LUDOVICO RONCALLI: Sonata, Ottavo Tuono

(Suite in G-major)

by Craig H. Russell

In recent editions of Soundboard, I offered perform­ing editions of several works by accomplished baroque guit..·1rists such asGiovanniBattistaGranata andFran~is

~ Cocq. Continuing in this series, this issue includes an arrangement for classical guitar of a complete suite by Ludovico Ronculli. The HSonata, Ottavo Tuono" is the fIrst of nine suites found in Roncalli's only known pub­lication, theCapricciArmonici sopra la ChitarraSpagnola (Bergamo, 1692), pp. 1-7.1

Roncalli's suites normally follow the order:

I. Preludio 2. Alcmanda 3. Corrente 4. Gigua 5. Sarabanda 6. Gavotta 7. Minuet

(P,lssacaglii)

(missing in 2 suites) (missing in 2 suites) (missing in 2 suites) (present in 5 suites) (present in 6 suites) (present only in 1 suite)

Observe that the standardized Htextbook" ordering of allemarlde-courantc-sarabande-gigue is not present in any ofRoncalli's suites. Note, for example, thathe has the sarabande following the gigue instead of preceding it, and in no instance does he conclude the suite with a

>gif,'1.lC. He opts instead to draw things to a close with either a gavotte, a minuet, or-in one instance-a

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passacaglia. In truth, this ordering and these character­istics are much more common among Roncalli's fellow baroque guitarists than the supposed "standardized" ordering that freshmen music-majors are forced to carve indelibly into their memories. Other guitarists from the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries such as Robert de Visee, Fran~ois Campion, Henry Grene:-in, and Santiago deMurcia preferred concludingtheirsmtes with a gavotte orminuet. Roncalli is thus hardly anoma­10us. I bring up this pointbecause manyrecording artists repeatedly cut apart suites and repaste them together in the "correct" order as if the composer, in his ignorant confusion, had somehow gotten it all wrong. I urge performers to play the pieces in the order that Roncalli intended-he knew whathe was doing and does notneed any HfIxing"!

Roncalli is imaginative andvaried inhis ornamenta­tion. He liberally sprinkles in expected ornaments such as slurs, vibrato, mordents, and trills. The modem gui­tarist should be reminded that in most cases, baroque trills should be prepared-that is, the upper neighbor to the notated pitch should be struck on the strong part of the beat even though there is no visible indication ofthis upper neighbor on the page itself: the guitarist should then Hpull-off' to the main note and execute the trill's repercussions. When time permits, the performershould

I exit the warblingofthe trill's repercussionsby striking in

Summer 199162

anticipation the same pitch that will follow on the heels of the trill. (For a few notated examples, see the second page ofthe "Preludio.") Ofcourse, schnellertrills thathave only one curt repercussion (omitting the preparatory upper neighbor altogether) are also allowable and appro­priatewhenused judiciously. They sound quite pleasant, for instance, when applied to the trills in measures 7 and 8 of the "Corrente."

Of great interest are Roncalli's cross-string trills in the "Alemanda" where he executes the trill's repercus­sions on two different strings-as opposed to obtaining the two pitches on the same string by hammering-on and pulling-off. Wherever possible, I have tried to preserve this effect by similarly fmgering Roncalli's cross-string trills on two separate strings.

A curious compound ornament is found in the "Corrente" (measure 4 after the double bar). Roncalli notates a lower-note appoggiatura on the third string against a trill on the open second string. Although Roncalli's intentions are anything but clear, I feel an accurate--even elegant-rendition of this ornament is achieved by striking the appoggiatura on string three simultaneously against the open second, and then imme­diately executing a single-repercussion trill by hammer­ing-on and pulling-off on the open second that is already sounding. The resulting ornament resembles a 'turn' in its contour and rhythm, but has the added pungent bite of the initial appoggiatura. (See the musical example at the bottom of page 2 of the "Corrente.")

Other Performance Observations

Roncalli indicates an arpeggiated G-chord at the beginning of the "Preludio" which can be executed in a number ofways. For one sample realization, consult the notated example at the bottom ofpage 1ofthe "Preludio." The"Alemanda" is particularlygraceful ifone applies the lilting elegance of notes inigales to the sixteenth notes; Le., gently"swing"each pairofsixteenthnotes sothatthe fIrst is slightly longer than its companionthat follows. In phrasing the melodic lines of the "Corrente," pay atten­tion to the ambivalent metric changes between &14 and W8time.

I have added a petite reprise indication to the "Gavotta." To perform a petite reprise one takes all writ­tenrepeats and thenplays the very lastphraseonce more (the beginning ofwhich is marked with a special symbol). The petite reprise was a structural feature of French binary-dancemovements, includinggavottes.Evenwhen a petite reprise is not notated, its addition is appropriate: the performer can add a petite reprise to any of the other movements in this suite ifheorshefeels so inclined. Also, I offer an alternate arrangement of the "Gavotta's" fmal phrase that canbe used in the repeatorthe petite reprise.

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Similar types of changes can be applied to the other movements.

Take care to play the "Gavotta" at a brisk tempo. Too many performers lumber along through gavottes when they should instead play with the verve and energy of a gigue-but in duple meter. Also, if the guitarist immediately silences the strings after play­ing the "Gavotta's" fmal chord, the effect is quite stunning, with the abrupt silence following fast on the heels of the sonorous strum. It is a far more effective way to close the suite than to let the fInal chord fade mushily into the sunset.

Editorial Procedure

I should remind the reader that my arrangement of the suite is only that-an arrangement and not a tran­scription. Given the peculiarities ofre-entrant tuning on the baroque guitar and its low-tension gut strings, many ofthe effects that are possible on that instrument are not reproducable on its modern6-stringcousin. For instance, the elegant interplay between strummed chords and pluckednotes that is so enchantingonthe baroqueguitar can sound extremely clumsy on the modern guitar (even in the hands of a superb performer). I have therefore chosen to replace many of the strummed chords with plucked ones, especially in the "Alemanda" and the "Sarabanda." In addition, I have utilized the bass strings of the modern guitar-€ven though they are absent on the baroque guitar. The resulting changes in fmgerings have sometimes necessitated the omission of a trill or mordent in Roncalli's tablature, or conversely, have suggested an additional ornament not found in the original. Myhope in providing this arrangement is not to provide a rigid and historically accurate version of Roncalli's suite, but merely to spark an interest in his music among modern guitarists by providing a playable, idiomatic rendition for the six-string guitar. The serious guitarist is encouraged to consult the original tablature and develop his own arrangement of the piece. Or better still, buy a baroque guitar and play it as Roncalli in­tended!

California Polytechnic State University

1 Roncalli, Capricci Armonici , facsimile edition with an intro. by Michael Macmeeken (Monaco: Editions Chanterelle. 1979). The table ofcontents for the CapricciArmonici has nine headings, but it may actually contain ten suites, given that the order of movements of the suite in "Primo Tuono" suggests a subdivision into two autonomous works. The fIrst suite would have the movements: Preludio, Alemanda, Gigua, Minuet. The second would consist of: Alemanda, Corrente, Sarabanda.

Summer 1991

Sonata, Ottavo Tuono (1692)(Suite in G-major)

Ludovico Roncalli1. Preludio arT. by Craig H. Russell

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