Michelangelo Rossi - harpsichord music

Rossi: Toccate e Correnti, parte prima
Francesco Cera
Tactus 601801

Contents:

  1. Toccata VII
  2. Toccata II
  3. Corrente I
  4. Corrente II
  5. Toccata IV
  6. Corrente III
  7. Corrente IV
  8. Toccata V
  9. Corrente VI
  10. Toccata VI
  11. Corrente IX
  12. Toccata VIII
  13. Corrente X
  14. Partite sopra la Romanesca
  15. Toccata 3a

Instrument: harpsichord, Barthélémy Formentelli (Verona, 1989) after Bartolomeo Cristofori (Florence, c.1690)

Playing time: 55'

Recording date: March 1996 (Montepulciano)

Michelangelo Rossi (1602-1656) was perhaps the leading contemporary of Frescobaldi and one of the primary composers to give the toccata its final form. The publication date for the present collection (the final two pieces survive only in manuscript) is unknown, but may be as early as 1630.

The style is of course closely linked to Frescobaldi's, but we see here a more extensive exploration of texture per se. Oddly, Rossi was well-known as a violinst during his lifetime, although it is certainly his keyboard music which has made a lasting impression.

The second volume of this set, performed on organ:

Rossi: Toccate e Correnti, parte seconda
Francesco Cera
Tactus 601802

Other collections devoted to Rossi:

Rossi: Toccate & Corenti
Jörg-Andreas Bötticher
Alpha 077
Rossi: Toccatas
Guido Morini
Accord 200 832
Rossi: Toccate and Correnti
Sergio Vartolo
Naxos 8.557321

Finally, a recording devoted to Rossi's madrigals:

Rossi: Madrigali
Il complesso barocco - Alan Curtis
Virgin Veritas 45220

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Todd M. McComb