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• Gabrieli, Giovanni: Sonata Pian e Forte

Gabrieli, Giovanni: Sonata Pian e Forte

for 8 instruments in 2 choirs.

Giovanni Gabrieli´s famous Sonata Pian e Forte comes from his Symphonae Sacrae of 1597. It is unusual in more than one respect. instrumentation is given for all parts: cornetto for the top part of choir I, violino for the top part of choir II, and trombone for all remaining parts. In addition, all parts are labelled “alla quarta bassa”. While in theory this could mean that Gabrieli intended the piece to be performed a fourth lower, that seems unlikely, because of the “violino” in choir II; even at the written pitch this part calls for a viola-sized instrument; also at the transposed pitch choir II - already very low-lying - is in danger of sounding quite muddy. It is more likely that the label indicates that the music has already been transposed down a fourth. The unusual presence of dynamic markings in a work of this time is in danger of making us conceive the dynamics in the old “terraced” manner beloved of early musicologists. However, the passage from 61-63, where a phrase passed between the choirs begins forte and ends piano indicates that the dynamic levels should not be confined to two, loud and soft: in bar 62 the upper choir is playing piano while the low choir´s entry is forte. Some experimentation is usually needed to get this passage working satisfactorily.
Music historians have made a great deal of the “revolutionary” dynamic markings in this piece. However, it is quite clear that singers of madrigais had been expected to vary their dynamics according to the mood of the text for several generations. What is unusual in Gabrieli´s piece is not the use of varied dynamics in the music, but the act of committing them to paper.
In this edition the original note values have been retained. Editorial accidentals are printed small above the stave. applying to the one note only, Gabrieli´s original instrumentation is most impressive, but the piece can be, played effectively on any wind or stringed instruments capable of dynamic variation.