Nuove Musiche

Giovanni Battista Fontana was one of the first exponents of the new style that manifested itself in Italy around 1600. He was trained as a violinist, working in a number of cities until in 1630, he became a victim of the plague epidemic raging in the North of Italy at the time.

Only one volume of music written by him has survived, containing 18 sonatas for one, two and three instruments and basso continuo, published posthumous in 1641. Though Fontana wrote them undoubtedly from the point of view of the violinist, we can read several alternatives on the title page, like the cornett and – for the lower parts – the bassoon and the violoncino (or cello). We will hear four sonatas from different performers.

Giovanni Battista Fontana (1589-1630)
1. Sonata I in C major
2. Sonata VIII in D minor
3. Sonata XII in F major
4. Sonata XVIII in A minor
Lux Terrae Baroque Ensemble
(CD: “Complete Sonatas for Violin and B.C.” – Brilliant Classics 96541, 2023)

Fontana died from the plague, but his German contemporary Heinrich Schütz was a victim of another disaster: the Thirty Years’ War. This war, taking place in Germany from 1618 till 1648, led to many casualties and destruction. Composers were influenced by this, which you can hear for example in the first two works of Schütz we’ll play. The other three pieces aren’t directly connected to the war, but their atmosphere suits the circumstances of that time.

Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672)
5. Da pacem, Domine (SWV 465)
6. Teutoniam dudum belli (SWV 338)
7. Was betrübst du dich (SWV 353)
8. Erbarm dich mein, o Herre Gott (SWV 447)
9. Herr, unser Herrscher (SWV 449)
Ricercar Consort conducted by Philippe Pierlot
(CD: “Da Pacem” – Mirare MIR736, 2024)

addition:
Johann Hermann Schein (1586-1630)
10. Corollarium: Canzon à 5
Ricercar Consort conducted by Philippe Pierlot
(CD: see 5-9)

Image: cover of the CD of the Ricercar Consort