Towards the origins of the concertmaster-pianist's profession: the Art of maestro al cembalo

Kalitzky Vitaly Valer'evich PhD in Philosophy Professor of the Department of Instrumental Performance at Russian State Specialized Academy of Arts 121165, Russia, g. Moscow, pr-d Rezervnyi, 12 kalitzky@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

The concertmaster profession is one of the youngest in the world of academic musical performance. Currently, its main coordinates are concentrated in line with the creative work of a pianist with representatives of other musical specialties – vocalists, instrumentalists of various definitions, a choir, and musical theater artists. However, as such, the methodological apparatus of the profession has not yet been formed, strategies for teaching concertmaster skills to a pianist have not been fully defined, and the work of such specialists is extremely low in social terms. Moreover, to date, fundamental research has not been carried out in the field of the history of the formation of this specialty – from the origins to the present. All these factors indicate that concert pianists, who are in demand as specialists in various forms of musical activity, carry out their creative work based on general ideas about the content and structure of their profession. In our opinion, such an unfair situation requires actions to remedy it.

One of the first steps in this regard may be the reconstruction of the formation of the specialty of an accompanist-pianist. Thus, immersion in the study of the period of active activity of the "progenitors" of modern concert pianists - maestro al cembalo – will allow not only to lift the "veil" of the mystery of this forgotten specialty, to present the names of the most prominent representatives of these musicians, to demonstrate the features of their work, but also to show that the results they achieved in the art of collaborative performance can be used by modern pianists in their creative practice.

The heyday of maestro al cembalo's work, which originated during the late Renaissance, falls on the Baroque period in the history of European music and is closely related to the musical and aesthetic attitudes of that time, as well as the existing practice of performance, largely associated with the intensive development and introduction of keyboard instruments into musical practice. The leading line of the latter in the field of joint music making was the art of accompanying basso continuo, which carried all the main features of the homophonic-harmonic style and became, according to M. V. Ivanov-Boretsky, "a great help in understanding the chord structure of music" ^{[1, p. 6]}.

A common phenomenon in secular music making was the schematics of the musical text, which recorded the basis of the melodic line and basso continuo. Due to the task of studying maestro al cembalo's work, in the framework of this article we will not analyze in detail the differences and commonalities of basso continuo with general bass and digital bass. The reader can learn about this from the material of a special study by A. V. Boyarkina "Basso continuo, digital bass or is it still a general bass? On the question of the translation of musical terms ^[2]. Here we will highlight the most important features of basso continuo, which are directly related to the practical activities of maestro al cembalo. These include:

1. Improvisation;

2. Clear rhythmic pulsation;

3. Creating a dynamic balance between parties (votes).

The developed skills of stylistic improvisation in basso continuo are related to its essential content – the fixed basis of the melody and the planned harmonic line implied the need for performers to decipher and "imagine" the composer's ideas by appropriate means. In the opera genre, such a composer's co-author was primarily an improvising singer in solo arias. However, G. V. Blagodarov argues that: "<...> the role of continuo in the works of the 17th century was quite significant <...> Not only the accompaniment of recitatives, but also the accompaniment of arias in operas was often entrusted to a single continuo" ^{[3, p. 18]}. Moreover, the clavierist improvised in recitatives, revealing the drama of the action taking place on the stage with the performing means of his instrument (among them, we will mention the textural diversity, the use of a spectrum of strokes, agonistic variants, dynamic contrasts).

In ensemble genres, the leading role in this process was assigned to the performer on a keyboard instrument, which required not only natural musical abilities, developed melodic, harmonic and textured hearing, but also solid knowledge in the field of music theory. This circumstance, in turn, stimulated the trend towards the formation of the first professional musical institutions, in which the training of musicians was carried out comprehensively, rather than separately during private lessons (however, their systematic discovery was an achievement of a later time).

The increased interest in the art of basso continuo stimulated another process – the formation of an independent direction in ensemble-instrumental music. This is indicated by V. J. Konen: "Since the 17th century <...> in the era of the unconditional domination of secular art, no developed type of professional music could do without instrumental sound. This is as much a characteristic feature of the style of the new era as the leading importance of melody and harmony in it. So, from the very first days of its existence, the opera relied on the orchestral principle. Chamber vocal lyrics are unthinkable outside of piano accompaniment (that is, their second, instrumental plan) <...>" ^{[4, p. 108]}.

The trio sonata genre was important in shaping maestro al cembalo's profession. In most compositions of this genre of the Baroque period, the upper voices recorded melodic lines, and the lower one, which was performed on a keyboard instrument, carried a harmonic and textured load. The main tasks of performing the continuo part included the control of the metrorhythmic pattern and the formation of a unified dynamic balance. Keyboard instruments played an indispensable role in this process. According to I. Matteson, "the clavichord, with its versatility, provides the accompanist with the necessary foundation for church, theater and chamber music. The clavier is a support for the consonantal, majestic, harmonious, full-voiced accompaniment of the main melody and all those who take part in the performance." Realizing the importance of all these functions, K.F.E. Bach rightly notes the following: "The organ, harpsichord, piano and clavichord are the most commonly used keyboard instruments for accompaniment. <...> The organ is indispensable in church music with its fugues, large choirs and the widespread use of fused sounds. <...> However, as soon as church recitatives and arias, especially those in which the middle voices, thanks to simple accompaniment, allow the singing voice to vary freely, a harpsichord is needed, unfortunately, it is too often heard how empty the unaccompanied performance is in this case. This instrument is also indispensable in theater and chamber music to accompany arias and recitatives. The piano and the clavichord best support performance when the greatest subtleties of taste meet. Only some singers prefer accompaniment on the clavichord or harpsichord instead of that instrument [piano. – V. K.]" [cit. according to: 5, pp. 233-234]. The above quote not only testifies to the active inclusion of keyboard instruments in various forms of ensemble music making. It shows that already in the Baroque era, the idea began to form that the future concertmaster profession could not use uniform methods of creative work with musicians of different genres, but should have certain specializations.

So, the indicated intensive development of joint performance in different genres, as well as the inclusion of a range of keyboard instruments in musical practice, contributed to the emergence of a special cohort of musicians capable of performing these compositions at a high level. This is how the maestro al cembalo profession appeared. It should be noted that in the history of performance, they were the first to specialize primarily "in participating in ensemble types of performance, as well as working with soloists and choirs in musical theaters" ^{[6, p. 13]}.

As already mentioned, the musicians-ensembles, which include maestro al cembalo, within the framework of the usual Baroque practice had to improvise freely, be able to build a dynamic balance, maintain rhythmic stability of performance. However, maestro al cembalo had other tasks. So, working with singers in the theater, they mastered the art of playing the clavichord, harpsichord, clavichord, virginal, knew the basics of performing on string and wind instruments (if necessary, replace an absent musician from the ensemble or orchestra), the basics of vocal technique, be able to transpose into any key, work on the diction of pronunciation of the text by vocalists on the main European languages of that time. As the head of the musical group, maestro al cembalo "performed the tasks of artistic management of the staging of a musical performance" ^{[7, p. 68]}. And in this we see the beginnings of the future professions of conductor and director.

There is no doubt about another fact. Maestro al cembalo's activities, combined with the above-mentioned expansive introduction of keyboard instruments into musical practice, led to a gradual displacement from leading positions in the management of ensembles of performers on string instruments.

The turning point in the development of the maestro al cembalo profession was the activity of the famous Florentine Camerata and its production of the first opera, Daphne by J. Peri. Its premiere took place in 1608, but individual scenes from this work were presented in a narrow circle ten years before that. At the same time, J. Peri himself worked with soloists and ensembles on musical material, learning musical material with them at the harpsichord. His work as maestro al cembalo inspired his contemporaries so much that there was a whole queue of people who wanted to learn this art. According to J. Peri, maestro al cembalo had to not only master all the above-mentioned keyboard playing skills, but also sing fully. He writes about this in a letter to one of his patrons, the Duchess of Mantua.: "I am studying with her [my student, V. K.] quite intensively and I hope that she will be successful. She has more than a good voice, loves to study and has excellent hearing, which is very important. The student is very confident in transposing into various keys and begins to comprehend the basics of proper singing: she sings small arias to the accompaniment of keyboard instruments and learns to accompany herself. Considering that she has just started studying music, this result can be called a wonderful achievement" ^[7]. Let us emphasize that this fragment of the letter is one of the first recorded evidence of the formation of not only the maestro al cembalo profession, but also vividly demonstrates the principles that will form the basis of the future Italian concertmaster school.

Famous composers Claudio Monteverdi, Domenico and Alessandro Scarlatti have made a significant contribution to the development of the maestro al cembalo profession. C. Monteverdi, who held the position of director of the Venice Opera House since 1637, ensured that by 1650, from 8 to 13 maestro al cembalo worked on a permanent basis in this collective, as well as in the opera houses of Florence, Milan, Parma and Rome ^[8].

At the end of the 17th century, the Venice Theater lost its position and the Neapolitan opera, dominated by Scarlatti's father and son, entered the vanguard of musical and theatrical life. They were no less sensitive to the need for maestro al cembalo to work at the opera. Conditions were created for them: the theater was equipped with tutors for conducting classes with singers and a choir, they were paid remuneration that allowed them to support their family and not look for additional earnings. However, they found the opportunity to work in parallel in different places, as evidenced by the facts of the biographies of these musicians, presented below. Understanding this situation, the management of the Neapolitan Theater set a prerequisite – any part-time job should not affect the level of opera preparation. These factors certainly improved the quality of the performances, which toured throughout Europe, including Russia's St. Petersburg.

It is known that in a long period of time – from Renaissance to classicism – the successful functioning of musical groups largely depended on funding from influential and wealthy dignitaries. In the case of the development of maestro al cembalo art, the Medici family played a huge role in their promotion, whose representatives were able to support the best representatives of this profession. The archives have preserved some of the names of these maestro al cembalo, as well as information (albeit very modest) about their professional activities. Let's name some of them.

Giovan Battista Strozzi (the elder) (1504-1571) was an Italian poet, composer and maestro al cembalo. In 1539, with the support of the Medici family as a composer and maestro al cembalo, he prepared and staged the musical interlude "An Opportunity" for the comedy by A. Landi. The soloists of the Florence Opera took part in this interlude, and the performance itself was accompanied by a clavichembalo played by the author of the music ^[9].

The biography of Giovanni del Turco (1577-1647) is interesting. Being a nobleman and a hereditary military man, he left the service, devoting himself to music. He studied counterpoint and clavichord playing with Marco de Galliano. From 1587 to 1591, he studied the art of maestro al cembalo with Ya. Peri became the chief maestro al cembalo of the Florentine Camerata for eight years – until the premiere of "Daphne" ^{[10, p. 111]}. It should be noted that a similar position – senior concertmaster of opera and senior concertmaster of ballet – exists to this day in Russian repertory musical theaters.

Antonio Cesti (1623-1669) was an Italian composer, bandmaster, maestro al cembalo, singer, and vocal teacher. Initially, he specialized in writing sacred music. However, under the patronage of the Medici family, he mastered the art of maestro al cembalo perfectly, and from 1652 to 1655 he was simultaneously the artistic director and maestro al cembalo of the musical theater at the court of Prince Ferdinand Karl in Innsbruck. Under his leadership, more than forty operas were prepared and staged ^{[10, p. 112]}.

Carlo Pallavicino (1630-1688) was an Italian composer (author of more than 20 operas and other works), teacher, maestro al cembalo. During two periods, from 1666 to 1673 and in 1687, he served as maestro al cembalo in Dresden. He was one of the first teachers of this art: from 1674 to 1685, he taught it at one of the conservatories (educational institutions for orphaned children) in Venice.

Antonio Sartorio (1630-1680) was an Italian composer, teacher, maestro al cembalo. He was one of the leading composers of Venice opera in its heyday. As maestro al cembalo, he worked from 1665 to 1675 in Hanover for Duke Johann Friedrich. It is interesting to note that for four years after returning from Hanover, he held this position at the Chapel of San Marco in Venice, where, in addition to learning and performing sacred music, he mastered opera parts from the repertoire of the Venetian theater with singers ^[11].

Giovanni Battista Lampugnani (1708-1786) was an Italian composer, maestro al cembalo. From 1779 to 1784, he served in this position at the Milan Imperial Theater, where he prepared the premieres of more than ten operas ^[8]. From 1743 to 1756, as maestro al cembalo and artistic director, he staged a number of operas by G.F. Handel.

Girolamo Abos (1715-1760) was a Maltese-Italian composer and maestro al cembalo, a pupil of F. Durante. In 1756-1758, he served as maestro al cembalo at the Italian Theater in London (later the famous Covent Garden). From 1758 to the end of his life, he taught music composition and art to maestro al cembalo. One of the most famous students of J. Abosa – J. Paisiello.

Pasquale Cafaro (1715-1787) was an Italian composer, maestro al cembalo, and teacher. For a long time, from 1759 to 1781, he taught maestro al cembalo at the Neapolitan Conservatory of the Pietà dei Turcini. He was appointed at the request of Girolamo Abos, who had previously taught there. It is noteworthy that P. Cafaro took up the position of maestro al cembalo of the Royal Chapel by decree of King Ferdinando IV in 1768, where he taught this art to orphans and the highest nobility, including Queen Maria Carolina. In 1782, he became a consultant to the state Royal Theaters. He succeeded J.K. Bach in this position. In 1784, he was simultaneously chief maestro al cembalo and artistic director of the Royal San Carlo Opera House.

Bartolomeo Cherubini (c. 1732-1783) was an Italian composer, teacher, maestro al cembalo. In 1758-1769 he served as maestro al cembalo at the Pergola Theater in Florence ^[9], in 1769-1777 at the Paris Opera. He taught composition and the art of maestro al cembalo to his son Luigi Cherubino.

Ambrogio Minoia (1752-1825) was an Italian composer, maestro al cembalo, and teacher. From 1784 to 1802, he served at the Imperial Theater of Milan as chief maestro al cembalo, succeeding J. Lampugnani ^[8]. He is the founder and first head of the Milan Conservatory, where maestro al cembalo art training was mandatory. The author of the treatise "The Letter on Singing", in one of the chapters of which he outlined the basic principles of maestro al cembalo's creative work.

From the list of maestro al cembalo artists given above, it can be seen that their activities spread not only within the theaters, chapels and conservatories of Italy, but also significantly influenced the formation of the outlines of the future profession of a concert pianist in Germany, Austria, France and England, i.e. those countries in which the process of national formation began in the 19th century. concertmaster schools.

Covering a period whose chronology can be traced with a certain degree of error from 1540 to 1800, or two and a half centuries, maestro al cembalo's art made a significant contribution to the formation of concertmaster art. The decline of maestro al cembalo's activity is associated with the tectonic shifts in musical culture that occurred at the end of the 17th century. One of the main reasons is the rapid development of the piano, its formation as a leading keyboard instrument, which in a fairly short time replaced the harpsichord, clavichord, cembalo and virginal, which were the working instruments of maestro al cembalo. But the trajectory of the profession continued its development. A new era was coming, in which maestro al cembalo's profession was transformed into a choreographer, and then into a concert pianist.

Let's summarize the results. During the Baroque period, ensemble music playing with the participation of basso continuo on various keyboard instruments of that time was actively developed. In addition to his natural abilities, the piano player required knowledge of counterpoint, improvisation, a developed sense of rhythm, and the ability to produce balanced dynamic sound in an ensemble. At the same time, the opera genre was intensively developing, which already at the earliest stages required singers to learn the opera part, understand its dramaturgy, and sing in style. Realizing such a difficult task, theater managers began to invite experienced keyboard players to work with singers. This was the birth of the profession of maestro al cembalo, who in his professional work, in addition to the usual skills of keyboard musicians of that period, had to be able to play strings, wind instruments, sing, know the basics of vocal technique, the peculiarities of the structure of the vocal apparatus, work on diction and expressiveness of singing, and often provide artistic guidance for musical performances.. Note that almost all of this functionality is more or less typical of the work of modern piano concertmasters of opera and ballet theaters, with the possible exception of playing stringed and wind instruments (however, there are exceptions here). In this regard, let us draw the following conclusion: studying the history of the formation of the profession of a concert pianist, opening general access to Russian and foreign music archives, will certainly contribute not only to identifying the "white spots" of this specialty, but will also allow us to use in creative practice those developments that were made by their predecessors hundreds of years ago. In this case, the wisdom sounds very true: everything new is well–forgotten old.