rit moins : Tous les yeux disent qu'elle est plus belle, Tous les coeurs en servent de témoins. Ses refus sont si remplis de charmes, Que l'on croit recevoir des faveurs La douceur est celle de ses armes Qui se rend la plus fatale aux coeurs. |
Tous les jours entrent à son service Mille Amours, suivis d'autant d'amants; Chacun d'eux, content de son supplice, Avec soin lui cache ses tourments. Sa présence embellit nos bocages; Leurs ruisseaux sont enflés par mes pleurs Trop heureux d'arroser des ombrages Où ses pas ont fait naitre des fleurs. L'autre jour, assis sur l'herbe tendre, Je chantais son beau nom dans ces lieux; Les Zéphyrs, accourant pour l'entendre, Le portaient aux oreilles des dieux. Je l'écris sur l'écorce des arbres; Je voudrais en remplir l'Univers. Nos bergers l'ont gravè sur des marbres Dans un temple, au-dessus de mes vers. |
| C'est ainsi qu'en un bois solitaire Lycidas exprimait son amour. Les échos, qui ne sauraient se taire, L'ont redit aux bergers d'alentour |
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Madame de la Sablière had provided lodgings for La Fontaine in her house since 1673, but she became increasingly religious and he took to spending more and more time with the Hervart family and their brilliant circle of guests. The Hervarts gave him a room, full of busts of philosophers, in which he kept his harpsichord. Françoise d'Hervart was 'one of the most beautiful women anyone has ever seen'. La Fontaine wrote that it was his 'desire and intention that in future Mme d'Hervart be called Sylvie in all my territory on Parnassus' i.e. in his poetry. That he had given his very name to Madame Fouquet thirty years previously shows how great a compliment he was paying his hostess, for whom he wrote some galant verses to the well-known tune 'Les Folies d'Espagne'.
Text: Voltaire (1694-1778) (born as François Marie Arouet)
qui s’appelait Madeleine. Chanson sur l'air des Folies d’Espagne Mais plus de coeurs vous sont assujettis. Elle obtint grâce, et c’est à vous d’en faire, Vous qui causez les feux qu’elle a sentis. Votre patronne, au milieu des apôtres, Baisa les pieds du maître le plus doux Belle Boufflers, il eût baisé les vôtres, Et saint Jean même en eût été jaloux. |
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7 pages in pdf-format 105 kB |
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Duration: 10'00", 30 kB |
| Theme of Folie d'Espagne by Abel | © Synofzik and Concerto, used with permission |
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Duration: 0'32", 773 kB. (128KB/s, 44100 Hz) |
Eloy Cruz wrote about this source 16 January 2010 in an e-mail:
I gave Lee Santana (the author of the CD notes of "Aguirre" by Los Otros) all the info that I had about the MS, but it was several years before the making of this CD and I'm sure he had forgotten it, and I think his interests were somewhere else (hence the connection made by Lee between Sebastian de Aguirre -the supposed author of the MS- and Lope de Aguirre -the Spanish conquistador portrayed by Werner Herzog). Anyway, as long as I started this little Aguirre thing, I'd like to share with you some things I've learned of this MS; please don't take this as a criticism to Lee or anybody else, it's just my two-pence contribution for your wonderful page.
The Saldivar Codex 2 is a mexican manuscript for four-course cittern, or "cítara", discovered somewhere in Mexico by Dr Gabriel Saldivar y Silva (the same one who discovered the famous Saldivar Codex 4, the Santiago de Murcia baroque guitar ms), but both mss are not related to each other.
The Saldivar Codex 2 is undated, but was dated by Robert Stevenson as ca. 1650; in my opinion, because of its early repertoire (including Pavanas, Gallardas, Bacas and so on) and the lack of "modern" french pieces and menuets (always present in 18th century mexican mss), I think the Saldivar Codex 2 can be dated in the first half of the 17th century. Stevenson also says that the ms was written in the city of Puebla, in central Mexico, but he gives no reasons for this statement.
There are 2 names in the ms: Anttonio Marttin de Villegas and Sebastian de Aguirre, and I have found not one single piece of information about who these men were. There's no evidence that any of these 2 persons is the compiler or composer of the music, but then, apparently Dr Saldivar considered that the author was Aguirre and labeled the ms "Metodo de citara de Sebastian de Aguirre" and ever since Aguirre has been credited as the composer, and the MS considered a "method", which it is not. In fact, I think Anttonio Marttin de Villegas could be the author or compiler of the MS because his name is at the beginning of the ms. Aguirre's name appears only at the end in an acrostic (a very bad one) praising his nobility and making him some kind of a warrior or soldier, so I think Aguirre was the patron or boss of some guy who could or could not be a musician, called Anttonio Marttin de Villegas, but it's only guesswork.
I don't have the xerox copy of the MS with me, but according to my index,
there are only 2 folias in it, in f. 16v., headed: "folias por 6 y 7 rasgas" and "folias por elami rasgas." rasgas (last 2 letters in superscript) is an abbreviation for "rasgadas", strummed. This would mean
that only the basic folia chords are in the original, and all the rest of the music was composed by Lee Santana. As I tell you,
I don't have the xerox with me, I'll check it.
I use to say that Lee "reconstructed" the music of the MS, but in this case
he probably composed it. This folia was first recorded by Lee on the cittern and myself on baroque
guitar at the CD "Laberinto en la guitarra. El espíritu barroco del son jarocho".
Eloy Cruz wrote about this Follia:This is a very simple version, the one in the Los Otros Aguirre CD could be very different (I've never heard this CD), because as Lee says, they all were improvising.
I locked myself in with a copy of the Manuscript, which is a very chaotic (typical cittern!) collection of chord charts and 'licks' for what must have been some of the hits of that era, a kind of 17th century fake book. There are no rhythmic indications whatsoever, and lots of mistakes all over (cittern!)., so I had a heyday making sense and nonsense out of these fragments. [...] The pieces are sketches; some bits of tunes, bass lines, chords, forms, sometimes germinal ideas for solos.
In the announcement during the concert was stated:
La pieza que vamos a tocar ahora es de las pocas que estan... mas bien quiero decir que es un par de piezas: es una Folia que procede de un libro mexicano del siglo XVII que le dicen el Metodo de Citara de Sebastian de Aguirre, porque era para un instrumento que ya no se utiliza en absoluto que se llama citara y Leopoldo va a tocar la parte de la citara con este tiple Colombiano
Translation in English by Carlos E. Osuna:The piece that we are going to play now is one a the very few that...I really want to say that it is a pair of pieces: one is a Folia that comes from a 17th-century Mexican book named "Method for the Cittern (Citar) by Sebastian de Aguirre", because it was for an instrument that is now obsolete that was name Cittern, and Leopoldo is going to play the Cittern part on a Colombian tiple.
Eloy Cruz wrote about this concert 16 January 2010:
The version we played at the Festival Cervantino is basically the same as in
the Laberinto CD, but played on a 4-course, triple-strung colombian guitar
called "tiple", and blended with a Colombian piece called "La Guaneña".
This version has been very recently recorded in the CD: "Diferencias e
Invenciones. Nuestro son barroco", Tembembe-M Sonido (Mexico).
This last version is somewhat of a divertimento and I had forgotten all of
the Aguirre-Santana thing; sorry, I'll never again say that this piece comes
from Saldivar Codex 2.
Incidentally, in the Festival, after this folia, we played the Follia by A.
Corelli in a "Huasteco" versiona. Our fiddler, Ulises Martinez, is very well
acquainted with the music of the Huasteca region by the Gulf Coast of Mexico
(always played by one violin and 2 guitars, all tuned at A=415) and he said
that this Follia could very well be a traditional piece from this region in
Mexico.
Each of the variations is written in the style of an important mandolin composer: No.1 Gabriele Leone, No.2 Carlo Munier, No.3 Heinrich Konietzny.
Duration: 3'05" direct link to YouTube
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as the first one of the next variation. Gives a very nice drive to the music
(yes, this is still my personal favorite after all these years, how did you guess?).His output consists of four opuses of trio sonatas for violin and continuo, one of Concerti grossi and a motet entitled 'Coelestes angelici chori' for tenor or soprano which has remained in manuscript form. The style is Italian and the fact that at the end of Opus V there is, like in Corelli, a 'Folia', is a wink that speaks volumes! Albicastro thus ranks among those southern German composers who drew much of their substance from the Italian style, such as Froberger, Walther or Sebastian Scherer
Like the performance of Ensemble 415 (Banchini) this performance is excellent and includes one more fast variation. I don't know if this variation
was included in the original score but I suppose it was included by Kraemer cum sui. Otherwise I don't see any reason why
Banchini left out this variation.In 1704 one of the most representative composers of violin music of the German and Dutch school, Henricus Albicastro, an artistic pseudonym of Johann Heinrich von Weissenburg (ca. 1660-ca.1730), published a sonata "La Follia", which displays a clear Corellian influence in its virtuosic writing.
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Duration: 1'47", 264 kB. (20kB/s, 16KHz) |
Many composers over the centuries have written sets of variations, suited to different instruments, based on the popular old Portuguese folk tune, La Folia. As far as I know, this is the first set written for dulcimer as it is tuned and played today.
She verified that she used the theme of the Barcelona Manuscript (1764) for salterio solo as the introduction of 'La Folia in OZ':I actually performed all the Barcelona variations in 1996. It was while practising for that concert that I made up my own variations for dulcimer. The different tuning layout makes a difference in the ease of playing ... the Barcelona set is easier on a salterio, mine are easier on a dulcimer tuned the way modern dulcimers are tuned.
All activities of this composer, builder, teacher and performer can be found at http://www.netspeed.com.au/gillian.alcock
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Duration: 4'50", 13 kB. |
| The Folia progression in A minor by Alkan in 5/4 meter | |
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The Folias performed by Chatham Baroque attempt to recreate an improvisatory feeling over a repeating ground bass pattern. Using sources from both the Old and New World, Julie Andrijeski has created a unique version of this well-known dance.
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9 pages in pdf with all 22 couplets, 129 kB |
D'Anglebert follows the form of the later (as opposed to the early diverse one) folia
closely, but varies the final cadence by using submediant
or subdominant harmonies. His 22 variations constitute an
early instance of keyboard melodic variations. The form
is defined as having a generally fixed harmonic scheme and
constant formal proportions; the main notes of the melody
are retained but may be embellished in any number of ways by
addition of nonharmonic tones and rhythmic variation. The
melody of d'Anglebert's Variations undergoes continual alteration
in the soprano voice, supported by the harmonic structure and
fluent movement of the lower voices. Since D'Anglebert adheres
to the constraints of the form, the harmonies are simple. Occasionally
the rhythmic interest shifts to a lower voice or voices, or a
distinctive rhythmic pattern may be tossed between the hands,
as in Variation 16. In Variation 21 the melodic notes are trilled
with alternating upper and lower auxiliaries, almost producing the
effect of a continuous trill. The scale and arpeggio pattern in the
bass of the last variation resemble the Italianate violin style.
Although numerous settings of the folia melody occur in French
manuscripts of the period, D'Anglebert's Variations are possibly
the first published keyboard melodic variations on the folia, preceding
those of Pasquini (in manuscript from the 1690s),
Alessandro Scarlatti
(1715) and C.P.E. Bach (1778). D'Anglebert's Variations had great
popularity and longevity, for they are also found in a late eighteenth-century
German manuscript. They reflect characteristics of the Italian school-notably
those of Bernardo Pasquini.
D'Anglebert's Variations also fall into this classification of melodic variations,
with a homophonic texture and fixed harmonies, and they appear to antedate those
of Pasquini. Whatever the case, D'Anglebert was probably influenced by the Italians,
for traits such as violinistic gestures occur. His Variations, however, do not
reflect the virtuoso style, sharp contrasts , and vivid imagination of those by
Marais. One senses that Marais's variations were for the pleasure of a seated
audience, while D'Anglebert's could have accompanied dancers and may have been
included in his edition for their populair appeal. Although simply constructed,
these variations succeed admirably within their strict harmonic and formal
framework.
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Duration: 0'34", 02 kB. |
| First 8 bars of the opening-variation by d'Anglebert | by unknown source |
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Elizabeth Farr wrote for the slipcase:
The Suite in D minor is a large suite that opens with a
prelude non mesure twice as long as those of the previous
suites, moving forward with excitement and anticipation.
The suite is capped by a set of22 variations on the Folies d'Espagne. The word folia, a popular ground that
originated in fifteenth-century Iberia, literally means
"insanity" in Portuguese. A wild, churning dance song, it
was used as the basis of improvisations and virtuoso
compositions. Its influence can be felt throughout this suite,
in which the key of0 minor carries affects ofdevotion and
grandeur, melancholy and phantoms
Kristian Nyquist wrote about Les Folies d'Espagne in the slipcase:
The triumph of the Folies d'Espagne started probably around 1656 after the appearance of the guitarist Francecsco Corbetta in Paris. The name is derived from, the Portuguese "folias", meaning lunacy. It originated from a noisy, very fast carnival dance of fertility and slowed down in the course of time. The wonderful melody enhanced its popularity throughout all of Europe. d'Anglebert's variations, maybe the first published version for keyboard, are not so much on the virtuoso order as the ones by Marais, Corelli or Vivaldi, but can be well imagined to have served for real dance occasions. Yet, in this form it survived its creator and even still is found in a German manuscript from the late 18th century.
Duration: 9'12" direct link to YouTube
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Duration: 8'33" direct link to YouTube
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Pilar Tomás wrote about Les Folies d'Espagne in the slipcase:
The suite in d-minor ends with the set of variations on 'La Folia de Espana'. These are the only variations on this popular theme composed for a keyboard instrument in France during the 17th century*. 'Folia' meant 'madness' in Castilian [the standard literary form of Spanish], and it was originally used to refer to a very fast dance, 'out of control' ['alocada' means literally with madness but it really implies 'beyond the standards or beyond the reasonable framework']. Little by little, the dance becomes slower (being assimilated as a courtly dance). D'Anglebert variations are 22 pieces of notable 'richness'. Within their scope we discover different styles: Italian, French... The [contemporary] baroque choreographies (cf. Feuillet) justify the use of changes in tempo and character.
* In 1998 there was another long forgotten manuscript of the Folies d'Espagne for harpsichord published of minor importance and which was originally collected by Marc Roger Normand (1663-1734) in 1695.
Barbara Maria Willi wrote about Les Folies d'Espagne in the slipcase:
From among the pieces in the appendix, which encompasses all those movements not included in Part 1 of my complete recording, I
would like to single out one that in terms of size and form is unique among d'Anglebert's original works for harpsichor: the variations on the famous Follia bass.
As a mosaic of many dissimilar parts, the twenty-two couplets represent a great challange to the player.
In my opinion, the Follia variations are d'Anglebert's most 'Italian' work. Besides French style cantabile sections dominated by the
upper voice, elements of the Italian style can also be found: variations with rhythmici ornamental figures and a clear alternation of
regular motion between the bass and the soprano. The long series of small character sketches finally leads into a flashy solo in
the left hand, which is accompanied in the right hand by chords enriched with acciaccaturas. The master arranger, the great protagonist of beautiful
gaillardes, and creator of weighty sarabandes thus shows himself also to be a master of inventiveness and instrumental diversity.
Let us hope that also from this recording he may be recognized as such.
It had not occurred to me that my 'Song Without Words no. 2' was a variation
on 'La Folia' . You are right that it is, in the sense that it has the Folia
chord structure as it's basic idea, though the main difference between it
and all the Folias I see on your site is that it is in 4/4 time.
None of the people who have heard the piece before, including musicians,
have notice the resemblance to La Folia. This piece was described as
'Gypsy-sounding' by one listener, and 'resembling Fauré' by another - quite
a range.
I think the universality of the Folia chord-progression lies in the way it
is rooted in the minor but makes a central aspiration to the relative major
before dying back again. It is a kind of musical equivalent of a cycle of
life in its most simplified form.
I took this chord-progression from the general background of our musical
culture rather than in any deliberate attempt to write a variation on La
Folia, for one number in a set of romantic, short piano pieces that use the
title that Mendelssohn invented, and which re-interpret some techniques of
the cantabile piano style.
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Duration: 2'05", 12 kB. |
The work takes the form of two original variations appended to Bacevicius' solo piano arrangement of Corelli's Op. 5 no 12.
this theme, an ancient Portugese dance melody, has been made famous and was composed by him for violin and piano*. This is the piano solo arrangement of the superb work. The 17th and 18th variations has been added and are in the modern contemporary atonal mode. For the music analyst, these last two variations offer a revealing study in contrast between the old and modern school. No more exquisite variations have been composed in the entire field of music composition - classic or modern'.
*Since the Folia variations of Corelli were published in 1700, when the forte-piano was not invented yet, the piano in the text should be read as the harpsichord.
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Duration: 0'47", 4 kB. |
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Duration: 0'48", 4 kB. |
This piece is originally intended for the harpsichord or clavichord, however
Axel Wenstedt performed most variations on the Smits-organ in Sint Oedenrode quite convincably. It is the only performance I have
ever noticed for organ.
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's keyboard output, which is as extensive as it is important, does not yet find the attention it deserves. His "Folies", Wq 118/9, were composed in 1778, thus constituting a very late example of a "folia".
La Folia is a Baroque template which has induced countless composers to write variations. The material first apprears at the end of the fifteenth century and the first set of variations on La Folia is that for chitaronne (guitar) by Johann Hieronymus Kapsberger (1604). Jean Baptiste Lully and Arcangelo Corelli composed important La Folia variations. Vivaldi, Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Liszt, Reger, Rakhmaninov and many other composers later followed. In1778 Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach wrote twelve variations for harpsichord set in the key of D minor, which is typical of Folia. They are a fine example of the timeless nature of the material which at that time was already three hundred years old.
A comparison of C.P.E. Bach's Folie d'Espagne variations demonstrates what a difference the empfindsamer-Stil made to Bach's approach. The Folie d'Espagne variations are highly dramatic. Where Rameau's variations charm with their subtle differences, Bach's are radically different in tempo, texture and mood, from the calculated under-statement of the theme in simple arpeggiated chords, to the twelfth variation, marked sehr geschwind, which brings the work flying to a rather sudden close.
The music of Johann Sebastian Bach's second and most talented son, Carl Philipp Emanuel, is an encyclopedia of fundamental tonal
procedures. There is art intrinsic quality in Bach's keyboard music which stands apart from the music of later composers, despite the tendency
of commentators to consider it mainly as art ovenure to the schools of Viennese classicism. A study of his work reveals a unique musical
consciousness, and a pioneering mind of considerable subtlety.
The set by C.P.E. Bach is entitled 12 Variations auf die Folie d'Espagne W. 118 and is one of his most original works. Unusual modulations
and changes of key, unorthodox motives, rhythmic changes, brilliant and expressive keyboard treatment make for heightened interest through-out.
The bare set of chords used by Bach could be placed by a more interesting version of the theme and Mr. Bonn treats it in effective triplets.
Variation one carefully shares material between the hands while variation two has a brooding atmosphere of repressed power. Special mention
should be made of variation three which achieves a magnificent and modern?sounding effect in virtue of "wrong notes" subtly inserted
into the arpeggiation. Variation four is mainly imitative while variation five is especially striking as the bass figure is pursued remorselessly to the
final cadence. Variation six exploits a "sigh" motif while variation seven partakes of keyboard acrobtics a la Scarlatti. Variation
eight is written in a slow French overture style with contrasting dynamics and serves as art introduction to variation nine that is permeated with
fleet figurations. Variation ten is imitative between the hands. Variation eleven is a study in syncopation to the final three bars where smooth
rhythms take over. The final variation is a perpetual?motion idea with specific fingering indicated by the composer.
This recording which features three different harpsichords and a clavichord
in dances stretching from Renaissance, Baroque, Classicism to Romanticism
contains three great Folias. It is almost inevitable to pick up some Folias
with such a theme. Incidentally, at this point in our anthology [Sanz]
we make our first encounter with the 'Folia', which runs through our
programme like a silver thread. The Folia (also Follia) is an
eight-bar (in later forms also sixteen-bar) bass, which was first used
in Spain in 1494 by Juan del Encina. The 'Follia di Spagna' subsequently
developed into one of the most popular bases for variations (the most
famous example is probably the sonata 'La Follia' by Arcangelo Corelli).
The oeuvre by Sanz is normally played on the rizzio guitar, but Brembeck
knows how to play these jewels on a delicate clavichord. The sustain
of the basses sounds exceptionally well and the Folia by Sanz gets a
new dimension this way.
High quality performances of the Folia-variations by Alessandro Scarlatti
and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. The only small omission is that the documentation
does not mention which instrument is used for which track. I guess the
performer assumes that we are all familiar with early keyboard instruments
and that the C.P.E. Bach Folia can only performed on a copy by Hemsch
like Picci's Ballet is made for the copy by Ferrini.
It is of no importance considering the mid-price of this disc and the
deal that the famous Fandango by Soler and fantastic transcriptions
of Milan and Manuel de Falla are included to make it a bargain I enjoy
very much.
Jocelyne Cuiller wrote for the slipcase (translation by Jeremy Drake):Next we have the Variations on the 'Folies d'Espagne' Wq 118-9, H 263, published in Vienna in 1803 though composed in 1778 after the death of his son Johann Sebastian II, in Rome.
From a series of concerts held in St. John's Smith Square to celebrate the life and work of Arnold Dolmetsch - pioneer
of the Early Music renaissance - on the 50th anniversity of his death.La Folia (Les Folies), the name of a musical structure for songs, dances and variations that emerged early in the 16th century in Portugal, had developed by the 18th century into a fixed theme much used for variations. The most famous set is Corelli's (1700): C.P.E. Bach's dates from 1778.
Out of the wealth of Follia compositions traceable from the late 15th century up to the turn of the 20th, we are publishing three salient works for the keyboard. Our edition is based on a critical revision of the source material.
Likewise, his 12 Variations on the familiar theme Folies d'Espagne, which Corelli had already dealt with, permit us to sense the then so heralded virtuoso. His aim was, as he wrote, ' through the medium of instruments to express as much as is possibl, where it would otherwise be much simpler to use the voice and words.' He surprises the listener with unexpected rests or sudden changes from pianissimo to fortissimo, by recitatives, rubati, romantic motifs and rhythmic contours.
Stanley Sadie wrote for the cover
The date of composition of the variations on the 'Folies d'Espagne (Wotquenne 118 no 9) is unknown. the piece was first published in Vienna fifteen years after Bach's death. The 'Folies d'Espagne' or 'La Follia' as it was often called wa a melody (or more precisely a melodic pattern with an associated bass pattern) on which composers from Frescobaldi and Corelli to Liszt and Rachmaninov wrote variations. Bach's set consists of twelve variations in varying tempi. Nos 3, 7, 9 and the final one are particularly brilliant.
Hugh Davidson wrote for the slipcase:
The twelve Folia variations show a different side of Philip's art, the virtuoso pure and simple. They may have been written for the harpsichord, but were more likely intended to demonstrate all the facets of the new forte-piano
Linda Nicholson wrote for the cover
Man muss nur die '12 Variationen über "Les Folies d'Espagne"' kennen und die besonderen Qualitäten des Clavichords zu schätzen, das vermutlich im mittleren und späten 18.Jahrhundert im deutschsprachigen Raum des bekannteste häusliche Tasteninstrument war. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bachs begründete Liebe zum Clavichord wird hier besonders dokumentiert; denn in diesen Variationen spielt er die ganze Klankfülle der verschiedenen Register des Instruments aus und nutzt die Möglichkeit zur detaillierten Artikulation.
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Duration: 1'02", 989 kB. (128kbs, 44100Hz mono) |
Rafael Puyana's view about this piece:
The remarkable Variations on Les Folies d'Espagne by
C.Ph.E. Bach though transitional in style, are included here as they
extend the influence of the French School, and other charasteristics
of the Baroque style through the 'classical' period into Romaticism.
Les Folies d'Espagne is equally suited to the harpsichord, clavichord
and fortepiano. Its composer was a master performer on all three instruments
although his approach to each is known to have been distinctly different.
On the harpsichord, the performer should, in my opinion, follow the
original dynamic nuances by means of refined registration, for instance,
two-keyboard- playing on eight-foot stops to achieve the desired forte
and piano effects in Variation 2. On the whole, the harpsichordist must
colour each variation according to its mood and retain, whenever possible,
the legato-touch and plaintive rubato typical of clavichord playing
(Variation 6 and 11). Levels of sound can be distributed effectively
to secure the pianistic, Beethoven-like contrast essential to Variation
contrast essential to Variation 8. The overall interpretation of phrasing,
embellishments and rhythmic alterations should be oriented towards Baroque
traditions, which are a part of C.Ph.E. Bach's musical image. The 'Thema'
was not expected to be performed as written but must be ornamented.
It can be brought back 'da capo' at the end of the composition, to complete
the triptychlike form which composers usually applied to a set of variations.
I have chosen to ornament the 'Thema' and its 'da capo' à la francaise,
although both realisations differ in spirit altogether.
Thomas Ragossnig wrote for the slipcase in an interview in 1991:
[...] Does this make Soler's fandago the most unconventional piece of this selection? Thomas Ragossnig: Certainly. However, concerning the liberal treatment of the thematic material, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach with his folia variations also pursues a unique, yet completely different, path. Again, it is bass variations, though not improvised but experimentally and very densely composed in full. Bach intervenes with the form of the theme crafting respectively individual, contrasting characters therefrom which stand at a distinctive distance from this original form. In his case, the theme undergoes a true metamorphosis in several variations contrary to Mozart's variations on Ah, vous dirai-je Maman, where the theme of the song can be clearly discerned at any time. The selection of themes is in itself characteristic with these composers: C. Ph. E. Bach with the folia resorts to a model known since the 16th century that had gone out of fashion and from which he then developed something of a very contemporary if not future-oriented nature. Mozart, on the other hand, in the same year of 1778 composed a more transparent, less deviated playing form about a song which was popular then.
Probably there is no recording of this piece for organ and I never heard it during a concert either. Despite these facts,
I think the organ has some features which are very suitable for the way Carl Philipp treated the Folia theme
in most variations. I left out variation number five while the keys for the left hand are not available
on the organ and a work around has some disadvantages in this particular case.
There are three main reasons to play this piece on the organ and not on the harpsichord or clavichord which is common practice.
First of all the organ of the Sint-Martinus Church (built in 1839 with a late Baroque disposition and intonation and restored in 2001) is very appropriate
for the repertoire of C.Ph.E Bach based upon the experience of several organ-players the last couple of years. As a harpsichordist I knew the Folies d'Espagne
by C.P.E. Bach but the acoustics of this particular church (resonance) is more suitable for the organ than for the harpsichord. Especially the 'Sturm und Drang'
effects, the contrasts in dynamics, rhythms, and voicing (registers) fit in nicely.
The second reason has an historical background. In the 19th Century, local organ-players in this region (Brabant) frequently played music originally written for
piano and orchestra. There was relatively less literature for organ to be heard. These roots are still often taken into account during concerts. Besides it was
around the era of the Baroque not often clear for which instrument pieces were written in the first place.
The third reason is more of a practical kind. The program already had a concert for flute by C.P.E. Bach included and as I am scheduled as solo organ player
in between I looked for common grounds.
Some additional information about the performance: to avoid a blur of voices it is essential to know both the organ (and its stops) and the
acoustical features of the space where the organ is located. In the church of Sint-Oedenrode there is serious resonance. So the way to
play this piece is a harpsichordistic playing style to produce a transparant articulation.
variation IV: the upper voice is played with the right hand on the upper manual 8' (Holpijp8 & Roerfluit4)
(the normal pitch) and the lower voice is played with the left hand on the lower manual 4' (Fluit4 + Gemsh. 2). In this manner the two voices which
are normally separated by an octave, now got interwoven like a wreath.
Variation VIII reminds me of effects Beethoven used as I once had read about this variation.
Jan Bach wrote about his Foliations:
Foliations (the contraction of Folia and Variations
referring to the origins of the word Folia as empty-headed or madness)
was written in 1995 for the Stockholm Chamber Brass, a brass quintet which
commissioned it to go on a CD album of Renaissance music. I decided to base
my work on the later version of 'La Folia', which nevertheless has enough
ties to the 'earlier' piece that I thought it would fit right in with the
other Renaissance pieces on the album. I wrote the work as a 'sandwich':
the beginning THEME and the concluding CHORALE and FUGA are immovable as
the outside movements of the work, but the remaining eighteen short variations
are to be used as a source from which any number may be played and in any
order. The musicians make their own choice how the work will be performed.
In fact, when I mailed the piece (with the parts for each variation on a
separate piece of paper) each player got the movements in a different alphabetical
order, with Trumpet I receiving the parts with their titles' first letter
alphabetized, Trumpet II getting the second letter alphabetized, and so
on. I have no 'correct' order in which the parts should be performed.
The variations are primarily sectional, ornamental variations, based on
the chord changes of the original along with some chord substitutes. The
titles (working titles, really -- they needn't be listed in the program),
aside from the Theme, Chorale and Fuga, are: American, Arpeggios, Austrian,
Bumptious, Caccia, Cadenzas, Canzona, Germanic (duet), Phlegmatic, Reflectively,
Rococo, Romanie, Russian, Scholarly, Stealthily, Tersely, Trio, and Wistful.
It was intended that, because the work was originally to be recorded as
its premiere, the movements could be continuous; even page turns would be
no problem if the performers played each movement as a single "take", and
then the recording engineer could butt them up against each other. I really
don't know how the performers are going to handle the page turns in a live
performance; they may have to take slight breaks between the variations
because they generally play throughout each variation. La Folia has been
of interest to me since I took violin lessons as a youth and played the
Corelli version; it's got a great harmonic progression.
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Duration: 5'45", 5468 kB. (128kbs, 44100Hz) |
| Opening of Foliations for Brass Quintet | reproduced by permission of Meadow Music |
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Duration: 1'53", 06 kB. |
| Intro of Unser trefflicher lieber Kamerherr for violino, viola and continuo |
by Bärenreiter-Verlag Kassel, 1975 |
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Duration: 1'03", 1 Mb. (128kB/s, 44100 Hz) |
In the so-called 'Peasants' cantate, BWV 212, Johann Sebastian Bach paints a picture of the village dances of his time. Each air is repeated with a different dance rhythm, and this tune refers to the Folia where one clearly hears the theme played at the beginning. Unusually for Bach the text, 'our servant is a very pleasant man' has little to do with its musical setting. The short variations follow on from each other in the same way as do the instruments and voice in magnificent harmonic shades.
The Folïa theme appears in its entirety as well as in truncated pieces, and is also altered into the relative major for additional variety, and my choice of caccia and fughetta were additional contrapuntal ways of extending the theme.
Why did I choose the theme? In large part, because I remain devoted to traditional forms and subjects, and the theme had been mentioned on the website Musical Assumptions by Elaine Fine which led me to yours. In the same way that many composers have favored traditional forms for their work, I too favor them, and this form was new to me in its history – thank you for your site again, therefore – and in its interest to many composers. Looking at it, I was immediately struck at some alternatives in terms of breaking it apart into material for an extended piece. In doing so, it simply became jolly fun to follow along the many possibilities which it suggested. Having used cantus firmus themes in some of my organ work, this became both a cantus firmus of harmonic structures and relationships, and a fertile field for invention.
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Duration: 5'44", 5490 kB (128kB/s, 44100Hz) |
Michael Ziegler wrote about Folia in the Music Reviews of Sonances, the new
music site, edition January 1997:
A former winner of the Prix de Rome, Bacri writes in a fairly
traditional idiom which strives for direct communication and expression.
At turns influenced by Shostakovich and Frank Martin, Bacri's music is characterized
by a fondness for melody and chromatic harmonies that result from clear
voice-leading. There is nothing really new here, of course, but it makes
for enjoyable pieces.
Folia was originally written for orchestra in 1990 and was premiered on
15 April 1993 in Paris by the Orchestre symphonique français and Laurent
Petitgirard. This nine-minute chaconne is scored for a medium-size orchestra:
2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani,
xylophone, snare drum, triangle, and strings. It is based on a two-measure
pattern taken from the 17th-century folia. Over and under this two-measure
pattern, Bacri writes gently flowing chromatic melodies. The first section
of the piece is marked by constantly increasing activity:, with the quarter-note
melody going successively into eighth notes, triplet eighth notes, sixteenth
notes, and thirty-second notes, to finally culminate in a homophonic presentation
of the basic pattern. The second section, marked Dialogo, is a Scherzo in
9/8 time, based on motives derived from the osinato pattern and from the
melody of the first section, with a slow Trio in 3/4 time. The third and
last section of the piece is marked Epilogo and features slow chromatic
counterpoint, which leads gradualy into a statement of the original folia.
The orchestration remains traditional throughout, with only a few technical
challenges for the strings. The arrangement of Folia for solo viola (or
solo cello) and string orchestra has a solo part that is particularly demanding,
while the orchestra part is not difficult.
© 1996 by Sonances and used with permission.
Folia, originally conceived as a kind of 'show-piece' for l'Orchestre Symphonique Français and dedicated to its musical director Laurent Petitgirard, is interpreted here in the version for solo viola and chamber orchestra. The process leading from the first to the second version is allied to the theme of the Variations and Theme, the germ of which was originally found in a duet for violin and viola written shortly before and entitled Chaconne. 'While composing the duet I realised that this theme was closely allied to that of Folies d'Espagne; so I decided to transcribe and develop it for orchestra. In its new form the piece has the structure of Variations and Theme'. The transcription of Folia in the version recorded here was inspired by Bacri's fascination with Britten's 'Lachrymae', a work for viola and string orchestra similarly constructed.
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| Theme of Folies d'Espagne in a lay-out derived from the original notation |
reproduced with permission from the Minkoff-edition 1972 p.16 |
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| Theme of Les Folies d'Espagnes (1781) | |
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Although the music of Daniel Barry is often seen as a bridge between classical music for ensemble and South American ingredients
in an idiom of jazz, in 'La Folia Lando' the association with even more multicultural influences, including Arabic and Balkan
flavors are hard to avoid. Partly directed by the instrumentation for instance the prominent (Balkan) accordion.
This arrangement was commissioned by Music Works Northwest, Seattle Washington USA for a premiere performance at the Olympic Recital Hall, April 1, 2006. As far as I know this is the only Folia set to an Afro-Peruvian Lando groove.
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Duration: 1'05", 833 kB (96kB/s, 44100Hz) |
Duration: 7'26" direct link to YouTube
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Duration: 5'05" direct link to YouTube
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I assume it was written for harpsichord (I play it on both clavichord and harpsichord and think it works better on the latter). The piece consists the statement of the theme and two variations, essentially the ground bass and treble almost entirely in dotted eighth and sixteenth notes. Very 'dancy'.
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| Opening of La Folie D'Espagne | Baustetter |
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The Folia track presents an accompanying instrumentation that became quite popular in Spain: harp and guitar. The various rhythmic patterns and accompaniment patterns used by the harp, guitar, and vihuela on this recording are entirely improvised. We chose to experiment on this recording by presenting the diferencias organized or grouped in pairs instead of a nonstop delivery of the melodic material. Only the melody is given in the manuscript
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Duration: 6'52", 30 kB. |
Concerning the Folies d'Espagne by J-B Bedard, I found
it at the Bibliothèque Nationale (note: the French national archives
for books and manuscripts, it is also the depository for anything that
was/is printed, even nowadays, you can imagine the volume !) 25 years
ago and I still have a copy. Bedard was a guitar teacher who lived between
the middle of the XVIIIth century till the beginning of the XIXth. He
wrote very few pieces of interest, as was often the case for the guitar
at that time. If it wasn't for my arrangement of his 'Variations sur
la Foliá', this piece would have seemed 'rather plain' to my
colleagues. Moreover, the tremolo (note: the 10th) variation is mine:
this style appeared only starting from the middle of the XIXth, if my
sources are correct. I wanted that piece to be technically complete.
Oddly enough I will do it again with the volume that is due to come
out in September 2001. This time it will be a Folia from the XVIIth
century that had been written for the lute.
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12 pages in pdf, 321 kB |
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Duration: 8'08", 36 kB. |
Attached I am sending copies of the originals of this Folias Op.39/2 by Jean-Baptiste Bédard. The Lyre ou Guitare parts are identical in both versions. Actually it comes from the same printing plate nº 27. The duo version is from D:Mbs München, and the solo version from F:Pn Paris.
On your documentation you have already the Bédard Folias stating that it is from F:Pn also, but as I realize, in the tema the interpreter uses a different rhythmical pattern, and so on (note from the redaction: the music with Jean-Baptiste Mourat as the editor).
Just before I sent you a score of this Folias in PDF of the original duo by Bédard, and also the same as a MIDI file. This MIDI file is just a guide, the sound is electronic, and not imitating the original instruments.
As indicated these two passages (editor: in the previous part a fragment of Mozart's Requiem and Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 were mentioned) are based on the Folia pattern in an analogous way, that is the melodic pattern established by the first few tones extends into a sequence. To my knowledge neither link has been mentioned in older theoretical treatises. So we wonder if composers were aware of possible derivations. Certainly Beethoven's use of the original Folia pattern (without labeling it as such) is curious; see the second movement, measures 167-176 of the Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, the second movement 1-8, of the Sonata No 3, in A Major for Cello and Piano, Opus 69 and slightly altered the second theme of the first movement of the Concerto No. 5 in E-flat for Piano and Orchestra, Opus 73 (measures 38-45). Moreover, Beethoven used the Folia sequence in such works as the Symphony No. 4 in B-flat (first movement, measures 89-92) and the Sonata in E Major Opus 109 (first movement, measures 27-32). But it is difficult to assign an extramusical or affective meaning to these passages with any degree of consistency.
To understand the context better Hoyt gives in 2002 for this website a more detailed description of the Beethoven fragments in relation to the Folia-theme:As noted before, I would say that the example from the Fifth
Symphony is the most pure. The example from the scherzo of the Cello Sonata
repeats the initial tonic chord and the cadence at the end of the phrase.
In A minor I would consider the Folia bass to be A-E-A-G-C-G-A-E (or E-A).
The cello sonata example is A-A-E-A-G-A-G-A-E-A-E-A. (with the first E repeated
twice, one E per beat in the third measure). Perhaps it would be more clear
to diagram this using vertical lines to represent barlines:
A | A | E E E| A | G | A G| A E A | E A |
The 'Emperor' Concerto example consists of many repetitions of the fourth
leaps, starting with the anacrusis to measure 38 (key of E-flat minor):
Bb | Eb Bb Eb Bb | Eb Bb Eb Bb | Eb Bb Eb Db | Db Gb Db Db| Gb Db Gb Eb|F
Eb F Bb | Eb Bb Eb Bb | Bb....
which elaborates Eb Bb Eb Db Gb Db Eb Bb'.
The variations of the slow movement of the Fifth Symphony too include a strikingly archaic moment: in the tonic minor at bars 166ff can be discerned a complete statement of 'La Folia'.
It (la Folia-theme) was used by Beethoven too in his Fifth Symphony where it is quoted in the harmony towards the end of the slow movement - a fact which apparently escaped musicological detection until 1994 when it was recognized by an Open University student, Lucy Hayward-Warburton (to the astonishment of her tutor)'.
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Duration: 0'32", 04 kB. |
| Excerpt of Folia-theme by Beethoven for only flutes, viole and celli |
by Leipzig Verlag von Breitkopf & Härtel |
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The sixth prelude is based on the 'later' Folia-theme, though altered in rhythm and meter. As for the choice of la Folia, i believed it would serve very well as the basis for a jazz prelude and it did. Similarly, I employed a theme based on the letters B.A.C.H. for the 12th fugue. I worked on the pieces in this set over a number of years, so the publication and recording date of 1992 means they were composed prior to that date, but I don't have a composition date for each individual prelude and fugue in the set.
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Duration: 6'55", 45 kB. |
| Theme of 'Follia', part of the Sonata in d minor | arrangement David Lasocki |
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The famous theme of La Folia (originally a type of wild Portuguese dance) was used by many composers of the baroque era. It is found as the Adagio movement of the third of Bellinzani's twelve Sonate a flauto solo con cembalo o violoncello, Opus 3, published in Venice in 1720. Preceded by a joyful intermezzo for solo harpsichord, designed 'per respiro de flauto' (i.e. to enable the flautist to get his breath), the theme is exploited in seventeen variations, during which it undergoes all sorts of rhythmic and melodic transformations.
The twelfth, the present piece, has an unusual form. After two movements of what seems to be a sonata, there follows a movement for solo harpsichord headed, literally 'harpsichord solo give the recorder a rest', and finally comes a long set of variations for recorder and basso continuo on La Follia. The desire to end the collection with these variations is presumably a nod in the direction of the composer's hero, Corelli. although the unprecedented (?) tacking on of three such other movements owes nothing to the master
Adélaïde de Place wrote as introduction to 'La Follia' in the
slipcase:
The adagio of Sonata no. 12 in D minor takes up the famous
theme 'La Follia',
which was used by numerous composers in the 17th and 18th centuries
(including Frescobaldi, Corelli,
François Couperin, Carl
Philipp Emanuel Bach, to name but a few). It is preceded by a joyful
intermezzo for solo harpsichord, written specially by Bellinzani per
respiro del flauto, i.e. to allow the flautist to get his breath
back ready for the following variations. Already known in the 16th century,
the melody from 'La Follia' which was originally a wild Portuguese dance,
came to be used in instrumental music as the subject of variations,
close to the chaconne or the passacaglia, on a basso ostinato.
Bellinzani exploits this theme in seventeen variations, which severely
test the soloist's technique: theme and variation on the bass (var.1),
series of semiquavers on the recorder (var.2), perpetual motion (var.4),
imitation in dialogue between the soloist and the bass (var.5), theme
to the rhythm of a gigue (var.6 and 7), repeated bounding notes (var.8),
an expressive syncopated largo (var.9), series of swift arpeggios passing
from the recorder to the bass or progressing in contrary motion (var.10
to 14), use of syncopation (var.15). After a fast gigue (var.16), Bellinzani
brings his series of sonatas to an end with a final variation, providing
a truly pyrotechnic display of virtuosity.
Balázs Bencze (in daily life a literature teacher, lute- and guitarplayer
and leader of 'Tabulature - early music ensemble') wrote as an introduction
to his composition:
My composition is a salutation to the wig-headed ancestors,
by a modern musician, anno Domini 2002. That is why I have chosen the format
midi. To listen to the midi the Soundblaster (SB) Live! is recommended -
the piece is optimized and balanced on it. (On this card choose the 'Concert
Hall'-environment setting for the really authentic feeling). The software
was a 'Midisoft Session', without midi-keyboard, only with manual scoring
from bar-to-bar. The instruments are: a violin, a flute and - of course
- the lute (or guitar, in the original sound bank).
'The Folia' starts of course with the main-theme, and goes forward by a
builded theme-sequence (first a third-scale, and after a normal variation),
from the simple to the virtuous one. As lutenist, I fit a soloistic lute
variation-part into it, with an inverse section, without lute, which two
parts appear also together at the end. At the top of its musical expressions
I placed a three-part fugato - not a 'real' fugue, perhaps a more serious
canon with the diminued scores of the main theme - at the 'exposition' it
ends with a 'coda' - and it finishes with a choral-style, and a 'pseudo
poliphonic', rather virtuous 'running', before the last some bars, including
a melodic coda-variation.
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Duration: 5'58", 28 kB. |
The song "Laudate Dominum" sets words from Psalm
117 to the Folia theme; it was composed in about 1980 by Jacques Berthier
(1923-1994) for the Taizé community, and it has become one of the
best-known of the songs of Taizé. The song is published by the Ateliers
and Presses de Taizé in numerous songbooks, which include solo verses
in different languages and instrumental accompaniments.
It appears in the following recordings, all made at Taizé in France,
in versions that include solo verses in different languages. In each case,
the performers are young people visiting Taizé to take part in the
intercontinental meetings at Taizé: T 554 Jubilate (1991), T 559
Liederen uit Taizé (1997), T 560 Chants de la prière à
Taizé (1998), T 561 Canti della preghiera a Taizé (1998),
T 562 Joy on earth (1999), T 563 Auf dich Vertrau'ich (2000)
Animation 'The monk and the fish'
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Duration: 0'31", 02 kB. |
| Theme of Variations pour deux guitar | Used with permission from 'Just Guitar' |
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Sometimes it is said that for modern Folias it would be only an 'exercise' when the theme can be heard throughout the
music. But that does not count for this extraordinary Folia-variations. The contrasts in moods and influences is
incredible. There are frightening eastern (Russian or Hungarian) invasions next to cosy string ensemble moods to give a humorous
twist to the piece which is overall dark and sinister.
And as Folia variations are usually considered to be a loose chain of
variations not interconnected with each other, we can hear the difference in this composition.
The tension increases towards the end and relaxation finds its way in the coda which can be considered as
mourning after the musical style figures filled with agitated emotions.
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Duration: 16'44", 15.5 Mb. (128kB/s, 44100Hz) |

This Follia for cello is not very known by the instrumentalists. You can access to it at IMSLP -submitted by the user "Generoso" the 5 IV 2010- or on the originally scanned source, the Music Library at the University of South Carolina. As a secondary fact, this work is one of the most difficult study-pieces ever written for the instrument up to its date of composition. Unfortunately, the quality of the scanner is not very good.
Vitaly Polonsky: bass, Sergey Tenitilov: bass, Ekaterina Kouzminykh: viola da gamba, Anna Nedospassova: harpsichord
percussion, Arkadi Bourkhanov: archlute, barock guitar, viola da gamba, recorder, percussion
'Ekon fran Poltava (Musik i krig och fred)'
Paul Geffen wrote about the compact disc L'agreable:
All the music on this recording is from the Baroque
period. Some of it is by more-or-less well-known composers, the rest
is from collections of unattributed music recorded on paper during the
same period. It is not surprising that "La Folia" - the greatest
hit of the eighteenth century - makes more than one appearance. You
are probably wondering about the nyckelharpa. This is a Swedish instrument
similar to a viola but played with keys along the broad neck. In addition
to three or four bowed strings, the instrument has up to thirteen metal
sympathetic strings, like a sitar. It is played on the lap. The nyckelharpa
has a sharp, tangy, insistent sound which blends well with the baroque
instruments. There is also a certain amount of clicking from the keyboard,
especially in the faster passages, which in no way detracts from the
charm of the instrument.
Macklin and the backup band keep lively time and exhibit a good understanding
of Baroque ornamentation. This may be a unique opportunity to hear music
of the Baroque court played on this peasant instrument, as there is
apparently no evidence that the nyckelharpa was used in this setting.
The Swedish folk music in this recording includes a set of variations
on Foli d'Espagne, taken from the collection made by Gustav Blidström
in 1715. This collection documents the music current among the Swedish
peasantry at the time. There is no great difference between this folk
music and its contemporary through-composed music, as the Allegro of
Mascitti's Sonata begins with the same melodic line as La Folia.
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Duration: 4'19", 10 kB. |
The Folia appears as a trio to the Minuet (second movement) and is very extensive, alluding to Corelli but with highly elaborate pre-Romantic textures. Since he lived in Spain and had a dance background (his brother was a famous dancer-choreographer), this is easily the most effective late 18th century folia setting, and in a sense the last of the main line, since later treatments are usually 'historical' in style or used as local color. Unfortunately, neither the music itself or recordings are easy to find. The Quintetto Boccherini recorded it in the 50's or 60's, but it has not made it to CD. There is no modern edition of the music, but a facsimile is available from the King's Music in the UK.
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Duration: 9'26", 117 kB. |
My name is Jose Bravo, a violinist by nature, a composer by necessity. I heard of Vivaldi's version of La Folia (Opus 1, No 12) and just fell in love with it. Ever since, the theme has enchanted me with it's simplistic, yet incredibly rigourous variations. Several years, I began on my Folia and for a hiatus of about 2 years, I never completed it. Certain inspiration pushed me to reinvigorate my desire to finish this piece and just finished writing it recently. As you can suspect, Vivaldi's version of La Folia has influenced me greatly when writing this piece. I wish (if possible) for this piece to be added to the "La Folia" site for the benefit of others.
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4 pages in pdf, 743 kB |
Initially it may seem hard to understand what it is about that tiny tune, La Folia, that has caught the attention of so many musicians through the history of music. But perhaps it is just the fact, that it is merely a template. It is like a mould that you can fill with almost anything. I made the simple cadenza-like chord structure in La Folia even more simple in my variations. Instead the variations unfold in rhytmical, metric and melodic ornamentations.
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Duration: 1'00", 941 kB. (128kB/s, 44100Hz) |
The first public performance by polish guitarist Marek Walawender
had place in Warszawa (Warsaw) in December 1997. We've tried to record it
in Autmn 1998, but the recording has never been published or used in the
other way.
Why I used the 'la Folia'-theme in a composition is not that difficult to
understand. I often use some musical themes from the past in my compositions.
I try to combine the 'classical' ideas with the modern musical language.
Look at the list of my compositions
http://www.budzynski.waw.pl (a Polish and English version) - you will
find there also such pieces as 'Passacaglia', 'Sonata', 'Concerto', 'Partita
concertante' etc.
Three sessions in May 1951 found Bachauer, Sherman and the orchestra he founded in 1941 assembled for the recording of two contrasting works, both pivotal to Gina Bachauer’s repertoire- Mozart’s ‘Coronation’ Concerto and Busoni’s transcription of Liszt’s Rapsodie espagnole. (If the New London Orchestra was predominantly a chamber ensemble, augmented it cut more than persuasive dash in Busoni’s multicoulored orchetstration of Liszt).
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Duration: 3'13", 2938 kB. (128kB/s, 22050 Hz) |
Carrying out an adventure, sowing long-lasting seeds is what the Trio Polycordes intends to do with this second record, focusing on the creative processes at a given time in a sort of inventory of today's musical praxis. The first recording recounted the genesis of an ensemble and a repertoire. Now time has come to develop both a story and an identity, to lay solid foundations. This second record aims at clearing a musical "terra incognita", giving each instrument the opportunity to reveal itself, making sure this shared land will be flourishing. Régis Campo's filiation can be traced back to the Baroque age . He pays a tribute to this musical tradition and at the same time perpetuates and renews it. Dancing is closely related to the "Suites de danse" made famous by composers such as Couperin or Rameau but Campo adds his own touch of night club atmosphere. The work is built round a glorious and luxuriant Chaconne. The theme of La Follia, clearly brought out at the outset, is gradually blurred by rich arabesques but can still be heard distant and faint as in a dream. Main panel of a contemporary altar-piece, this brilliant part is enhanced by the extremely minimalist movements that surround it. The first of them - Rag-Tango - is a double humorous reference. Regis Campo follows both Rag Time's spasmodic rhythm and the glissandos of the double-bass typical of a tango band. This unlikely mixing results in a strange ballet of sounds, a poetical evocation in which the dancers' steps on the stage may be heard through muffled notes. The last two movements belong to the tradition of animal paintings or that of the bestiary. Fly Dance in the Dark pursues the trill of the Chaconne and turns it into a key element in that behavioural study of flies' life. The buzzing insects induce a progressive fall into drowsiness in the listener. It's a lazy summer day's rest. But hey! What sheer pandemonium at the beginning of the fourth movement! Clucking, squawking, cackling, flapping of wings wake us up in an infuriated henhouse. Chicken Rock is a true, boisterous, gallinaceous Woodstock.
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The Livre de Sonatas ('Book of Sonatas') for organ groups several commissions from the Spanish Ensems 97 festival, the city of Auch and Radio France. Composcd between 1997 and 1999, this is the fruit of a wonderful. lasting oollaboration with the young Frcnch organist Jean-Christophe Reve1. Each sonata is conceived in a single movement developing a single idea, in the manner of Domenico Scarlatti's sonatas or, better yet, Rameau's harpsichord pieces. L'extravagant is a sort of mechanical fantasy mingled with obsession ansd false naïvete. Le Don and La Nuit are the two most nocturnal sonatas of the cycle, the second, of course, being dedicated to the great master Vivaldi, whereas La Follia makes use of the famous 15th century dance. [...]
.
Régis Campo wrote for the slipcase:The sonata 'La Follia' is taken from my 'Livre de Sonates' composed betwen 1997 and 1999 for the benefit of the young
organist Jean-Christophe Revel. This 'Livre' gathers together several orders from Radio France, the Spanish festival Ensems at Valencia,
and the Association of the Friends of the Organs at the cathedral of Auch.
Each Sonata, built in a single movement and developed around one theme only, is a reminder of Scarlatti's Sonatas or Rameau's Pieces for the harpsichord.
Sonata no. 4 'La Follia' brings back the famous 15th century dance in a somewhat ironical and outmoded way. Pascal Rouet gives us a
dynamic and personal version, highly consistent with the forceful spirit of my music.
Régis Campo wrote for the slipcase:
This version for guitar was written with the help of the French guitarist Jean-Marc Zwellenreuter. I was looking for a very playful sound, Baroque in character and with humour and wit. This version is very different from the original version for organ with respect to texture and dynamics. I like the idea of the bottleneck in this piece; it is a good example of my ludic musical style.
Jean-Marc Zvellenreither (translation into english by Atez Eloiv) wrote
for the slipcase:
Régis Campo made a new Folia-version, in the spirit of composers of the 17th century, who didn't hesitate to transcribe their works for different instrumental formations. After the presentation of the theme in a rather baroque style, the composer uses different modes in the aim of disarticulating the phrase and introducing different kinds of interferences. The long development in harmonics was suggested by Régis Campo by a cadence in a concerto for guitar by Villa-Lobos.
La Folia is a set of variations for chamber orchestra, commissioned by l'Ensemble du Jeu Présent, with the assistance of the Canada Council. La Folia was one of the most popular bass progressions used for sets of variations, songs and dances in the late Renaissance and Baroque eras. Its origins are obscure, although it probably originated in Spain or Portugal some time in the early 16th century, from whence it spread to Italy, France and England. It goes under many names in many countries - la folia , la follia , les folies d'Espagne and Farinel's Ground , among others. And it is often, though not always (and not in this piece), associated with a standard discant melody. Some of the more famous treatments of la folia include a set of keyboard diferencias by Antonio de Cabezön (1510-66), a set of variations for violin by Michel Farinel (1685), the masterly set of 24 variations in d, Op. 5, No. 12, for violin and continuo, by Archangelo Corelli (1700), and the Sonata in d, Op. 1, No. 12, for two violins and continuo, by Antonio Vivaldi (1705). In La Folia a variant of the original bass progression is woven, usually very audibly and clearly, but in many different voices and textures, into the fabric of each variation.
The oeuvre of Patrick Cardy can be found at http://www.carleton.ca/~pcardy/
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Duration: 3'54", 11 kB. |
I just composed a new variant of the Folias. These are "loose" variations in that I allowed myself to modulate to other keys and to insert a parallel major version of the Folias chord progression. The piece starts in D minor and is written in 17th century style counterpoint and gradually evolves into a more modern treatment with modulations to a variety of keys and ending in D major. Although my variations are based on the Folias chord progression, nowhere in the piece do I actually quote the Folias melody The playing time at 100 bpm should be about 6 minutes. I was inspired to write this after seeing the Folias-website. The PDF score and an mp3 file are attached.
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All Variations on Folias created with Finale (GPO) by Michael L. Carroll |
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Variations on Folias in pdf-format, size 60 Kb |
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| Opening of Variations de Las Folias d'Espagne | Published in 'Guitarre & Laute', 1995 |
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Duration: 1'27", 1.4 Mb. (128kB/s, 44100 Hz) |
Michel Keustermans wrote for the slipcase (translation by Rachel Stacchini-Betton-Foster):Finally, it was difficult to resist this last temptation: our Walloon Folklore has an abundance of tunes going back to the beginning of time, and 'Poule Noire' (Black Hen) is nothing if not an authentic Folia which has come down the ages through popular dancing.
A very nice and transparent composition for brass quintet. Somewhat in the idiom of the Folia variations by Jan Bach, which I consider as one of most interesting and enjoyable efforts to translate the Folia theme to modern times. The nice thing of a brass quintet is that the voices are so clear that the listener can distinguish the action and interaction bewteen the voices. Further on the Folia theme has a somewhat fragile setting with that modest melody line but the brass instruments transform the music into a very powerful statement especially with those firm trumpets. Those intriguing features strike me again when listening to the music of Jean Chatillon with his Fantaisie sur La Folia
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Duration: 7'58", 7.56Mb. (128kB/s, 44100 Hz) |
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Fantaisie sur La Folia, 22 pages in pdf-format, size 255 Kb |
It was after listening to the fine compositions of my two friends of the Delian Society (editor: Thomas Matyas and David W. Solomons) that I became intoxicated by this tema.
Sometimes there is a historical reference - the use of the traditional theme 'La folia'in L'Hotellerie portugaise
.
From the slipcase:
L'Hôtellerie portugaise, one of three one-act opéras comiques written in 1798 and 1799, is based on the familiar plot of the lovers who have to outwit the old guardian bent on marrying his pretty young ward himself. Set in an inn on the border between Spain and Portugal, the story this time moved Cherubini to make a discreet application of local colour, in the form of allusions to the popular Portuguese tune La Folia, in the slow introduction to the ouverture. The main Allegro section is a skilfully achieved accumulation of eager expectation which reaches its climax just before the end.
Nowadays this opera has sunk into almost complete oblivion and this may be the main reason that the quite substantial Folia in the Ballet in act 1
is never mentioned in the Folia literature, although the opera itself was the subject of a recent
dissertation. Fortunately a live recording of this opera from 1956 exists, although of an absolute poor quality.
In fact the Folia-theme in Les Abencérages is more prominently stated and worked out in variations throughout the above mentioned
Ballet than in the Ouverture from L'Hôtellerie portugaise. But fate decreed that it was the Ouverture that established Cherubini's fame
in the Folia literature; for instance in the New Grove Dictionary of music and musicians.The premiere of Les Abencérages took place at the Paris Opéra on 6 April 1813 in the presence of Napoleon and his wife and it proved one of the greatest successes of Cherubini's career.
The fact that this was one of Cherubini's most successful operas is confirmed not only by the enthusiastic comments of the
many personalities present at the first performance, including Napoleon and Marie. Louise, but paradoxically also
by the request made by the composer himself after about twenty performances that the dramaturgical part of the opera be cut
and reduced into two acts in order to create more space for ballets. A practice reserved in France only for those operas that sought
to becomepart of the "repertoire" [...]
To hear again the French version of 'Les Abencerages, however, we had to
wait for the radio production of 15th January 1975 which Peter Maag and Radio Italiana chose to perform. This is a production
that returned to the original three-act version of the opera, with limited use of ballets, and is proposed without
significant cuts compared to the radio performance tradition of the time.
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The complete theme and variations as played by the maestro Jorge Cardoso |
Rosario Cicero (translated by Andrea Manchée) wrote for the slipcase:
It's in the Folies d'Espagne by Le Cocq that we find a compendium of the language of the baroque guitar, in an aesthetic and idiomatic synthesis of the subdued and rarefied folk influences, the peculiarities of a more elaborate performing technique and the profound expressive idiom of musical culture in the baroque era.
Monica Hall wrote for the slipcase:We are indebted to the Flemish clergyman and amateur guitarist, Jean-Baptiste de Castillion (1680-1753), whose activities as a music copyist have preserved the guitar music of François Le Cocq (fl.1685-1729), Nicolas Derosier (c.1645-1702) and many pieces by Corbetta not found in the surviving printed books. In the preface to the manuscript which he copied in 1730 (B:Bc.Ms.S.5615) Castillion says that in 1729 Le Cocq gave him copies of his music, which he re-copied for his own use, adding pieces by several other composers of the previous century. He says that Le Cocq taught the guitar to the wife of the Elector of Bavaria and refers to him playing to the sister of the Archduke Charles of Austria, later emperor Charles VI. This was probably Maria Antonia, a half-sister of Charles, who married the Elector Maximillian II Emanuel in 1685 and died in 1692. In 1729 Le Cocq is described as a retired musician of the Chapel Royal in Brussels. His variations on Folies d'Espagne is a technical tour de force featuring the 'harpegemens', elaborately arpeggiated chords, which were a jealously guarded secret of Le Cocq's. Castillion says that he rarely indicated them in his music so as to conceal how he played them and to preserve them to himself alone.
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Duration: 0'59", 958 kB. (128kB/s, 22050 Hz) |
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Francesco Conti (1681-1732), now almost forgotten, was a very famous and highly respected composer in
his time. The largest part of his life he worked at the imperial court in Vienna. In 1708 he was
apointed first theorbo player, in 1713 he became also court composer. After these appointments he became
one of the highest paid musicians in Vienna, who was able to perform his own works with the best singers,
since he could pay them well. After falling ill in 1726 he returned to Italy, but in 1732 he returned to
Vienna to introduce some new works. It is an indication of his reputation that his successor as court
composer, Antonio Caldara, had to step aside to make place for Conti. Shortly thereafter Conti died.
This work performed was composed for the Carnival season in 1719.
It was extremely successful: it was even translated into German, and was performed 25 times outside Vienna, mainly in Hamburg.
Don Chisciotte in Sierra Morena is a tragicommedia, which combines elements of the opera seria and
the intermezzo (a form of comedy which was performed in between the acts of the opera seria as a form of
compensation for the disappearance of all comic elements from the opera seria). It not only combines
these elements, but also ridicules some elements of the opera seria. The way Conti portrays Don
Quixote and Sancho Pansa in particular is brilliant. Don Quixote, a puffed so-called knight, who believes
that he is a hero, and doesn't want to see the truth, even if it is right under his nose.
In Conti's time, Don Chisciotte lasted about 5 hours.
[...] Such conversations bore Don Quixote and especially Sancho Panza. They leaf through the music of Conti's opera, which he had brought with him. "Look, my dear Sancho, just look at this! Indeed, how marvelously our story is told," exclaims Don Quichote, " how wonderfully fresh the music - I like it! And it also has real Spanish character, even a follia!" Grumbling to himself he recalls the evening's opera performance of this miserable piece of work by Mattheson: "Granted, the music is nice, but the story is not at all the right thing for a Spaniard. here, on the other hand: A follia! A chaconne! A Ballo de Pagarellieri, a ballet of the squires, like Mr. Conti has composed it - this is something that is knightly and would certainly also please my Dulcinea!"
| Opening of Conti's Folia | Artaria publication for the opera La pastorella nobile |
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John A. Rice wrote about this piece:This is a printed keyboard vocal score of a duet composed by Conti used for the first Viennese production of Guglielmi's comic opera La pastorella nobile. The singers were Adriana Ferrarese (the first Fiordiligi in Mozart's "Cosi fan tutte") and Francesco Benucci (the first Figaro and Don Alfonso). The entire duet is based on La Folia; the text is probably by Lorenzo da Ponte. The first Viennese production of "La pastorella nobile" is discussed in my dissertation "Emperor and impresario: Leopold II and the transformation of Viennese musical theater, 1790-1792"
In the dissertation John A. Rice writes (p. 125):[...] Also added to the Viennese version in place of the recitative in the original was the duet for D. Florida and D. Polibio, "Va pur in malora," attributed in the Artaria print to one "Sig. Conti." (It is not clear that this duet was in fact sung as part of Guglielmi's opera. The text appears in the 1790 libretto, but a note at the end of the libretto informs us that the duet was omitted in performance; yet Artaria issued a keyboard reduction of the duet and described it as "eseguito dall Sigra. Feraresi ed il Sigr. Benucci nell'Opera la Pastorella Nobile.")
An effort to minimize inevitable monotony is discernible
in the set of 23 variations, particularly by giving to the accompaniment
as active a role as possible. Several times in the 3rd variation and in
the 16th the same designs are exchanged between melody and bass. Sometimes
this reciprocity operates between groups of two variations; for example,
between the 4th and 5th, 6th and 7th, 20th and 21st. Still more
revealing is the manner in which the ostinato of the bass is now and then
halted. The harmonic framework of the 14th is new, likewise that of the
19th, which is in imitation with supple modulations and that of the 20th,
which cadences in F while the 21st variation traverses the reversed key
sequence. Finally, an elongation by four measures at the close of the last
phase attests, by itself, to Corelli's desire to evade customary routine
and to invest a somewhat naive architecture with a degree of nobility.
But there is no doubt, as is evident from a cursory reading of the follia
that in Corelli's eyes its interest was of a violinistic order before all
else. Everything he knew about the matter of instrumental technique, which
he had scattered throughout Opus V, and the device of variation, enabled
him to concentrate, to classify, and to demonstrate with precision in a
veritable corpus of doctrine. By technique, that of bowing should be understood;
for as regards to the left hand, Corelli's role, (.....),
far from being constructive, was limited to 'pruning'.
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Duration: 5'16", 40 kB. |
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Duration: 7'03", 47 kB. |
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Duration: 8'56", 59 kB. |
| Theme of Violin Sonata in d minor La Follia | arr. for violin and b.c. |
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Marie Therese had at her disposal many wind and brass players, whom she sometimes brought together in orchestras that must have made a brilliant and colorful sound. Her concert on 18 July 1802 ended with what she referred to as "Die Follia di Spagna mit allen Instrumenten von Eybler." Eybler is not known to have composed such a work (footnote 66: No orchestral variations on La Follia by Eybler are listed in Hermann [= Hildegard Hermann, Thematisches Verzeignis der Werke von Joseph Eybler, Munich, 1976]). But she owned, under the title Follia a più strumenti, an anonymous orchestral transcription of the variations on La Follia from Corelli's violin sonatas, Op. 5 (CaM, p. 62; see Fig. 1.3), which the diary allows us to attribute to Eybler. The orchestral parts call for (in addition to strings) pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, and timpani (footnote 67: A-Wgm, XIII 29392).
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piano roll, 1921 |
Duration: 5'45" direct link to YouTube
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Duration:6'26" direct link to YouTube
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La Follia has proved the most popular and is the oldest permanent classic of the virtuoso's repertoire.
It was a favorite with the 19th Century performers who added luxuriant accompaniments and spectacular cadenzas. In the
original form, as recorded here, it consists of twenty-three variations for violin and harpsichord on the theme
of an old Portuguese dance. The dance was originally accompanied by tambourines and performed by men dressed in women's
clothes who acted so wildly that they appreared to be out of their senses, hence the title 'Follia' meaning 'Madness'
This tune was used in vocal music by Steffani and Milanuzzi. In harpsichord solo variations by d'Anglebert,
François Couperin (Les Folies Françoises), Alessandro Scarlatti, and Pasquini. And in an organ setting by Cabanilles.
J.S. Bach employed it in the ' Peasant Cantata' (record Allegro alg-82). It is found in works by Gretry
(in the Opera 'L'Amant Jaloux') and in 'The Beggar's Opera' to the words ' Joy to Great Ceasar'. Other composers who
made use of La Follia include François Farinel, whom Corelli met in Hannover around 1680, Lully, Frescobaldi,
Marais, Pergolesi, Vivaldi, Keiser, Cherubini, Liszt, and even Rachmaninoff (in his Variations on a theme by Corelli, Opus 42).
Andrea Lausi wrote about recorder-music in general and in particular the Brüggen-Bylsma-Leonhardt-trio (used with permission, 2005):
I have always considered the anthologies issued by the Brüggen-Bylsma-Leonhard
trio for Telefunken (Italian Recorder Sonatas, Blockflötenmusik auf Originalinstrumenten...)
among the key recordings of the ‘70s. Veritable chamber music lesson,
these recordings shaped the perception of the recorder as a musical instrument
for many years to come. What I find central to this is the quality, so-to-say
the real magic, of Brüggen’s sound. The recorder is an instrument with
a particular limited amount of overtones – it is actually a good approximation
to a sonic laser with all the energy concentrated in the fundamental –
and Brüggen’s playing puts this quality at the center of his constant
focus. A playing where the center of the tone is never missed, the sound being
always direct and full. These qualities blend with the play of other two musicians
in interpretations of a simple nobility, where the 'abstract' timbre of the
recorder – the quality Brüggen once defined as its 'dangerous innocence'
– appears perfectly functional in putting in evidence all of the curves
and shapes of the compositional architecture.
The Brüggen-Bylsma-Leonhard series included also a very impressive rendition
of the Follia and, given such an overwhelming example to confront with, I have
been always surprised that in the past years so many recorder players recorded
the piece, which after all is definitely not a piece composed originally for
the recorder. [...] and I find the Cavasanti-Guerrero-Erdas reading
to be perhaps the first to cope with the mastery of BBL example. [...]
Ulrike Brenning wrote about La Follia as introduction for this recording:
The work differs only in points of detail from the versions for violin and demands a high degree of technical competence on the part of its performance, since Corelli, an accomplished violinist, conceived the work as a virtuoso bravura showpiece. The folia or ostinato bass, after which the piece is named, is a solemn, weighty theme that is subjected to a total of twenty-one variations to produce a veritable fire-work display of ideas.
In the lp-box is written about La Follia as introduction for this recording:
Corelli's variations on La Folia, from the beginning of the 18th century the composer's most famous work,
were originally written for violin and figured bass and constitute, in this version, the last of the twelve 'Sonate a violino e violone o cimbalo',
which first appeared in Rome with the superscription of 1st January 1700, and by 1720 saw no fewer than twenty reprintings,
above all in Amsterdam and London.The present version for recorder (in which the only simplifications are of technical peculiarities
like the chords or double-stopping of the violin version) had already been published in 1702 by Walsh in London. The
imaginative title 'La Folia' (Walsh wrote 'La Follia') denotes nothing more than that the work is constructed on the bass pattern known
as a 'folia', which first emerged in Spanish and Italian music in the early 16th century as a bass (i.e. as a harmonic framework)
for vocal and instrumental movements, and thence, partly also combined with more or less fixed or varied upper melodic part,
set out on its victorious path through Europe. In the instrumental music of Corelli's time, particularly in the sets of variations,
this pattern atteined its richest flowering - not only Corelli himself, but also Pasquini, d'Anglebert, Cabanilles, Marais and
Alessandro Scarlatti wrote sets of variations on La Folia, in so doing giving free rein to their imagination, particularly from
the point of view of technique.
Corelli's 'sonata' is planned as a sequence of a theme and 21 variations. The theme preserves, along with the traditional 3/4 measure,
the traditional descant melody and its sarabande character; thereafter movement and melodic figuration are increased from variation to
variatio, and rhythm, tempo and compositional technique constantly changed, while the harmonic movement and its symmetric
organisation (4 + 4, 4 + 4 bars, both halves repeated) remain firmly fixed. The frequent recurrence of long phrases building up from
grave crotchet movement in sarabande rhythm to virtuosic semiquaver figurations in the separate movements gives the work its
inner coherence and its accompanying dynamics; the abundance of ingenious melodic and constructional ideas and the extraordinary
technical demands lend it that range of colour and that air of fantasy which already fascinated its contemporaries and made the
work so uniquely famous.
Gustav (harpsichord) 'Corelli, sonatas Op. 5, Nos 7-11, La Follia, Op.
5, No 12.'
David Lasocki wrote about La Follia as introduction for this recording:
The final work in the collection is a set of 23 variations on La Follia, a sixteen-bar ground bass that had been used as the basis of variations for well over a century and had by then picked up an 'accompanying' melody in chaconne rhythm. This is something of a tour de force, particularly in bowing technique.
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Duration: 0'54", 848 kB.( 128kB/s, 44100Hz) The opening of Opus 5 nr. 12 as played by Cavasanti, Guerrero and Erdas © Cavasanti, Guerrero and Erdas 2004, used with permission |
So, to the very famous variations in trio on la Follia by Corelli, which open the concert, the response in false symmetry
at the very end will be the trio of the Folies d'Espagne by Marin Marais, his exact contemporary
the other side of the Alps two admirable pieces of equal length on the same motif, that Portuguese dance of the folia which passed
through Spain (whence the name "Folies d'Espagne" given to it by the French) and whose popularity soon swept
throughout Europe in the 17th century.
Lully adopted the famous theme and d'Anglebert won fame with his variations for harpsichord on the same subject.
This is before one finds it in Italy with the 23 variations from Corelli, and then again in France from Marin Marais.
Would extravagance itself not be a symbol of the Baroque, a precious asset of the imaginary and a pretext for everything daring,
for all metamorphoses?
James Durant wrote as an introduction at the backside of the cover:
[...] Munrow extended his activities with the Consort
to a heavy schedule of concerts, tours, and the making of numerous albums,
encompassing the early music of many countries. His popular English
television series Pied Piper considered music of all eras. In the eight
years of Munrow's all-too-brief career before his death in 1976, he
also wrote a book Instruments of the Middle Ages and Renaissance (Oxford
University Press. London: 1976) and composed and arranged the scores
for four feature films, including Ken Russell's The Devils, the EMI-MGM
Henry VIII, John Boorman's Zardoz, and the French documentary La Course
en tête, produced by Vincent Malle and directed by Joël Santoni.
It is Munrow's score for La Course en tête that is heard here.
Focussing upon the European bicycle races at Grenoble, the film sensitively
explores the anxieties and problems, as well as the pleasures and rewards,
of the professional bike riders in competition. For his score, Munrow
utilized arrangements of music by Hassler, Praetorius, Susato, Macque,
Phalèse, and Corelli, and composed original themes in early music
styles. [...]
Arcangelo Corelli (b. Fusignano, 1653; d. Rome, 1713) studied counterpoint
with Simonelli and violin with Bassani. His travels as violin virtuoso
and composer took him to Paris and throughout Germany. In 1685 he settled
in Rome in the service of Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni. Corelli made a major
contribution to the development of violin technique. As composer, his
sonatas da camera and concerti grossi were the predecessors of the sonatas
and concertos of Bach and Handel. David Munrow's "End Music"
uses Variations on La Folie d'Espagne from Corelli's, Op. 5 No. 2.
'La Follia' has proven to be one of the most popular and enduring harmonic progressions from the Renaissance and Baroque period. Throughout history 'La Follia' has been used by many great composers including Corelli and Vivaldi, right through to Liszt and Rachmaninoff. This CD contains a wide selection of 'La Follia' variations by Baroque composers, including one of the most well known settings, by Corelli - 'La Follia' from Sonata Op 5, No 12. This work is Corelli at his best, displaying an endless imagination through a succession of variations in ever changing moods and metres. Likewise the setting by Vitali also featured, contains a wealth of variation and invention
The insert in the CD says the Corelli is for 'Altblockflöte und Basschalumeau', but I don't hear any Basschalumeau. The accompaniment seems to be cembalo (Michael Schönheit) and Cello (Bettina Messerschmidt).
Jean-Pierre Nicolas chose the flute in D, pitched a third lower than the standard treble instrument in order to play the exact melodic lines and especially the virtuosic variations of the Follia
There is no twelfth sonata. XII is entitled Follia, and is a set of 22 variations on the dance tune of that name which goes back to fifteenth-century Portugal and was a great favourite throughout the baroque era. The 'madness' implied in the title was said to reflect the wild mood of the dancers. Corelli takes us a step further into a state of general derangement. Geminiani, in one of his treatises, names Corelli's variations as the ultimate work of the violin literature, and says 'I have had the pleasure of discoursing with him myself upon this subject, and heard him acknowledge the Satisfaction he took in composing it, and the Value he set upon it.'
In the slipcase is stated:
Born in Bologna, Italy, Corelli lived in Rome. He has produced the most significant example of a sonata for two or three instruments. He was an innovator in the concerto form which underwent an extraordinary development in the following centuries. "La Folia" certainly one of Corelli's most enchanting works, reveals his real discovery - the instrumental use of the 10 - string guitar and the violin. The resulting resonance lends to Corelli's music all its sensitivity, charm and originality. The balance achieved in the movements of the concerto is a miraculous poetical synthesis.
Erik Beijer wrote as introduction in the slipcase:
The 'Follia', too, became a rich stew in the hands of LFA: we get a taste of Corelli and Marais, but also a touch of Scarlatti and Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach. But what does it matter? In the art of arranging, varying and improvising, the question 'which note is whose?' has become absolutely irrelevant.
Oliver Buslau wrote for the slipcase:The oldest form of arrangement known in musical history is the variationof already existing themes. Some of these models really became archetypes: They were varied by so many composers that the original spiritual father fell into oblivion. Two of these essential themes are the English folk song 'Greensleeves' and the sarband tune 'La Folia'. The attraction of these themes lies in the comprehensible harmonic sequences, on which they are based and which have encouraged numerous composers to write so-called ostinato variations, that is improvisations over a bass, that is permanently repeated. This type of variation was already mentioned in a novella by the author of Don Quichote, Miguel de Cervantes, who called this piece 'Folia'. Therefore the famous theme from the Corelli concerto bears the name of a whole variation genre being at the same time its most popular representative. Corelli, the baroque master of the violin and 'inventor' of the concerto grosso, develops from the simple model a whole host of modes of expression, from grandiose festiveness to complicated counterpoint, from sweeping cantabile to brilliant virtuosity.
Reinhold Friedrich and Martin Lücker wrote for the slipcase:Das führte zur 'Follia' von Corelli. Wirklich der helle Wahn diese Musik! (Follia=Wahnsinn, fixe Idee). Aus der originalen Vorlage (Violine und bezifferter Bass) haben wir eine Art organisierter Improvisation gemacht. Zunächst wurde die originale Violinstimme ihrer Länge wegen zwischen Trompete und Orgel aufgeteilt, und dann ging 's kos: Da wird auf der Grundlage der Continuo-Notierung improvisiert, figuriert und konzertiert, kaum etwas haben wir dabei notiert.
Enrico Gatti wrote for the slipcase (translated from the French by John Tyler Tuttle):The twelfth sonata is "La Follia" by antonomasia, the one that was the basic for the compositions of Marais, Vivaldi, Reali, et al. It was customary to colclude a collection with a series of variations on the same bass (lateron, one will also find examples in Vivaldi, Tessarini, Tartini ...), and Corelli, in truth, deploys a vast range of ideas, metres and phrasings to best illustrate the proud, ancient Iberian theme. Pupil Francesco Geminiani spoke of it in these terms: " I do not pretend to be its inventor: other composers of the very highest level have embarked on the same voyage; and none of them with greater success than the celebrated Corelli, as can be seen in his Opus V, on the Aria de la Follia de Spagnia [sic]. I had the pleasure of discussing this with him and heard him acknowledge the full satisfaction he felt in composing it, and the worth he attributed to it (source).
The last number of Opus 5 is not a sonata but a variation
cycle which is not only the crown of the set but Corelli's greatest
technical achievement. It has a precursor in the Ciacona, the last piece
of the chamber sonatas Opus 2. The ciacona (Chaconne in French), the
passacaglia (passecaille), as wel as the Portuguese folia, whose Italian
spelling is follia are closely related. They are dances in triple time.
The origin of the follia was long a matter of dispute. It was thought
to be Spanish, but the Portuguese musicologist Luis de Freitas-Branco
has drawn attention to the fact that the noun folia (meaning obsession)
and the verb foliar derived from it, are Portuguese and not Spanish
words. The follias were known in Portugal as early as the fourteenth
century. Yet the tendency to regard the follia as a Spanish dance developed
only from the beginning of the seventeenth century and one called them
'Folies d' Espaigne'. At the end of the sixteenth century follias were
included in collections of instrumental music. There they invariably
appear as variations on an ostinato bass. They can be found in works
of Italian, French and German composers and the theme of the follia
was heard everywhere.
It seems very strange indeed that through four centuries dozens of composers
have used that tune for variations. This phenomenon becomes more puzzling
in view of the fact that the range of this tune is only a fourth plus
a semitone. Yet it exercised an irresistible magnetic power on a host
of composers. Percy Scholes compiled a list of 23 names but remarked
"that it is certain that dozens of examples are omitted."
His list includes Frescobaldi [red: which is not a folia], Corelli,
Vivaldi, Domenico [red: Alessandro the father of Domenico is intended
here] Scarlatti (Variazioni sulla Follia di Spagna), Bach (Peasant Cantata,
1742), Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Gretry, Cherubini, Liszt (Spanish
Rhapsody for Piano, 1863) and Rachmaninoff with his Variations on a
Theme by Corelli (!) for Piano. The tune was well known in Italy and
Corelli became familiar with the ostinato technique presumably through
the works of Girolamo Frescobaldi whose 'Cento Partite sopra Passacagli'
(1637) is on account of its melodic, rhythmic and contrapuntal diversity
a worthy predecessor of Corelli's 'La follia' and Chaconne and Passacaglia
by elaborations has been thrown on the the market that, it is true,
bear Corelli's name but go far beyond the violin technique of his time,
elaborations which Pincherle defined as "calamitous disarrangements"
of La Follia.
The student of this work who happens to be a violinist will quickly
become aware of Corelli's basic conception. The composer's overriding
interest centered on violinistic problems and the technique of bowing
in particular . Thus, Geminiani's task was a very difficult one because
he had to adapt the violinistic style to the ensemble.
Incidentally, the suite in Italy at that time was called sonata da camera, or chamber sonata, so that it could be immediately distinguished from the sonata da chiesa. The 12th and last of the so-called 'sonatas' has nothing to do with either of these: it is a theme with variations. The theme, entitled 'La Follia' - a Spanish dance - was one of the most popular melodies of the day and was arranged by many Baroque composers. But it really only survives today in this last and most popular of Corelli's 12 sonatas.
The last of Corelli's twelve sonatas comprising his Op. 5 consists entirely of a series of increasingly virtuosic variations on 'La Folia'. Originally a Portuguese peasant's dance, the Folia (the etymology of which is related to our 'fool') became the basis for improvisations by more courtly musicians throughout the Iberian peninsula before making its way northwards to France, Italy, England and the Netherlands during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Corelli's version, like the rest of his Op. 5, was highly influential; Vivaldi's Op. 1 trio sonatas of 1705, for example, ends with a set of Folia variations as a direct homage
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Duration: 1'04", 1011 kB. (128kB/s, 44100 Hz) |
This sonata is performed essentially as Corelli published it, 23 variations on the 'Follia' theme. Perhaps Portuguese in origin, the centuries old "Follia" theme was a popular subject for variation sets of the 17th century. Some have described Corelli's variations as nothing more than bowing exercises, but Corelli makes his bass as active and involved as the solo. This adds considerable interest to a sonata that seems intended as a vehicle for virtuosic display. We employ orchestration that suits the wind soloist and we rely upon trombone multiphonics to take the place of the many passages that call for double-stopped notes on the violin. Trombone multi-phonics is the practice of singing a note with the voice, while at the same time, playing a lower note with the lips. While this is certainly not a Baroque technique, it is an accepted part of 21st century trombone technique. In the same way that Corelli sought to demonstrate the technical capabilities of the violin that flourished in his era, this recording seeks to demonstrate similar capabilities unique to the trombone in the 21st century. Indeed, this recording and its accompanying performance editions aspire to take a place in the unbroken, 300-year performance lineage established upon Corelli's solo sonatas.
Unfortunately nothing is said in the documentation (slipcase) about this wonderful arrangement of the Folia-arrangement of the music by Corelli.Ik speelde "La Folia" gewoon uit het manuscript voor viool en continuo. Harmonische toevoegingen kwamen logisch voort uit de bc. De regisratie en registerwisselingen zijn afhankelijk van de mogelijkheden van het orgel. (translation: I just played the Corelli variations from the manuscript for violin and basso continuo. Harmonic added parts were derived from the b.c. The registration and stops are of course dependable from the possibilities of the local organ.)
In the slipcase is written about Jan Jansen:Jan Jansen (1946) studied organ, piano and harpsichord at the Utrecht conservatory. In 1966 he won the 'chorale'prize at the national improvisation competition in Bolsward. As a pupil of Cor Kee he gained the Prix dÉxcellence for organ in 1970. Jan Jansen has taught at the Utrecht conservatory since 1973, and he was appointed organist of the Dom in Utrecht in 1987, where he performs weekly with the choir at Saturday afternoon concerts. He has played in Holland and abroa, and has made many recordings (radio, TV,LP,CD).
Duration: 3'52" direct link to YouTube
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Baudime Jam wrote for the slipcase (translated by Michael Pochna):
The first mention of the theme on which 'La Folia' is based occurs in 1505, and a number of compositions bearing that
name appear throughout the 16th century. In 1611 'Tesoro', the first
published dictionary of the Spanish language, gives us this
definition: 'La Folia: Portuguese dance, very loud since in addition
to many people on foot with little cymbals (Basque tambour) and
other instruments, it includes portefaix in costumes carrying on their shoulders
boys dressed as girls who shake their long sleeves, dance sometimes, and play
their cymbals as well; the noise is so loud and the rhythm so fast that they all
seem to be possessed by 'madness' whence the name 'Folia'.
During the seventeenth century, the spirit of the Fpolia changed: from a leaping
dance it was transformed into a kind of passacaglia or chaconne, noble and stately.
From then on, La Folia came intofashion with composers all across Europe, from
Frescobaldi in Italy; Boyce and Arne in England, passing through Lully and d'Anglebert
in France and Pergolesi and Bach in Germany. This theme has
remained popular with composers such as Cherubini (The Portuguese
Hostelry: 1798), Liszt (Spanish Rhapsody: 1863), and Nielsen
(Mascarade: 1906).
In Corelli's work, the sixteen-bar tune recurs constantly in the
bass, while the violinist proceeds continually through new
material, alternating mood and tempo for twenty three variations.
The edition used here is that of the nineteenth-century violinist
Hubert Leonard, who has altered somewhat the order of Corelli's
variations, and has expanded some of them as Corelli himself
undoubtedly did in performance.
In the last variations all the musicians are mentioned and the gratitude for their contribution is shown.
'La Folia' also belongs to the variations genre. Folia (or Follia, known also as Les Folies d'Espagne
and by other titles) is a famous melody of the early 16th century, probably of Portugese origin, which was used by a great number
of composers as a theme for continuous variations. The Folia has no ritornellos, is almost always in D minor and is geberally slow and dignified.
The Folia began, usually, with a statement in which all second beats were dotted. This threw a powerful secondary accent on the opening chord.
This masterly set of twenty-four variations, which concluded his Op. 5 is Corelli's most difficult as well as his most enduringly
popular composition.
Rui Vieira Nery wrote for the slipcase:With the development of the virtuosic repertoire for the violin at the turn of the century it was only natural that the Folia should be included in it. In 1700 the great Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) used it as the basis for a series of exceedingly virtuosic variations with which he concluded his most influential collection of solo sonatas for violin and continuo, the famous Op. 5, the contents of which are known to have circulated in manuscript for more than a decade prior to this printing. In 1704 one of the most representative composers of violin music of the German and Dutch school, Henricus Albicastro, an artistic pseudonym of Johann Heinrich von Weissenburg (ca. 1660 -ca. 1730), published a sonata 'La Follia', which displays a clear Corellian influence in its virtuosic writing. And it was not by accident that a year later, in 1705, the young Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) also chose to conclude a decisive publication in which he placed the highest hopes for the future of his artistic career, his Op. 1 collection of trio-sonatas, with yet another magnificent set of Folia variations.
In May of 1702 John Walsh, the famous London music publisher, issued 'Six Solos for a Flute and Bass' by Arcangelo Corelli. Five of these 'solos' were transcriptions for alto recorder of the celebrated violin sonatas from Opus 5 (which Walsh had published two years earlier). The remaining work, also from Opus 5, was the even more celebrated 'Follia' or 'Spanish Folly': a set of variations on a tune much admired by composers of variations before Corelli's time and since. Recorder transcriptions of all sorts of music, both vocal and instrumental, were commonplace in 17th and early 18th Century England. Players of the recorder (then called the 'flute') were apparently as numerous then as now, since publishers displayed much energy and imagination in supplying their needs.
Incidentally, the suite in Italy at that time was called sonata da camera, or chamber sonata, so that it could be immediately distinguished from the sonata da chiesa. The 12th and last of the so-called 'sonatas' has nothing to do with either of these: it is a theme with variations. The theme, entitled 'La Follia' - a Spanish dance - was one of the most popular melodies of the day and was arranged by many Baroque composers. But it really only survives today in this last and most popular of Corelli's 12 sonatas.
'... It was said that Jefferson's violin playing helped him win his wife's hand in 1772, and it would not be surprising if Maria Cosway was also impressed by his musical abilities. I gravitated to Corelli's Violin Sonata Op 5 no 12 La Follia not only because Jefferson owned multiple editions of this work but also for its sheer beauty. Corelli's La Follia and its orchestrated version by Francesco Geminiani are heard throughout the film, each time helping to highlight the ever-changing emotional landscape. ...'.
Jim Stevenson commented in June 2001:the Geminiani version does not appear to be on the CD. And since the CD is designated ADD and a reference is made to Erato records, it may be that this is an old recording re-released. But I could find no other reference to it. This CD no longer seems to be available through retail outlets. I had to get a copy from used CD dealers.
'La Follia', a dance melody similar in style to a sarabande,
has inspired numerous composers to write variations on it. They include
d'Anglebert (Pièces de Clavecin),
Vivaldi (Op. 1, no 12) and Marais
(Pièces de Violes, Deuxième Livre). Variations on the Follia
melody for recorder over the Follia bass, described as 'Faronels
Ground', appeared in the collection 'The Division Flute' (1706)
(Edition Schott 5737). J.S. Bach in the aria of the Goldberg variations
made use of the popular bass only. Its origin is unknown. It appeared
already in early sources, and was described as 'Italian' by Spanish
composers in the 16th century (cf. D. Ortiz, 'tenore italiano').
Corelli's 'La Follia', Op. 5, no 12, was published by John Walsh (London
1702) in a version for recorder transposed from d to g. It follows the
original version for violin exactly, except for the double-stop parts.
There are no thrill signs in the original text (British Museum, London).
Other additions made by the editor have been indicated as such. The
variant in bar 160 is also to be found in F.
Geminiani's Concerto grosso version of Corelli's Op. 5, nr. 12.
The pauses that have been inserted by the editor should facilitate the
division of the variation sequence.
Andrew Anze and Richard Egarr wrote for the slipcase:
Opus 5 ends with twenty-four variations on the simple harmonic sequence, said to have originated in the Iberian peninsula: Follia. Many sets of variations in general, and of the Follia in particular, survive on paper, although one suspects that far more were improvised. than were ever written down. One violinist contemporary of Corelli who studied in Rome, Michel Farinel (1649-c.1700), introduced the Follia to England (where it was known as 'Farinel's Ground'). Perhaps it was part of a Roman violinist's everyday repertoire, in which case Corelli's notated version in Opus 5 was perhaps didactic in intent. He certainly provides an A-to-Z of violin technique circa 1700, including variations dedicated to arpeggios, consecutive thirds, running sixteenths and the indispensable messa di voce, the long, sustained bow stroke which was considered to be the key to good violin playing. Alongside these techniques, Corelli also leaves plenty of room for the performers' personal follies.
Eduard Melkus wrote as an introduction:
Since no authentic ornaments for 'La Follia', the last work in Opus 5, were available, the original text has been left untouched, although an eighteenth-century violinist would certainly have added some improvisations. Only the last variation was extended to include Veracini's coda. Otherwise we avoided Verancini's versions of Opus 5, since they entail too sweeping changes in the whole composition.
In the slipcase is written:
The last and most celebrated sonata contains the variations on the
passionate theme La Folia, which areexceptionally virtuosic for Corelli. 'La Folia' was to
become one of the most famous tunes in music history. The melody was taken from a Spanish dance,
like a sarabande, but wild and exuberant as in the original sense of the word folia: madness or frenzy.
It was gladly embraced by a whole line of western composers, from Lully, Corelli, Marin Marais
via Alessandro Scarlatti, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach to Liszt and Rachmaninov.
As a homage to his great example, Corelli's pupil Francesco Geminiani published a series of
twelve concerti grossi in London from 1726, based on Corelli's sensational Violin Sonates op.5.
What has been a highly virtuosic piece for solo violin in Corelli's hands became a merciless exercise
for string orchestra in Gemininani's
Dorothee Oberlinger wrote for the slipcase in 2007:
There were apparently quite a number of skilled recorder-players in 18th century England, and by 1702 at the latest, Corelli was a household name to them: this was the year when local publisher John Walsh brought out several recorder arrangements of the op.2 & 4 trio sonatas as well as of the famous op.5 violin sonatas. In the latter case, however, the arrangements were only made of the last six of the set of twelve, which are set in the sonata da "camera style". In the last sonata of the set, op. 5 no. 12 in G minor, Corelli sets the melody of then popular Portuguese dance "La Follia" with a total of 21 variations, in whose ostinato harmonies the bass line is quite virtuoso in places
Eugen Jochum wrote for the slipcase (page 15):
I stayed [in Hamburg] fifteen and a half years for the entire Nazi period, the war and the defeat. This was only possible because of the open-mindedness that has always been a characteristic of this city. My personal and political opinions would have surely made it impossible for me to live in Berlin, Dresden or Munich.
But this recital [...] is an act of hommage not only to Kreisler but to the long tradition of great violonist composers who came before himn, and of which het was the last representative. The point is implicit in the opening track. Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) is widely regarded as the most illustrious founder of that tradition. Ironically he is perhaps best known for a theme he never actually composed. La Folia is in fact a anonymous Iberian dance song from the 17th century, much varied by composers from that time onwards (among them Franz Liszt and Kreisler's friend an collaborator Sergei Rachmaninov).
cello & Woolley, Robert: harpsichord) 'La Folia, variations
on a theme'
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Duration: 10'12", 9592 kB. (128kB/s, 44100 Hz) |
A comment on the Quadro - since Dorothee joined the Trio of the Lo Specchio Ricomposto I actually started considering this a sort of 'issue 0' for the quartet. Dorothee is a very good player, and also the trio was very good. But the four of them together really exceedes the mere sum of the components! There is something really unparalleled in the quality of the 'ensemble' sound which was (almost) never heard before. QJ resembles the Quadro Hotteterre, actually the Quadro in their name is an obvious hommage to the Dutch group, which is now unfortunately disbanded, and I have always considered Kees Boeke and Walter van Hauwe with the highest respect. More astonishing, the recording you have is from the FIRST concert QJ performed together. I was not there, but when they came back with the DAT tape I was really thrilled. I must also bow my head to Lorenzo and Paola for the recording sound quality: Lorenzo has a portabe profi equipement, and they did all the mike positioning by themselves, with the festival staff only helping with the on-off button. And when a few months later I finally had chance to listen to the quartet live, it was even better. It's a great group!