Il ballo di Mantova: Organ Music in S. Barbara, Mantua

Featuring

Liuwe Tamminga
Fabio Tricomi
Anonymous
Giovanni Battista Ferrini
Girolamo Cavazzoni
Giaches de Wert

Jacques Brunel
Bernardino Roncaglia
Amante Franzoni
Germano Pallavicino
Ottavio Bargnani
Anonymous (Traditional)
Girolamo Frescobaldi

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Historical Context

This album features organ music from the Basilica of Santa Barbara, the church of the Gonzaga court in Mantua, with some composers having served as organists or choirmasters there.

Instruments

The organ used for this recording was built by Graziadio Antegnati in 1565 and has undergone several alterations by various builders over the centuries.

Recording & Production

The bellows of the organ for this recording were hand-blown by organ builder Giorgio Carli.

Performer Biography

Liuwe Tamminga, the organist on this recording, is considered a major specialist in 16th and 17th-century Italian organ repertoires and is the organist of the historic organs at the Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna.

Composition History

Girolamo Cavazzoni, a master of Italian organ playing, promoted the construction of the organ completed in 1565 by Graziadio Antegnati, whose son Costanzo was his pupil.

Cultural Impact

The popular melody 'Ballo di Mantova' originated in Mantua in the early 17th century, possibly in the Jewish community, and is known across Europe by various names, including 'Noël Suisse' and a Moldavian song immortalized by Smetana in his 'Moldau'.