Tag Archives: Italian 18th century

Niccolò Piccinni (Piccini): The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts – XXI

With this, the twenty-first instalment of the Periodical Overtures in 8 Parts, we continue Bremner’s publication of  overtures written by Italian composers whose music was all the rage in London towards the end of the 1760s. All 61 overtures, actually symphonies, in the complete series are being published monthly by Musikproduktion Höflich. Listen here before heading over to musikproduktion höflich to obtain your copy of the score and parts.

There is some uncertainty about the dating of Periodical Overture No. 21. In his seminal study of the series, David Wyn Jones cites a 24 September 1767 advertisement in The Public Advertiser.[1] However, that issue of the newspaper does not seem to contain any advertising at all by Bremner. Moreover, in an advertisement published three days earlier—on 21 September—Bremner lists the previous symphony, No. 20, as “just published,” with no mention of an upcoming No. 21.[2] It seems unlikely that Bremner would have issued two overtures in the same month, so it is more probable that the second symphony by Piccinni was introduced in October, November, or very early December. It is true that the first advertisement to mention Periodical Overture No. 21—which was published in the 8 December–10 December issue of The St. James’s Chronicle; or, The British Evening-Post—lists the overture (with other works) under the stock heading “New Music. This Day were published. . . .”[3] However, Bremner’s third symphony by Piccinni was announced only two weeks later—on 22 December—so it is possibly the case that Bremner had released No. 21 quite a bit earlier than 8 December and had not bothered to revise the language of the advertisement.

Although Periodical Overture No. 21 seems to have achieved only a tiny fraction of the popularity of its immediate predecessor, it did demonstrate a certain amount of staying power. Scholar Jenny Burchell has documented two performances that took place in concerts of the Edinburgh Musical Society in 1783, sixteen years after the symphony was published: one occurred on 2 May and the second on 16 June. Two years later, it was presented again, during a 24 June performance.[4]

The structural similarities between Periodical Overture No. 21 and the subsequent two Piccinni works, which both are known to have come from operas, are additional arguments for No. 21 having had a theatrical origin as well. It is in three movements, with the first marked as “Allegro spiritoso,” the identical tempo marking that is used for the opening in all four of Piccinni’s works in the Periodical Overture series. This F major work is structured as a sonata form without repeats, although it is “Haydnesque” in its re-use of the common-time, upward-zigzag first theme in the second tonal area of C major (m. 27). During the theme’s first appearance (m. 1), it is supported by a murky bass (m. 7) and then “drum 8ths” (m. 12). The bridge between the two harmonic areas, starting in measure 16, is peppered with subito contrasts between piano and forte, and the same is true for the development, which starts in measure 36 after three quick hammer blows mark the end of the exposition. Here, though, the contrasts are even greater, shifting suddenly between pianissimo and fortissimo. The opening theme returns at measure 46 and is reiterated at measure 62, driving to a final set of hammer blows in measure 70.

The central movement moves to the contrasting subdominant key of B-flat major, and it is set in a not-terribly-slow “Andante grazioso”; all three of the other Piccinni symphonies also employ some version of “Andante” in their second movements. All four also reduce the ensemble to strings alone, although this is true for over half of the symphonies in Bremner’s series. Within the ternary form, Piccinni’s A melody works its way downward gradually. The B theme (m. 20) makes use of numerous suspensions and dramatic dynamic contrasts. When the A theme returns (m. 32), it also features many sudden and dramatic dynamic changes.

Piccinni is again consistent in his use of bouncy, gigue-like, compound-subdivision finales. Three of the four closing movements—including Periodical Overture No. 21—are in  time, and two of the other symphonies are marked “Allegro,” while one is labeled “Presto.” Periodical Overture No. 21 perhaps straddles the line by calling for “Allegro Presto.” Returning to the F major home key, it travels a lively journey through a sonata form, starting with strong, ascending block chords in the upper strings and winds. The second theme (m. 35) features busy rising-and-falling sixteenth notes. The development (m. 44) drops to a hushed piano dynamic and reduced scoring of violins and violas only, sustained for eighteen measures. A subito return to forte and a quick downward scale set the stage for the recapitulation (m. 64) and the reprise of the block chords. Piccinni may also be emulating a little bit of Haydnesque playfulness by tossing in a “false reprise” of the second theme’s busy motif in the “wrong” key of C major at measure 90. It reappears in a clear, forte F major at measure 101, propelling the overture to its final emphatic triple-stop chords in the violins—again a characteristic shared by all four of the Piccinni Periodical Overtures.

Alyson McLamore

[1] David Wyn Jones, “Robert Bremner and The Periodical Overture,” Soundings 7 (1978): 74.

[2] The Public Advertiser, 21 September 1767, p. 1.

[3] The St. James’s Chronicle; or, The British Evening-Post, 8 December—10 December 1767, p. 2

[4] Jenny Burchell, Polite or Commercial Concerts?: Concert Management and Orchestral Repertoire in Edinburgh, Bath, Oxford, Manchester, and Newcastle, 1730–1799, Outstanding Dissertations in Music from British Universities, ed. by John Caldwell (New York: Garland Publishing, 1996), 337, 344.

 

Gaetano Pugnani – The Periodical Overture in 8 Parts XIX

With this, the nineteenth instalment of the Periodical Overtures in 8 Parts, we begin the third set of six overtures published monthly between 1763 and 1783. The next six overtures are dedicated to Italian composers whose music was all the rage in London towards the end of the 1760s. All 61 overtures, actually symphonies, in the complete series are being published monthly by Musikproduktion Höflich. Listen here before heading over to musikproduktion höflich to obtain your copy of the score and parts.

The earliest known advertisement for Periodical Overture No. 19 is dated 20 August 1767, and it contains the standard phrase “This Day is published” that Bremner used when each issue was newly released. He did repeat the identical verbiage in another advertisement two days later, so it is possible that the symphony had made its actual debut a few days before 20 August, with no earlier newspaper issues surviving today to document the fact. Still, it is certain that the work appeared during August 1767, and thus Bremner once again honored his pledge to publish only music that had not yet appeared in the British Isles.  …

Curiously, the version of the symphony published by Bremner differs in numerous respects from its Parisian predecessors (as well as from the subsequent Welcker edition, since that is a duplicate of the Oger/Maillet print). Some of the changes reflect Bremner’s customary practices: he added figured bass to the Basso part, which is not present in either French publication. As was often the case, Bremner eliminated the “Minuetto” movement that appeared in the Oger/Maillet edition; that movement is also absent from Bailleux’s Sinfonia Periodique. Indeed, it seems probable that Bremner used the Bailleux version as his source, since his Basso part matches the many pitch register differences that distinguish the two French parts, as well as the duration of the multi-measure rest in the first movement that starts at measure 43; Bailleux and Bremner give the basses ten measures of rest, while it is only nine bars in Oger/Maillet.

In other ways, however, Bremner differs fairly significantly from both of the French prints. The viola part is divisi in all three movements of Periodical Overture No. 19, whereas the Oger/Maillet version divides the violas solely in the Andante movement (which Bremner labels as “Adagio”). Moreover, the viola parts in that French edition are completely different than the parts in Bremner’s issue. Instead, Bremner’s Viola I melody is derived from the Bailleux print (which contains only a single, undivided part), and Bremner has crafted his own Viola II part, harmonizing it primarily in thirds with Viola I, along with occasional polyphonic interweavings.

An even more surprising change is Bremner’s simplification of the syncopated pulsation that Violin I plays at the opening of the work in both French editions. Instead of off-beat quarter notes (reinforced by Violin II starting in measure 6), Bremner has his violins play steady eighth notes. It is not clear why he made this change; was it intended to make it easier for less-skilled ensembles to perform? A need for simplification does not seem fully warranted, since there had been many other symphonies already published as Periodical Overtures that presented greater rhythmic challenges. The modification seems even stranger in light of the fact that Bremner retains the French off-beat notation during the recapitulation of the opening material (m. 114). The purpose for these alterations remains a mystery, but perhaps it was a justifiable decision, given the subsequent longevity of the work. Although Bremner published only this one symphony by Pugnani in the Periodical Overture series, it remained in the repertory for a long time. Scholar Jenny Burchell has documented at least five performances of Periodical Overture No. 19 at concerts of the Edinburgh Musical Society, starting in 1769 and persisting for twenty years after it was published.[1]

Even with Bremner’s modifications, Pugnani’s ingenuity as a composer remains apparent. Rather than the bold coup d’archet openings of so many Mannheim composers, the start of Pugnani’s “Allegro assai” is a mysterious pianissimo. Only in the second bar, still at pianissimo, do the low strings present the simple rising-and-falling motif that comprises the first “melody” of this sonata form. Finally, in measure 19, a subito forte, reiterated triplets against “drum 8ths,” and the tutti ensemble combine to jolt the listeners. Three homorhythmic chords—played by the full ensemble—mark the end of the bridge (m. 42) and the start of the second theme (m. 43), which again starts quietly. This time, the first violins play little fragmentary motifs above the harmonic “carpeting” provided by the horns and lower strings. The theme ends with a striking series of whole-note chords (m. 62), drawing attention to the end of the exposition and the start of the development, which is filled with measured tremolos (m. 71). Three strong chords (m. 113) again articulate the structure, with the recapitulation beginning in the subsequent bar. This time, however, the low strings start their melody during the first measure of Violin I’s pulsations. Again, three emphatic chords (m. 135) herald the return of the second theme (m. 136), and the delicious whole-note chordal passage recurs in bar 155.

For the slightly melancholy “Adagio,” Pugnani shifts to the relative minor and eliminates the horns. Not only does this movement again open quietly, but it sustains the piano dynamic throughout, and all the string instruments are continuously muted. The movement is structured in three parts, each of which has a very similar rhythmic profile: a melodic line that emphasizes off-beat eighth notes against an on-the-beat accompaniment, often in a steady eighth-note/eighth-rest pattern. The second of the three sections, B, at measure 10, shifts to the mediant key, and a variant of the B material recurs at bar 29. The third section, C (m. 41), restores the movement to its opening C minor tonality, but does not reprise the melodic material heard at the start.

The strong emphasis on the downbeats and the bouncy contour of the melody during the closing “Allegro assai” reflect the gigue’s influence on this finale. The opening key of E-flat major is restored, and Pugnani employs a binary-sonata pattern that James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy call a “Type 2 Sonata”; it can be diagrammed as an || a/I b/V  a/V b/I || structure.[2] A crescendo for the full ensemble (m. 37) points to the arrival of the second theme (m. 45) This melody is presented by the oboes, initially unaccompanied, but then joined by the tutti in bar 49. The first theme reappears in measure 66, and in the process of transitioning back from the dominant to the tonic, the oboes are given another solo feature (m. 84). They return to the spotlight a third time in bar 123, when the second theme is now played in E-flat major. Overall, the finale creates a strong contrast to the distinctive first and second movements, giving the audience a wide variety of musical experiences within a single work.

Alyson McLamore

[1] Jenny Burchell, Polite or Commercial Concerts?: Concert Management and Orchestral Repertoire in Edinburgh, Bath, Oxford, Manchester, and Newcastle, 1730–1799, Outstanding Dissertations in Music from British Universities, ed. by John Caldwell (New York: Garland Publishing, 1996), 312, 319, 337, 344, 347.

[2] James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory: Norms, Types, and Deformations in the Late-Eighteenth-Century Sonata (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 353–4.