Israel Golani - Raclerie Universelle (2013)

Tracklist

01. Suite in A minor: Prélude
02. Suite in A minor: Allemande
03. Suite in A minor: Courante
04. Suite in A minor: Sarabande
05. Suite in A minor: Gigue
06. Suite in A minor: Passacaille
07. Suite in D minor: Prélude
08. Suite in D minor: Allemande
09. Suite in D minor: Courante
10. Suite in D minor: Sarabande
11. Suite in D minor: Gigue
12. Suite in D minor: Passacaille
13. Chaconne
14. Pieces in D: Mariez Moy
15. Pieces in D: La Vielle
16. Pieces in D: La Bonita
17. Pieces in D: L'Otoñera
18. Pieces in D: La Forlane
19. Suite in G major: Prélude
20. Suite in G major: Allemande
21. Suite in G major: Courante
22. Suite in G major: Sarabande
23. Suite in G major: Gigue
24. Allemande Entrée d'Apollon
25. Logistille de Roland
26. Mascarade
27. Vilanelle
28. Passacaille
29. Sarabande La Stuarda
30. Allemande

The music on this CD represents this zenith in writing for the guitar. The pieces in A minor come from Corbetta’s first French publication titled La Guitarre Royalle. In this outstanding collection Corbetta designates strummed chords to be the rhythmic engine throughout each piece. At the same time the notes of an elaborate melody are realized by plucking or by being placed at the top of a strummed chord. Occasionally inner voices are also introduced, functioning as counter-melodies. Both chords and melodies are extensively embellished. Furthermore, Corbetta nonchalantly adds dissonant notes which “happen to be there” as the chords are strummed. At occasions these dissonances are not resolved – adding a jazzy flavor to the music.

After almost 40 years in service at the court of Louis XIV, theorbo player Henry Grenerin published a guitar book consisting of 16 suites. The suite in D minor includes the regular suite components such as the free Prelude, the stately Allemande, and the brisk Courante followed by the slow Sarabande. These dances typically alternate between double and triple meter. Curiously, the Gigue that follows is written not in the usual 6/8 but in double meter, as are four other gigues in this collection. The Passacaille is a harmonic progression repeated in variation. As the piece unfolds, Grenerin introduces more dissonances and increasingly animated chordal writing, culminating in strummed variations with a Spanish touch.

The thirst for new pieces for the guitar led to the creation of many compilations by enthusiasts who collected their favorite music. Several guitar manuscripts include dances from famous operas and ballets which would have been reproduced at more private occasions. Logistille and Entrée d’Apollon are wellknown pieces that appeared in stage pieces written by Lully. The arranger (probably de Visée) transposed the bass an octave higher, reduced the orchestral parts to strummed chords and retained the most important melodic lines, thus conveying the essence of these pieces in an intimate way fit for the “petit musique de societé”.

Other collections include pieces of a pastoral character, serving either to reflect existing folk dances, or create “new” ones. The anonymous Mariez Moy represents a folk tune accompanied by simple chords, whereas La Vielle shows the same melodic simplicity, this time supported by two repeated bourdon notes, creating the effect of a characteristic peasant’s dance. Isabel van Langenhove, a Flemish lady whose guitar book consists of many French dances, added some Spanish folk dances such as La Bonita and L’Otoñera.

They reveal, with their uneven meter and hemiolas, the influence of Spanish music during Spain’s occupation of the Southern Netherlands. Pieces such as Mascarade, Vilanelle and La Forlane, however, were skillfully composed to satisfy the fashion for real (or mock) folk culture in the court.

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