Johann Sebastion Bach, (Two and three part inventions) by Fausto Settevendemie. The Inventions and Sinfonias is a collection of short pieces Bach wrote for the musical education of his young pupils. These are among the finest examples of artistic gems ever written for this purpose, and probably because of this, they became very popular among Bach's pupils and others ever since they were written. The CD comprises of fifteen two-part 'Inventions', and fifteen three-part pieces named 'Sinfonia'. These two groups of pieces are arranged in an identical fashion—in ascending order by key—so that there is little doubt that Bach's intention was to bring them together as a single work. This is also confirmed by the way they are carefully written in his autograph fair copy penned in 1723. The accordion has perhaps been seen as an instrument that is “not quite ready” by the larger music publishing houses for the interpretation of such music – it is however certainly an instrument that is “quite ready “ and very able when compared to other keyboard instruments. Here we must applaud Fausto Settevendemie , the first, in Italy to have the recorded the complete set of Inventions and Sinfonias (although a few others have done, such as the Finnish accordionist Janne Rattya in 2000 for the German publishing house Castigo). This accordionist from Abruzzo has over the past few years been carrying out extensive work as a researcher and also as a performer on the repetoire of historical instruments (organ, clavichord etc) as compared to the “concert” accordion. We remember that (in 2002) Settevendemie had issued the CD “Ricercare” (Ema Vinci – www.emavinvi.it), with music by Merulo, De Cabezon, Frescobaldi, Pachelbel, Walther and J.S.Bach. In this, his latest work, it is clear what the accordion can give to this type of music: the added value of the “cantabile” (for example, son enfle or messa di voce) wished for by the composer, leaving unaltered the contrapoint of the 2 or 3 parts and the subsequent phrasing given by the “polyphonic differential” through the connection of the 2 keyboards and their rapport with the bellows. The CD is completed and enriched by the addition of the Acht Imitationen by Salvatore Di Gesualdo – teacher and inspirer of Settevendemie – who composed these short exercises in the mid 1960’s….therefore among the first specifically for the classical accordion – here, Settevendemie uses them as a ideal addition to the Inventions. This CD is highly recommended not only to fans of classical accordion but also to the many accordion schools as an example and a stimulus for all conscientious students. Reviewed by Alessandro Mugnoz, October 2006 |
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