Diego Canizzaro - Salvatore: Ricercari, canzoni, toccate (2012)

The organ music of the early Baroque, with the exception of that of Girolamo Frescobaldi when imaginatively played, has to rank high on the list of tastes that must be acquired. The music on this CD by Giovanni Salvatore, a Neapolitan from the generation after Frescobaldi, lacks either the chromatic shockers of Giovanni de Macque and the Mannerist generation of the late sixteenth century or Frescobaldi's contrapuntal density, although the booklet explains in detail how Salvatore was influenced by both those composers. Perhaps Salvatore represents a historical stage where new genres are regularized, later to be shaken up again by a new generation. At any rate, what the listener hears are canzonas (contrapuntal pieces beginning with the long-short-short chanson or canzona rhythm, although they had long since split off from actual vocal models), quasi-improvisatory toccatas, and examples of the more fugal ricercar, all designated by mode. The ricercars, each designated as having a specific number of "fughe" or fugues, are the most forward-looking of the bunch. This is a specialist disc intended for scholars and performers. Its most interesting attraction for general listeners may be the pair of small Italian eighteenth century organs used by performer Diego Cannizzaro: clanky, noisy things, but each with an unusual tone quality.