Musique napolitaine baroque pour violoncelle

Description

In the 17th century, a practice of alternating between Gregorian chant and organ pieces derived from Gregorian motifs was established in the masses. A variant of this tradition developed in Naples, particularly in the famous Royal Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro. The liturgy this time combined singing and the cello, which, supplanting the viola da gamba, was making its first appearances, while the organ merely provided the continuo. This combination accentuated the worldly, elegant, and profane aspect of Neapolitan religious music, and new forms of virtuosity reinforced the contrast with the simplicity of the sung verses: although Rosso composed his pieces based on borrowed bass lines from motets, themselves derived from Gregorian motifs, he applied the practice of diminutions for the first time to the cello — replacing long notes from the borrowed material with shorter notes, which formed ornaments and micro-variations in the melody. Francone, on the other hand, based his work on the passacaglia, a slow dance originally, then an instrumental form developing variations on a stubborn bass of a few notes. Here, there is a sense of simple juxtaposition between vocal and instrumental pieces. The Gregorian ensemble somewhat lacks clarity, momentum, and cohesion. The singing is not sufficiently supported. The instrumental pieces are played with talent, but their writing, constantly based on the application of the same processes that other composers have exploited with more imagination, generates a certain monotony.