"Sonate Concertate" is a reference to a musical style originating in early 17th century Italy, marking the advent of the Baroque period. In this context, “sonate” is plural form of "sonata," denoting a piece intended for instrumental performance, as opposed to a "cantata," which is to be sung. The term "concertate" derives from "concerto," meaning “together.” The Concertato style was then a form of music where groups of instruments would share a melody “together” in alteration with another group of instruments, over a basso continuo. The modern concerto has since evolved from this concept to feature a solo instrument accompanied by an orchestra, but the root is the same.

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This musical innovation found its early expression through the efforts of Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli at St Mark’s Basilica in the late 16th century, in what came to be known as the Venetian School. The unique architectural layout of the Basilica, with its opposing choir lofts, facilitated a polychoral style where two choirs sang independently in alternation, a practice which easily translated into the instrumental domain. The concertato style quickly gained widespread popularity across Italy, as evidenced by the composers featured in tonight’s program.

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Giovanni Andrea Cima (1580-1627) and Giovanni Paolo Cima (1570-1630) were brothers based in Milan. Both were organists, Andrea at the Santa Maria Maggiore Cathedral, and Paolo at Santa Maria presso San Celso; Paolo was the more famous of the two and is notable for being the first composer to publish a trio sonata.

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Alessandro Piccinini (1566-1638) and Giovanni Picchi (1572-1643) were both lutenists. Piccinini held positions in Bologna and Ferrara, while Picchi was based in Venice at the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice. Giovanni Picchi distinguished himself by his keyboard dance music, and has the honour of being the only credited Italian composer to have an entry in the English Keyboard collection, the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, although the details behind this inclusion remain a mystery.

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Tarquinio Merula (1595-1665) was one of the Venetian School and played a pivotal role in the early development of forms such as the cantata, aria, and sonata. Although mostly based in Cremona, frequent troubles with his employers, caused by indecency or conflicts with his superiors, had him also employed in Bergamo, Lodi, and even Warsaw, Poland.

Bartolomeo de Selma e Salaverde (1595-1638), was a Spanish composer and virtuoso on the dulcian (precursor to the bassoon) who concurrently served as an Augustinian friar in Innsbruck, Austria.

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Girolamo Alessandro Frescobaldi (1583-1643), a long-standing organist at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, was one of the most important composers of keyboard music of the era, through his virtuosic toccatas and his celebrated collection of liturgical organ music “Fiori Musicali”.

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Giovanni Battista Riccio (1590-1621) and Dario Castello (1603-1680), both based in Venice, contributed to the rich musical landscape of the port city. Riccio was known as a recorder player and as the organist at San Giovanni Evangelista. Castello, another member of the Venetian School, helped develop the older canzona into a more modern form of the sonata. His tenure under Claudio Monteverdi at St Mark’s Basilica had him oversee the piffari, an ensemble of sackbuts, cornetts, violins and viols. Castello may be credited as the key influence behind the title of tonight’s concert: the program concludes with his Sonata Decima Terza à 4 from the second volume of his "Sonate Concertate in Stil Moderno," offering a fitting homage to this playful musical style.

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Paul Winkelmans