Opera intitulata Fontegara by Silvestro Ganassi
is the earliest treatise on the recorder, published in 1535 in Venice (Italy). I was captivated by this book ever since it first crossed my path, in my youth. In close cooperation with musicologist Dina Titan, who published a groundbreaking and award-winning PhD on the subject, I offer workshops about the historical background and practical application of this unique source. In the past years, we have conducted this workshop in several institutions, among which the Leipzig University of Music and Theatre, Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Franz Liszt University of Music in Weimar and the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome.
In 2020, I have contributed two articles about Fontegara for the recorder magazin 'Windkanal', including an essay on the practical application of the treatise. This essay is illustrated by short audio clips of three versions of the final measures of Cipriano de Rore's famous madrigal 'Ancor che col partire', ornamented in the style of Ganassi. Additionally, you can listen to a full-fledged diminution of the three-voice madrigal Io penso pensieri by Jehan Ghero, which Ganassi himself has intavolated in his treatise on the viola da gamba and the lute (1543). The ornamentation of the upper-voice of this madrigal is entirely assembled from the numerous examples that Ganassi provided in Fontegara, and interpreted along the lines of Dr. Titan's findings (live recording). Playing along with me is historical harpist Constance Allanic.
If you wish to receive a copy of the dissertation by dr. Dina Titan, please contact me.
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