10002 – Canzon Bergamasque; Galliard Battaglia

Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654)

Arranged by Roger Harvey

Difficulty: Medium

Price: £22.50

Programme notes:

Scheidt spent most of his working life in Halle, and was not only a prolific composer of vocal and instrumental music, both liturgical and secular, but also a highly distinguished teacher.

These two pieces are highly characteristic examples of his work and the late 16th century German instrumental styles in general. Although originally derived from dance forms, by this time instrumental pieces bearing dance titles were unlikely to have been written to accompany actual dance steps. Rather they would exploit instrumental virtuosity and the desire of the composer to develop his ideas without the restriction of dancers. This, then, allowed for various imaginative devices to be employed. In the Canzon Bergamasque, the North Italian dance was allied to the contemporary Italian fashion of contrapuntal instrumental canzona. Likewise, the galliard was normally in homophonic styles but Scheidt combined it with the increasingly florid exchanges of the battle piece, much in vogue during the 16th and 17th centuries to create his Galliard Battaglia.

Performance notes:

Successful performance of these pieces requires disciplined rhythmic pulse, controlled dynamics and a good sense of style. Articulations and dynamics have been suggested but alternatives may be substituted at the discretion of the performers.