Fantasia sul nome di Praetorius (2021)

Carlotta Ferrari (b. 1975) — Fantasia sul nome di Praetorius (2021) for organ

This piece was written to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of Michael Praetorius (1571–1621) and is based on the syllables of his name converted to musical notes. In recognition of the fact that Praetorius was significant for both his contrapuntal sacred music as well as his “Terpsichore” compendium of secular instrumental dances, this organ piece interleaves sections in a motet-like contrapuntal style with dances (bourrée, corrente, and branle).

Carlotta Ferrari (b. 1975) is an Italian composer. Educated at the Conservatory in Milan, she has composed in many genres, developing a personal language that is concerned with the blend of past and present. Her compositions have been performed frequently around the world. Ferrari’s music appears on several CD recordings, including eight all-Ferrari organ CDs: four recorded by Carson Cooman (2014/16/18), three by Peter Clark (2015/16/18), and one by Luca Massaglia (2021). She served as chair of music composition at Hebei Normal University in Shijiazhuang, China and is currently professor of music composition at the European School of Economics in Florence, Italy.