[VIHUELA] Foscarini Passacaglio

[Stuart Walsh]

On the ning site Monica wrote: 'Passacalles literally means "pass 
through the streets".' Interesting. And so you could be passing through 
the streets purposefully or perhaps just meandering about.At the 
beginning of his book (his collected works, as it were) Foscarini gives 
the 'Passacalli sopra tutti le lettere' which seem to be just four bars 
with four chords (not starting on first beat of bar). And, more or less, 
that's how most passacalles I've ever seen are structured: a four bar 
scheme endlessly repeated. (Some in the Gallot MS don't always fit, though)

But Foscarini's own examples of the passacalles don't fit this at all. 
They really do seem to just meander about, always hinting at a typical 
passaccalles but never quite being it. Monica has had a go at an edited 
reconstruction of one in E minor. *http://tinyurl.com/y8mvxfd     (page 
17) -Passacaglio Variato sopra l'+*
//
There is no (easily discernible) repeated four bar structure and no 
(easily discernible) direction to the music. And it's in two parts! 
After 57 bars the first part ends and second part sort of carries on in 
more or less the same way for another 64 bars. And it's as if Foscarini 
really liked the sound and feel of certain chord changes - especially E 
minor at second position to B minor with a g in the melody on top.

I've had a go at the first part. Technically it is not difficult piece 
but I always manage to make a pig's ear of one bit or another and my 
guitar runs out of tone in bars 16-19; it's like squeezing an orange 
with no juice left. But I suspect a good player could make something of 
the piece and the Part 2 would go yet deeper into the strange little 
world. Maybe the use of repicco and trillo would spice it up a bit?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XiJS0GVT5A


Stuart



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