Reflexiones on a Ganassi Recorder

Paul Richardson

Sylvestro Ganassi was born in Fontego, Italy and was the author of the treatise, “Opera Intitulata Fontegara”, which was written in 1535 and explains the art of recorder playing and also the ornamentation and divisions suitable to wind instruments. The information therein is very useful in guiding the modern day recorder player on his quest to a creditable performance. About Ganassi´s life we know that he was employed as an instrumentalist by the Signoria of Venice and the he wrote court music for the Dogos and liturgical music for the Basilica de San Marcos. Ganassi edited and published from his own print shop the treastise, “Regola Rubertina” (Venecia, 1542), for the viol or viola de gamba and the other for recorder, “Opera Intitulata Fontegara”, with the following dedication, To His Most Illustrious and Serene Highness Andrea Gritti, Prince of Venice from Sylvestro del Fontego. The majority of the instrumental treatises of the XVI century are for the most part semi-encyclopedic summaries.

Front Engraving “Fontegara”

However, Ganassi´s method stands out from the rest for its details into the subtle style and manner in which music was played during the XVI century. It offers all of the most sophisticated aspects about technique, as well as how to produce a beautiful sound, the rules of articulation, how to improvise and something that is more important, which is that technique must be subordinated to the expressive quality of music. In the end, I feel that the treatise should be considered as a starting point for someone who is seriously interested in playing and interpreting XVI century music. “Fontegara” lists first the basic principles of playing a wind instrument, dealing with breath control and the various ways of articulation. It also presents numerous examples of passagi which give basic instruction on the development of a simple melody, which throws light on the fact that musicians both amateur as well as professional were

expected to be schooled in the art and practice of playing divisions. It also explains how to play trills on whole notes and thirds, various types of articulation with a double attack and how to play about six more notes on the recorder that were up until then impossible to play. Although the modern edition of “Fontegera” did not appear until the year 1956, there was not a reply as to the whereabouts of a Ganassi recorder by the recorder makers until the 70´s. Various factors helped these recorder makers to find a Ganassi type recorder and these were: 1. To assume the recorders in the principle engraving of “Fontegera” had in the interior bore the direct same relationship as to the exterior. 2. The use of the chart of fingerings and above all, the extra notes that were only possible with a Ganassi type recorder. In order to find this instrument the maker had to use three fingering positions: the fundamental and lowest note (01234567), the second octave (02) and the second octave (01234567 but pinching 0 and 2). If the two octaves were more or less in tune then the probability of finding a Ganassi type instrument was very high. Rarely have I seen a renaissance recorder that was stamped with the name of the maker. Therefore, we do not really have a Ganassi recorder to copy. However, there is an anonymous recorder in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna classified with the number C8522 that seems to be a Ganassi type instrument,

Ganassi type recorder number C8522 from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna

since it does respond to the fingering of the chart and also offers more than a two octave range. The interior bore is cylindrical except for the characteristic bell shaped foot section. The instrument has as enormous crack along the canal section and there is a considerable piece of the labium missing but in spite of this and the passage of some 400 years it sounds fantastic.The balance and power is extraordinary especially when compared to the modern semi-baroque recorders that many of us have used to lean on. The external form might seem a bit simple to some but it expresses an elegance that in a way reveals the personality of the turner as well as that of the period. The impression is that of elegant penmanship, clean and precise with absolutely nothing superfluous.

Ganassi type recorder head with large crack from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna

I was very lucky to have been able to accompany Alec Loretto on one of his many visits to the Vienna museum in the summer of 1987. It was a great opportunity because we were able to take the instrument out of the case and examine, photograph and hear it first hand, something that is next to impossible to do nowadays in almost any museum. If you have the opportunity to visit this one in Vienna do not miss it because it has a very impressive collection of wood wind instruments not to mention a lot of other early music instruments. This recorder number C8522 is tuned in G sharp in relation to our modern standard (a=440hz.) so it would be around 466hz which was more or less the normal pitch for the period. It was pointed out to me by Adrian Brown that this recorder formed part of a consort since the carrying case for it along with other instruments still exists. There are still many questions to be answered. Why has only this example from this period survived with the possible exception of a couple more, when clearly according to the description of the treatise “Fontegara” it was being used. Where are the other Ganassi type recorders?

This article was written for “Revista Flauta de Pico” number 2 in May 1995.