Manuel Malandrini - Filippo Maria Gherardeschi: Three Sonatas for Keyboard Dedicated to Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria '2024

Tracks list

Tracklist

01. Sonata No.1 in C Major: I. Andantino Grazioso
02. Sonata No.1 in C Major: II. Allegro Assai
03. Sonata No.2 in E Major: I. Andante Moderato e con espressione
04. Sonata No.2 in E Major: II. Andantino Grazioso
05. Sonata No.2 in B Major: III. Allegro Assai
06. Sonata No.3 in E Minor: I. Allegro spiritoso
07. Sonata No.3 in E Minor: II. Larghetto con espressione
08. Sonata No.3 in E Minor: III. Rondò, Allegretto

In 1809, a journal printed in Paris, the Magazine Encyclopédique ou Journal
de Sciences, des Lettres et des Arts, published an unsigned obituary, mainly
focusing on the death of Filippo Maria Gherardeschi, but opening –
somewhat incongruously – with a notice about the passing away of another
musician, Adamo Marcori. This combination was also ironic, since Gherardeschi
and Marcori, now united by the timing of their deaths, had been rivals during
their lifetimes, quarrelling – even in court – for matters
regarding the participation of musicians to the activity of a Chapel in Pisa.
The obituary of Gherardeschi, however, is worth quoting in full:
“In a short span, the city of Pisa lost two of its most celebrated musical
artists: Mr. Adamo Marcuori, born in Arezzo, the chapel master of the Cathedral,
and Mr. Philippo Gherardesca (sic), the chapel master of the Church of St.
Stephen, formerly the instructor of the Archdukes of Austria children of the
great Leopold. […] Gherardesca surpassed [Marcuori] by a considerable
margin and possessed profound knowledge of harmony, coupled with exquisite
taste. The purity of his style owed much to his teacher, Padre Martini in
Bologna, and his diligent study of the ancient Italian and German musical
composers, especially the works of Sebastian Bach, whom he, like Forkel,
considered the greatest genius ever produced in the field of music knowledge.
When Gherardesca was asked about the great talents of famous keyboardists like
Clementi, Mozart, Steibelt, Dusseck (sic), Cramer, Beethoven, etc., he would
first inquire whether they also played the works of Sebastian and Emanuel Bach
with taste and ease. According to him, true distinction in accomplished talent
could only be achieved through these compositions and those of Haydn and
Martini. He believed that Haydn’s ‘The Creation’ and
‘The Seasons’ were the most perfect works in the old style of
musical art. Mozart’s Requiem, in his view, was comparable to the most
sublime painting by Michelangelo.
Among his own works, a Requiem Mass composed after the death of King Louis I of
Etruria stands out, considered a masterpiece in its genre and deserving of
publication. Gherardesca, in addition to his musical accomplishments, was a
well-educated man with a keen interest in sciences, arts, literature, and
history, especially the history of the Greeks and Romans. He passed away at the
age of 70”.
Recent studies by musician and musicologist Matteo Messori have identified the
unknown writer, Johann Paul Schulthesius (1748-1816), a German Lutheran pastor
and musician, who was well acquainted with Gherardeschi, with his activity, his
output, and even his musical and nonmusical tastes.
The biographical information found in this obituary can be complemented with
other data, found, for instance, in nineteenth-century encyclopedias or
biographical dictionaries.
Gherardeschi was born in Pistoia; after learning the first elements of music
under the guidance of Bosamelli, who was chapel master of his hometown, his
musical education, since the age of sixteen, took place under the aegis and the
tutelage of Padre Martini, as cited in the obituary. Padre Martini, a Franciscan
friar from Bologna, was probably the most cultivated musician of his time. His
library was impressive, but his knowledge was even greater; a man of exquisite
amiability, he was held in the highest esteem by all the leading musicians of
his time (including Mozart, who had been his pupil for a short but meaningful
and cherished period), and his own works bear witness to his musical
intelligence and expertise. Thus, being taught by Martini was doubtlessly an
extraordinary privilege, which allowed budding musicians to flourish and to
master all secrets of the art of sounds.
When Gherardeschi was in his mid-twenties, he was chosen as a Chapel Master in
Volterra, after an experience at the Cathedral church of Livorno; however, as
soon as a similar job was available in his birth city, Pistoia, he was called
back to work there. Just a year after, however, he had to leave Pistoia once
more, leaving the post to his brother Domenico, because he had received an
enticing job offer in Pisa: to be the director of a famous church, the Church of
the Knights of St. Stephen.
There, his talent was allowed to blossom at its fullest, since he had to provide
music for all kinds of events – including Masses, Psalms, etc., both a
cappella or with instrumental accompaniment (which, as a contemporaneous
observer notes, could be played by an entire orchestra or also just by the
organ).
If many coeval commentators agree on the Requiem being Gherardeschi’s
absolute masterpiece, his output for the theatrical stage is also noteworthy
(not least because of his numerous works on
lyrics by the greatest Italian playwright of the era, Carlo Goldoni). One of his
operas, L’amore artigiano (“Love as Craftsman”) was performed
at the Teatro del Giglio in Lucca; other operas authored by him include Il
curioso indiscreto, I visionarii, La Contessina, L’astuzia felice (the
only one which was performed outside Tuscany, i.e. in Venice at the Teatro San
Moisè), and I due Gobbi; according to one early source, the Grand Duke
Leopold I used to have I due Gobbi performed during the winters which the Tuscan
court used to spend in Pisa (1769), at the time when Gherardeschi was master of
the Royal Chapel and music teacher of the Grand Duke’s children.
The same source cites the object of this recording, i.e. the keyboard Sonatas
(there cited as Sonatas “for violin and piano”) which were printed
during Gherardeschi’s lifetime, and dedicated to Maria Theresia of
Austria, the Archduchess.
If the appreciation of nobility was doubtlessly important (both for one’s
career and for their finances), probably what musicians coveted most was the
esteem of their colleagues. And this was expressed in a particularly solemn and
public fashion when one was awarded the title of Accademico Filarmonico of
Bologna, i.e. member of the Philharmonic Academy. As the article affirms, it was
an honour granted to a few, exceptionally gifted and skilled musicians; Mozart
had been awarded it as a teenager (which was an exception among the exceptions)
due to his extraordinary accomplishment, and, probably, also to the good offices
of Padre Martini.
At the Grand Duke’s Court, Gherardeschi was the music director; this
implied also a managerial role, organizing the musical events and concerts
staged privately for his noble patron. Furthermore, the composer was the
keyboard instructor of the princes and princesses – as was briefly
mentioned above – and his ability as a keyboard player was unanimously
acknowledged. The three keyboard sonatas, published in Florence in 1782 (?),
earned him unanimous and universal acclaim.
When Leopold ascended to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, following
his brother Joseph II, Gherardeschi remained in the family’s employment,
occupying the same post under the rule of Ferdinand III. At a later time, he
became chapel master in the royal court of Louis I of Bourbon, “King of
Etruria” – for whose funeral, as will be recalled, Gherardeschi
wrote a touching Requiem. Gherardeschi, incidentally, was particularly
appreciated as a composer of sacred music; a Confitebor written in Pisa in 1773
is particularly notable.
At that time he was already sixty-five, which was a remarkable age for his time;
he would die five years later, in 1808, after having spent some time of
retirement in one of his favourite cities, i.e. Pisa.
The sources cited in these liner notes also let us glimpse the unusual knowledge
of the musical world, which Gherardeschi had doubtlessly learnt from his tutor,
Padre Martini. Gherardeschi’s fondness for the music of Johann Sebastian
Bach was by no means common in Italy at that time, and can be only accounted for
when one considers that Padre Martini was one of the first Italian appreciators
of Bach and of his music. Gherardeschi also knew and appreciated the works by
Handel; Mozart’s Requiem could always be found on his piano, and he was
well-read, especially in Italian and Latin poetry. He reportedly was also a very
kind and generous person, who never hesitated when he was in a position to help
younger musicians.
The Sonatas recorded here are destined – as was customary at the time
– for either harpsichord or fortepiano, and they are forward-looking
inasmuch as they include indications for expression and dynamics: this reveals
that their primary destination was the fortepiano, the “new”
instrument which was conquering composers and players alike.
The most notable feature they display is the abundance of their melodic ideas
and the overflowing gentleness of their tunes. Gherardeschi’s penchant
for opera is in fact evident in the treatment of the musical phrases, which
could easily imagined as excerpted from an operatic score.
Gherardeschi was the father of Alessandro (1777-1852), an architect of genius,
and was in turn interested in “architectonic” issues – at
least in the musical field – since he penned a notable treatise on
counterpoint.
Most of his surviving manuscripts are preserved in the Archive of the Knights of
St. Stephen in Pisa, while others are found in Bologna, and still others are
scattered in numerous Italian libraries and in some important foreign
institutions (e.g. in Berlin, Geneva, and even in America).
This all bears witness to the genius and accomplishment of an important figure
of late-eighteenth-century Italy: a figure fully worth rediscovering,
appreciating, knowing, and whose music deserves to be played and listened to
attentively.

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