Canzoni pour 2 orgues

Description

On the same organs of the Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna, Liuwe Tamminga had already recorded some pieces, canzoni e sonate, by the Venetian composers Andrea and Giovanni Gabrielli alongside their titular organist Luigi Fernandino Tagliavini (Tactus 1990). Here he is again at the helm of one of these gems of organ craftsmanship, for this disc solely dedicated to Giovanni, this time joined by Léo Van Doeselaar, another specialist in this repertoire. In Gabrielli's time, a musician well-versed in polychoral techniques, instrumental dialogue was a common practice, and these canzones were designed for strings, trombones, cornets, a double choir, and of course the organ. In this regard, the two positive organs located at San Marco did not have the projection and sound density of these Bolognese organs, "In cornu Epistolae" (The Epistle) for one and "Evangeli" (The Gospel) for the second (Malamini) (To the right and left of the altar) built between 1471 and 1596 by Da Prato, Facchetti, and Malamini, then restored by Tamburini. Here, and unlike the Tactus disc reissued by Brillant where the sound of the two organs often proved confusing, the breadth and polyphonic articulation of the works for 8, 10, or 12 voices is magnified by a very fine recording without excessive reverberation. The two organists revel in their performance, each contributing their voices to exemplarily recreate the festive atmosphere of this church music. (Jérôme Angouillant)