Capriccio del soggetto scritto sopra l’aria di Roggiero

Renaissance music by Girolamo Alessandro Frescobaldi (1583-1643) performed on the 1766 Karl Joseph Riepp Heilig-Geist Organ.

Frescobaldi was an Italian composer and virtuoso keyboard player. Born in the Duchy of Ferrara, he was one of the most important composers of keyboard music in the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. A child prodigy, Frescobaldi studied under Luzzasco Luzzaschi in Ferrara, but was influenced by many composers, including Ascanio Mayone, Giovanni Maria Trabaci, and Claudio Merulo. Girolamo Frescobaldi was appointed organist of St. Peter's Basilica, a focal point of power for the Cappella Giulia (a musical organisation), from 21 July 1608 until 1628 and again from 1634 until his death.

This is a Capriccio based on the tune “Fra Jacopino” (“Frère Jacques”), “Friar Jacopino went off to Rome, his staff on his shoulder and around his neck a cape”. It harks back to the sixth ricercar of the 1615 collection and is a charming example of Frescobaldi’s smaller variation sets.

Registration:

Theme (00:00)
BP: Copel 8

Var 1 (00:18)
HW: Copel 8, Flet 4

Var 2 (01:04)
HW: Gamba 8, Salicet 8

Var 3 (02:03)
HW: Principal 8, Copel 8, Flauta 8
BP: Copel 8

Var 4 (03:05)
HW: Principal 8, Octav 4, Cromorn 8
BP: Flet 4, Schalmey 8
HW+BP

Var 5 (03:56)
BP: Copel 8, Prestant 4, Doublet 2

Var 6 (04:41)
HW: Copel 16, Principal 8, Copel 8, Octav 4, Flet 4, Doublet 2, Mixtur 4f, Cimbal 3f
Ped: Principal 16, Copel 16, Flauta 8, Flet 4, Quint 3, Fagot 8

Enjoy!

Marco