The collection, the archive, the sound gallery of “Fortissimo/Pianissimo” by Federica Lotti and Florindo Baldissera, Ema Vinci Records, 2022 on #neuguitars #blog
Fortissimo / Pianissimo – Federica Lotti, Florindo Baldissera – L&C (emavinci.it)
I begin this review with these interesting notes written by Dino Villatico for the CD, whose booklet is in itself a text worth buying the CD. Villatico writes: “All the composers whose music we are listening to here are linked in some way to the presently reviled, criticised Darmstadtian and post-Darmstadtian avant-gardes. However, even a superficial, cursory listening still makes it possible to appreciate, adoiástos, the enormous stylistic difference between the composers, despite the climate of familiarity, building on a common substratum, so to speak. But don’t tell me that this is music conceived on paper, a sterile composition that is cut off from sound and the effect that sound can have on the listener. Of course, this music is thought up, but it is thought up just as any music is, even folk songs, the ritual music of any society in the world, music that is thought up and thought of precisely as sound. Many composers today feel they are denied the joy of interacting with a vast public, but instead of asking themselves what was happened in contemporary culture in general, not just musical, they go in search of the scapegoat that will let them circumvent the problem and renew their ties with a tradition that they considered appalingly betrayed and rejected. As if the twists of history could be cancelled with the stroke of a pen. And the difference in musical genres between “highbrow” and the alternative, a difference that can be found in every culture, and not at all exclusive to European music, is an invention that can be surpassed.”
It’s hard for me not to agree, but I also believe that this CD goes beyond the ‘simple’ musical aspect. “Fortissimo/Pianissimo”, in my opinion, takes up some themes related to the concept of archive and art gallery. The pieces performed here by Federica Lotti and Florindo Baldissera, two spectacular instrumentalists, two virtuosos devoid of the self-referential charms and vices that virtuosos sometimes develop over time, seem to take on the characteristics of an art collection, of a contemporary art gallery.
The two musicians, in fact, have assembled a musical journey, which winds through Camillo Togni’s “Cinque Pezzi” (1975/76) and the most recent is Claudio Ambrosini’s “Carnis ore, cordis ore”, (2018). Fifty-two years separate the two scores. Imagine entering an art gallery, where Lotti and Baldissera are the curators, and where you will also find, in chronological order: Impromptu by Rosario Mirigliano, (1981); Musica a due by Bruno Bettinelli, (1982); Méliès by Francesco Pennisi, from Le esequie della luna, (1990); Filari, by Corrado Pasquotti, (1991); Sic by Niccolò Castiglioni, (1992); Variazioni op. 73, by Luca Mosca, (1995).
A careful selection of little-known works, for a trained and demanding audience, by two music curators characterized by complete and integral dedication. This CD is conceived as a collection of musical pieces, which move along the idea of research music, thought, conceived and built as sound.
An archive of musical memory, a collection of sounds governed by a musical map, which allows the listener to create his own personal path, his own mental and emotional design. A music with almost tactile contours, with a rich descriptive function and great narrative potential, with two interpreters who also choose for themselves the role of curators of an imaginary sound gallery. Excellent work, highly recommended!
Tracklist:
Claudio AMBROSINI – CARNIS ORE, CORDIS ORE (2018) for flute (and bass flute) and guitar
Camillo TOGNI – CINQUE PEZZI (1975/76) for flute and guitar
I Kōtílē chelidón
II Adoiástos
III Plèxis
IV Ámon anthos
V Hymnos
Niccolò CASTIGLIONI – SIC (1992) for piccolo, flute, alto flute and guitar
I Presto rigorosamente in tempo
II Andante sostenuto
III Molto calmo
IV Con fantasia
V Allegretto
Corrado PASQUOTTI – FILARI (1991) for piccolo and guitar
Francesco PENNISI – MÉLIÈS (1990) for flute and guitar, from “Le esequie della luna”
Bruno BETTINELLI – MUSICA A DUE (1982) for flute and guitar
LUCA MOSCA -VARIAZIONI Op. 73 (1995) for flute and guitar
Rosario MIRIGLIANO – IMPROPTU (1981) for alto flute and guitar
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