Category: Courses

CLOSED – maximum number of students has been reached

The course will be organized into two levels:

1. 1. 1. introductory
      2. intermediate/advanced

Students may participate as auditor to the activities of the other level.

Introductory level:

Basic thorough-bass technique articulated in these points:

• • • direction of the voices with numbers referring to the perfect chord, related inversions and, within the end of the course, to the seventh with related inversions;
    • short exercises of improvisation on simple basses;
    • use of different numbers of voices and expressive nuances, of simple level, in a stylistic context;
    • simple parts of sonatas for one or two continuo players;
    • historical approach to the origin of the “Rule of the octave” and stylistic implementation.

Intermediate/advanced level

• • • direction of the voices related to chorals with intermediate/complex numbers;
    • chamber music;
    • basses without numbers (only advanced level); provision of a bass to a given melody, adding figures to indicate the intended harmonies (only advanced level);
    • transposition of basses of simple/medium difficulty.

Students may work on their own repertoire pieces or those for the chamber music courses in Urbino. There will be some players and singers who will work with us; XVII and XVIII century music scores will be provided to the participants.

On 25 and 26 July, there will be a specific one-hour seminar with the title “Le false che dilettano” dedicated to the extempore “false” notes in late-600 Italian treatises.

Recommended methods and books:

• • • Bourmayan & J. Frisch Méthode pour apprendere la pratique de la Basse Continue à l’usage des amateurs, ed. du Cornet *.
    • Erich Wolf  Generalbassübungen, ed. Breiktopf 6620 *.
    • B. Christensen Fondamenti di prassi del basso continuo nel XVIII secolo, ed. Ut Orpheus *.
    • Pasquali Thorough-Bass made easy (fac-simile), Oxford University Press *.
    • O. Morris Figured Harmony at the Keyboard, part 2, Oxford University Press **.
    • Muffat Regulae Concentuum Partiturae **.
    • Bernardo Pasquini Sonate per basso continuo. Si consiglia il vol. VI dell’Opera Omnia per tastiera      (London, Bl Ms. Add. 31501, I) a cura di Edoardo Bellotti, ed. Il Levante **.
    • Geminiani The Art of Accompaniment…to learn to perform the Thorough Bass on the F. Couperin Concerts Royaux **/***
    • Ph. Rameau Suite da Hyppolite et Aricie**/***
    • Fr. Händel Cantata “O Numi Eterni” (Lucrezia) HWV 145***
    • S. Bach Sonate per violino e basso continuo BWV 1021 e BWV 1023 ***

*    all levels, ** intermediate/advanced level, *** only advanced level

CURRICULUM VITAE

Giovanni Togni graduated with top marks in piano, harpsichord and choir direction further extending his musical knowledge with studies in composition and organ. His musical interests have been focused on early keyboards (harpsichord, clavichord and fortepiano) since meeting his harpsichord teacher Laura Alvini.

He is the winner of the 1991 ECBO selections (harpsichord and organ continuo) in Paris, France, and of the 1993 National Harpsichord Competition in Bologna, Italy.

He performed as continuo player (at the harpsichord and organ) with many ensembles, such as Ensemble Concerto, Il Complesso Barocco, Accademia Bizantina, Ensemble Zefiro, Ensemble Aurora, the European Community Baroque Orchestra (ECBO), the RAI Orchestra in Rome, the Orchestra Mozart directed by Claudio Abbado. Furthermore, he had collaborations with opera theatres like the Teatro Massimo in Palermo and the Opéra de Monte-Carlo and he performed in prestigious Italian and European early music and chamber music festivals, both as a soloist at the harpsichord and fortepiano and in chamber groups.

He has recorded for labels such as Glossa, Brilliant, “Amadeus”, Dynamic, Concerto, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, EMI-Virgin, Deutsche Grammophone (Archiv Produktion) and for the Radiotelevisione Italiana and other European broadcasters.

He has been engaged as lecturer, speaker and jury member, by several institutions like the Giorgio Cini Foundation in Venice, European Harpsichord Competition (Bologna) and the International Early Music courses in Urbino (Fondazione Italiana per la Musica Antica). Since 2017 he is director of the International Early Music courses in Urbino.

He taught harpsichord and historical keyboards at the Cagliari and Milan Conservatoires. Currently he is professor for the same disciplines  at the Conservatoire “G. Verdi” of Como.

This course woud like to enable its students to experiment with the expressive possibilities of the
end of XVIII century key-board instruments and to understand the tecknical aspects of that period repertoir.
Students can study both instruments or just one of them.
All levels of preparation are accepted. No entry test is required.
Clavichord: the clavichord is an instrument that for its own characteristics prepares and develops a technique particularly refined to the keyboard; this type of technique can naturally facilitate then the correct approach to all the other "historical keyboards".
This year, besides having a free five-octave clavichord, a Saxon model from the second half of the
18th century, made by Joris Potvlieghe (Be), the course offers the possibility of approaching a very particular instrument, that is the precious reconstruction of the clavichord represented in the Tarsia of the Palazzo Ducale di Urbino realized by Maestro Angelo Mondino. This means that for those interested, it will be possible to make a very ancient repertoire of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century such as The Faenza Codex. The clavichord by J. Potvlieghe, on the other hand, is suitable for the entire 18th century repertoire, especially for C. P. E. Bach.
Fortepiano: We will have a model Anton Walter copy of the end of the 18th century, on which it
will be possible to perform a classical and pre-classical repertoire of free choice. Articulation and
touch, ornamentation, choice of timing and understanding of the musical text according to the
stylistic criteria of the end of the eighteenth century, will be the main topics of study of this course.

Subjects of possibile, theoretical, joint lessons
– Ancient and modern fingerings
– Repertoir: harpsichord, clavichord or fortepiano?
– The Viennese fortepiano from the late eighteenth century and the use of the pedal

Repertoir:
The students are allowed to bring any classical and preclassical piece from the keyboard repertoir; for the clavichord even XV, XVI and XVII century compositions are suitable.
Nevertheless here are some suggestions of repertoire particularly suitable for the eighteenth century clavichord:
C.P.E. Bach:
– Rondo : Abschied von meinem Silbermannischen Claviere
– Free Fantasias and Rondos from: “Die sechs Sammlungen von Sonaten, freien
Fantasien und Rondos für Kenner und Liebhaber”
– Achtzehn Probestüken zu dem “Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen”

W. A. Mozart
Fantasie in d minor KV.397
Fantasia in c minor KV 475
W. F. Bach:
12 Polonaises
J. Haydn:
Sonatas written from 1767 to 1774, especially the Hob. XVI / 20 in C minor, XVI / 44 in G
minor, XVI / 46 in A flat major.
Suggested Repertoire for those approaching the clavichord for the first time:
J.S. Bach: Notenbüchlein für Anna Magdalena Bach
Clavier-Büchlein vor Wilhelm Friedmann Bach

C.P.E. Bach:

Solfeggi in c minor and A major, piccole fantasie in G major and d minor

Chamber Music with fortepiano *:
Vocal Music
Vocal quartets and trios by Haydn
Lieder by C.P.E. Bach
Lieder by Haydn
Wind instruments with fortepiano ( With Lorenzo Coppola’s contribution)
Fortepiano and winds quintets by Mozart and Beethoven

Clarinet with fortepiano
Sonatas for clarinet and basso continuo by Jean-Xavier Lefevre
Sonatas for clarinet and fortepiano by F.A. Hoffmeister and J.B. Vanhal
Trio B flat major op. 11 for clarinet, cello and fortepiano by Beethoven
6 Sonata movements for clarinet, bassoon and fortepiano by C.P.E. Bach
Trio in E flat major K498 for clarinet, viola and fortepiano, Kegelstatt by Mozart

Strings instruments music
Trios for violin, violoncello and fortepiano or flute, violoncello and fortepiano by Haydn
Quartets for strings and fortepiano by Mozart

Sonatas with an accompaning violin by C.P.E. Bach, Mozart and contemporaries

*The chamber music with fortepiano, course mainly held by Lorenzo Coppola, is always strictly
connected with the other singing and classical instruments classes. Therefore students are advised
to get in touch with their teacher to ask futher informations.

CURRICULUM VITAE

Carmen Leoni ha iniziato gli studi musicali, all’età di undici anni sul clavicembalo.
Un anno dopo, affascinata dalle toccate di Frescobaldi e da “ … questo modo di sonare
che non dee star soggetto a battuta”, eseguiva il repertorio antico con diteggiature
storiche, e imparava il basso continuo con Laura Alvini.
A quattordici anni ha conosciuto Scott Ross che le ha dato lezioni sul cembalo anonimo
francese del settecento presso il Chateau D’Assas in Francia.
Dopo essersi diplomata in organo a Verona, si è trasferita in Olanda, dove, presso il
Koninklijk Conservatorium de L’Aia, frequentando i corsi di Jacques Ogg, Ton Koopman e
Stanley Hoogland, ha conseguito il diploma di clavicembalo solista.
Presso il Conservatorio di Verona, dove ha insegnato musica da camera e basso
continuo dal 2001 al 2008, ha organizzato diversi laboratori musicali sul repertorio
classico, in collaborazione con Lorenzo Coppola. Dal 2009 al 2012 è stata docente di
clavicembalo e basso continuo presso il “Conservatorio Superior de Salamanca”.

Attualmente insegna clavicembalo e basso continuo presso il Conservatorio di Cesena e
presso il conservatorio di Venezia.
Ha collaborato regolarmente a Verona con l’orchestra barocca Il Tempio Armonico, e il
gruppo vocale Delitiae Musicae. Non sono mancate nella sua attività professionale
numerose collaborazioni con diverse orchestre barocche tra le quali La Petite Bande,
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, La Risoluzione Amsterdam, Zefiro, I Barocchisti, Venice
Baroque Orquestra, Ensemble Il Divino Sospiro, Nederland Kamerkoor (T. Hengelbrock,
F. Bruggen). Con