Della Ciaia: Complete Keyboard Works

Featuring

Mara Fanelli
Olimpio Medori
Paolo Fanciullacci
Azzolino Bernardino Della Ciaia

Did you know?

1/7

Recording & Production

For this recording, a French harpsichord, a copy of a 1769 Pascal Taskin instrument, was chosen, built by Keith Hill Manchester in 2004.

Composition History

Della Ciaia composed much of his first work, Opera Prima, during his sixteen years of military service on galleys, amidst the 'clatter and bustle' of ship life.

Compositional Technique

Della Ciaia's Opera Quarta uniquely presents two traditional keyboard notation systems: 'intavolatura' for harpsichord pieces and 'partitura' for organ pieces.

Composer Biography

Azzolino Bernardino Della Ciaia, born into a noble family, became a member of the Holy Military Maritime Order of the Knights of St. Stephen at the age of seven.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Della Ciaia's travels to ports like Marseille and Hamburg allowed him to examine organs by famous makers and appreciate their 'lovely, pleasant, unusual sort of harmony,' enriching his musical personality.

Instruments

Della Ciaia designed and oversaw the construction of an organ with two keyboards and over 20 stops, which was a novelty in Italian organ practice.

Critical Reception

Musicologist Gotthold Frotscher, studying Della Ciaia's works in Berlin, declared the Opera Quarta a 'peak' in Italian organ and harpsichord literature, second only to Frescobaldi's creative period.