Girolamo Frescobaldi: Toccate e Partite d'Intavolatura di Cimbalo, Libro Primo

The art of sounds that transcends time and space

From the earliest sources of Italian music (the 15th-century Codex of Faenza), we learn that the repertoire intended for keyboard instruments could be performed “with all sorts of keyboard instruments”: organ, clavichord, and harpsichord. In fact, for the early masters, the organ was a “key” instrument that, together with the harpsichord, formed an inseparable combination. This applies, for example, to the various organ tablature books by Claudio Merulo, published in Venice between 1567 and 1611. According to Girolamo Diruta (a pupil of Merulo), the study of these compositions would be indispensable for learning to play pen instruments «with politeness and gracefulness».If we consider the printed works of Girolamo Frescobaldi (Ferrara,1583– Rome, 1643), it may be surprising that in the first three editions of First Book of Toccatas and Partites, published in Rome, (1615–1616), the frontispiece bears the simple inscription “d’intavolatura di cimbalo,” and that only in the two subsequent publications (1628 and 1637) was it expanded to “d’intavolatura di cimbalo et organo.” Even in this case, the title of the first three editions should not be interpreted as necessarily restrictive, especially since in the rectification, Frescobaldi avoids limiting the destination of his music to a specific instrument, thereby avoiding overly restrictive technical and performance instructions.

In compliance with this premise, this recording, dedicated to exalt the art of Girolamo Frescobaldi’s toccatas, contained in his first book, (a volume dedicated to Ferdinando Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua) was conceived and created. In fact the pages of the illustrious organist enjoy the luminous and exceptional sonorities of a marvelous example of Italian Renaissance organ building art, belonging to one of the most famous dynasties of Brescian organ builders, active in the year between the 16th and 17th centuries: the Antegnati.

In particular, it is an historical organ built by Graziadio Antegnati in 1565, located, in cornu epistolae, in the sumptuous basilica of Santa Barbara in Mantua.Performing this repertoire on the Antegnati organ not only provided the performer -that is, the author of this text – with valuable insights into how to approach Frescobaldi’s poetic and sound world, but also allowed her for a deeper understanding of a musical message, which was, at times, difficult to grasp precisely because it was closely tied to the art of improvisation—an art that, unfortunately, could not be codified through notation.

It should be noted that Frescobaldi’s complete collection of toccatas (two volumes printed by Nicolò Borbone (c. 1591–1641), between 1615 and 1637 and, in particular, his first book of Toccate e Partite d’intavolatura di cimbalo et organo, offer extraordinary material for illustrating the new cultural and aesthetic climate that was taking shape in Italy and, later, throughout Europe, at the beginning of the 17th century. Furthermore it is important to point out how well-known and praised this first book of Frescobaldian Toccatas was in Italy and throughout Europe. it is no coincidence that, following its initial publication (1615), four more volumes were published over the course of twenty years. In fact, the first three editions were issued in rapid succession (1615-1616), which attests to the extraordinary success the volume enjoyed; the fourth was published in 1628 and the fifth appeared in 1637. Not by chance, Girolamo Frescobaldi is the central figure, in the process of the emancipation of style and instrumental forms: his musical activity is characterized by a distinctive modus scribendi which, building on Monteverdi’s teachings, not only contributes to overcoming the stylus vetus but also stands out and imposes itself for its originality.

The Ferrara-born maestro, by placing his art at the service of “affetti,” becomes the creator of a highly personal poetics and a new style of keyboard performance. And if the madrigal embodies, for Monteverdi, the stylus novus or modern style, the toccata is, for Frescobaldi, the milestone , the instrumental form associated with the “second practice”: a passionate expression of affections, the Frescobaldian toccata creates an emotional map capable of arousing feelings of wonder, of maraviglia, of emotion in the listener. Without a doubt, the toccata is undoubtely the preferred formal Frescobaldi’s model, the most personal of the musician, the one in which his fantastic genius and his boundless creativity attain their peak. It is a spontaneous composition, a refined example of improvisation rich in fantasy, imagination and freedom, imbued with sophisticated inventions: the Toccata is the quintessence of a particular way  of composing  defined by the Italians «stile a mente non a penna», strictly connected to the stylus phantasticus.

Frescobaldi’s Toccata is one of the kind. It is superbe for its structure inspired by Merulo’s model (it alternates contrasting sections: free episodes are countered by imitative sections); for its bold texture that highlights its eloquent language; for its creative  exuberance and astonishing rhythmic, and agogic contrasts; for its language full of imagination and feeling, constantly intent to emphasize  the expressive and cantabile function of the “affetto”.

The variety of musical ideas and sound gestures used by Frescobaldi  in these twelve toccatas is singular and unique: his style is recognisable for its brilliant inventiveness and fantastic creativity; its melodic intensity; its unceasing play of contrasts; its surprising chromatic techniques (delays, dissonances); its astounding rhythmic imagination; its constant tendence toward a free counterpoint and its restless harmonic daring. It is a style so personal that shuns any rigid or predictable patterns in order to always pursue new original solutions ables to enhance and exalt the espression and  communication of the «affetti».

The toccata takes the floor, seeking the listener’s attention through the skillful use of a myriad of rhythms and figures typical of oratory, such as declamation, emphatic repetitions, and sudden shifts in tone and register. Beyond technical virtuosity and sonic display, the corpus of toccatas represents for us a sort of theater of emotions: every melodic-rhythmic motif, every passage, every small turbulence is nothing other than the vehicle for theatrical sound gestures and affects. Each toccata lives on an autonomous life, possessing its own free and original structural system, perfectly modelled on the expressive effect of an unwritten but implied word, in order to evoke the widest range of feelings in the listener. To be note that Frescobaldi, several times, repeatedly evokes the “affetto” in his works, associating it with the search for the delight of hearing (“dilettatione dell’udito”). This reference, in particular, aroused in Ivana Valotti – the interpreter of this recording – the desire to propose, for the first time, a musical reading differing from  the usual ones, being entrusted exclusively to an organ performance. This choice allowed her to experiment, research and emphasize emotional expressive communication through the charming beauty of Antegnati’s tone colours. With the simple force of sound and with the infinite color range of this magnificent instrument, the Frescobaldian musical panorama has been enriched, cloaking itself in new and unexpected sounds.

In fact, for every melodic movement, for every virtuosic formula, for every change of harmonic register, for every lively gesture, for every bold chromaticism, the player has sought the most suitable stop, adapting, every time, the mode of her performance to the quality of the musical passage to be interpreted, to its “affetto”. She has therefore focused on the quality of sound in order to evoke emotions and passions and to highlight the expressive potential and stylistic qualities of such an intense and unique musical vocabulary.

In this regard, a thorough understanding of the historical context, the sonic characteristics of Antegnati’s organs, and the treatises on organ technique and performance practice prevalent in the 17th century was essential. The practical advice on how to use and combine the stops, found in both significant passages of Costanzo Antegnati’s Arte organica (1608) and in Girolamo Diruta’s “Discorso sopra li concertar li registri dell’organo” (Transilvano, 1593), proved illuminating. These are recommendations that confirm both the performer’s dependence on technical means and the relationship between a single organ timbre and its corresponding sonic gesture. It is a condition that only an early instrument could offer and that it still offers the performer today.

Even more interesting were the words of Costanzo Antegnati when he states, in his performance guidelines, that he has “arranged and composed in so many different ways that it is sufficient to ensure that playing and changing from time to time does not become tedious.”

Since the toccatas are full of varied passages and of “affetti” (“copiose di passi diversi et di affetti”) notice how the clear sound transparency of this instrument allowed the performer to emphasize the refined stylistic qualities of a lexicon so pervaded by vagueness, vivacity,, gracefulness, gravity, sweetness, harshness, delight, sadness, torment, and audacity. And if the absolute purity of Ripieno perfect for the majestic and sparkling chords of the «beginnings of toccatas» (Toccatas I, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X), is surprising; the delicacy of the Principale appropriate to the meditative movements, to lyric melodic passages, to chromatic and languid inflections, to lamenting, mournful harmony (Toccatas II, V, X, XI, XII) is fascinating.

Similarly, as the registrstions with “gaps” exalting the “merry, sweet and sonorous harmony» of episodes in imitation, of metric contrasts, of daring gestures, of virtuosic and decorative formulas such as minutes, double passages, (Toccatas I, II, III, IV, V, VI, IX), are enchanting; so the fresh brightness of the flutes stops, suitable for imitative passages, for mellow and lively melodies, for quick rhytmic dynamic gestures, for diminutions (Toccatas II, III, V, IX), are ravishing. The entire collection is so imbued with such great expressive intensity and such poignant grace that, even today, it amaze us with its relevance. It is no coincidence that it is the art of the imagination par excellence, the art of sounds that transcends time and space.

Ivana Valotti © 2026