History of Keyboard Music (27) Romanesca
Girolamo Frescobaldi: Partita sopra l'aria della Romanesca (1615)
As the original title "Toccate e Partite" suggests, the Partitas are also a major component of Frescobaldi's "Toccate e Partite, Libro primo".
A Partita refers to a piece of music consisting of a series of 'partes' (sections), in other words, a set of variations. The usage meaning a 'suite' as in J.S. Bach is exceptional, and even Bach used it in the traditional sense in cases like 'Choral Partitas'.
The term 'Aria' is derived from the Latin 'Aer' (air), and musically it was used in the past to mean 'style' or 'manner', but later came to mean a standard piece of music for singing poetry.
The Romanesca is one such aria and is a very popular standard form, but its origin is unknown, and the original piece itself is not well understood. The following is the presumed prototype.
The oldest example of a Romanesca is 'Romanesca o Guárdame las vacas' included in the 'Tres libros de música en cifra para vihuela' (1546) by Alonso Mudarra (c.1510-1580), and it is associated with the poem 'Guárdame las vacas' (Watch over the cows).
Although not named Romanesca, an older piece of the same type is the 'Diferencias sobre Guárdame las vacas' (1538) by Luis de Narváez (fl. 1526–1549).
Works titled 'Partita' first appeared in the 'Libro d’intavolatura di liuto' (1584) by Vincenzo Galilei (1520-1591), and 'Romanesca undecima con cento parti' (11th Romanesca with 100 parts) is one of them.
There really are 100 of them.
Frescobaldi's Partita also shows a notable influence from the Neapolitan school, and its roots can be traced to works such as the 'Partita sopra il Tenore antico, ò Romanesca' (1609) by Ascanio Mayone (c.1565-1627). Since the chord progressions of the Romanesca and the Passamezzo antico are similar, they were identified as the same thing around this time.
Frescobaldi's Romanesca consists of 14 partes, but from the very first parte, a chromatic and unstable sound dominates, and it does not fulfill the role of presenting the theme at all. Elaborate and obscure variations continue thereafter, making it not at all friendly to either the player or the listener. It is significantly different from the clarity of the variations of the Virginalist school. The 5th parte is an exceptionally simple piece and serves as a valuable source of relief, and the final 14th parte is also simple—perhaps a way of saying 'thank you for your hard work'.
Judging by the magnificent decorative lettering, I think this must be one of Frescobaldi's works he was confident in, but while it is certainly amazing, it is a very demanding piece in many ways.
Next time, we will discuss the aria "Ruggiero".