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Siete qui: Home Festival Festival 2012 The art of the variation
The art of the variation PDF Print E-mail
The leit motiv of this program is variation, meaning the art of modifying a musical theme. One of these – the “Folia”, of Portuguese origin – is certainly one of the oldest and best known in European music. The “early folia”, based on this theme, dates back to the middle of the 17th century, and the better known “later folia” variant has remained famous in serious music to the present day.
A progression of chords sustains a clear melody, and on this scaffolding the musician was free to improvise. Known in France as the Folies d’Espagne and in England as Faronel’s Ground, it is based on a passacaglia (ground bass) and the melody line takes the shape of a slow sarabande in 3/4 time. All sorts of meters and melody lines are acceptable in the variations.
Tonight’s program offers two of the best known versions, Arcangelo Corelli’s Sonata for Violino op. 5 no. 12 and the Sonata a tre, op. 1 n. 12 by Antonio Vivaldi.
Bologna boasts a musical tradition comparable to few other cities in Europe. Domenico Gabrielli was the first composer to promote the cello from its role as basso continuo to become a solo instrument, and Maurizio Cazzati was a great innovator, composer and maestro di cappella whose music was among the most widely printed in his day – 66 printed works.
Cazzati’s collection entitled Trattenimenti per camera gives an idea of the vast range of his music, and combines culture and skill in the ostinato formula in the development of the chaconne, passacaglia and capriccio on 12 notes.
The Balletti by Gabrielli, in contrast, are a typical example of the Sonata a tre, alternating melody and counterpoint with admirable ability.
Giovanni Battista Martini is unquestionably the most complex musical personality of the 18th century European scene, known for his erudition, skill in counterpoint and the outstanding artistic level of his ample production. The theme Mozart’s maestro uses in his 24 variations is inspired by an Italian popular melody, the Bergamasca, interpreted in a variety of ways. His style is clearly recognisable in his language, with an inner sensitivity and multiple “souls”. The spontaneous melodic line is overlaid on a lively rhythmic fabric, sometimes with a rich contrapuntal backing, using a range of imaginative solutions to elaborate on the simple initial theme.

Daniele Proni

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