Pavana e gagliarda klezmer (2024)

Carlotta Ferrari (b. 1975) — Pavana e gagliarda klezmer (2024) for organ

0:00 | Pavane
3:35 | Galliard

The pavane and galliard are Renaissance dances that were popular throughout all of Europe during the 16th century. The pavane is a dance of slow, processional-like character. The galliard is vigorous and fast. These two dances became a common pairing: the slow pavane serving as a kind of prelude to the fast galliard; or from the alternate view, the galliard being a release of energy in response to the pavane. Like many historical dances, the musical forms stayed in use even after the popularity of the actual dancing had ended. The diptych pairing of pavane and galliard also served as a simpler proto-form for the later multi-movement dance suites that found sophisticated musical flowering in the Baroque era. The keyboard pavane and galliard pairs in late 16th century and early 17th century collections—such as William Byrd’s “My Ladye Nevells Booke” and the “Fitzwilliam Virginal Book”—have remained in the repertoire to the present. As with many historical musical forms with roots in dance, composers have continued to be inspired by these to produce new pieces looking at these old forms with their own perspective.

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 and professor of music composition at the European School of Economics in Florence, Italy.