A STUOY OF THE HISTORICAL AND STRUCTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

OF THE RICERCARS FOR SOLO VIOLONCELLO BY G. B. DEGLI

ANTONII

by

@
ANGELA CHIU-WAH YEUNG

A Thesis Submitted to

The Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research

in Partial Fulfillment of the Requi:cements for

the Degree of Master of Arts

Facul.ty of Music
McGill. University
Montreal, Quebec
November 1989
THE RICERCARS FOR SOLO VIOLONCELLO BY G.B. DEGLI ANTONII
 ABSTRACT

The first known printed compositions for unaccompanied

violoncello are the Ricercate sopra il Violoncello (Bologna,
1687) by G. B. degli Antonii (Bologna, 1660 - after 1696).
Gordon Kinney first mentioned the historical importance of
Antonii's Ricercate in his doctoral dissertation in 1962; later
writings on the subject are few and are mostly indebted to
Kinney's discussions
Acknowledging Kinney's contributions, this thesi~ aims to
examine Kinney's conclusions and advance the research on both the
work and the composer through independent investigation. The
life of Antonii and the general background of the Ricercate are
traced through an examination of historical dOcUMents and more
reeent research on related topics. The historical importance of
Antonii's Ricercate is considered not only with regard to the
development of the violoncello as a solo instrument, but also
with respect to the tradition of Italian ricercar compositions.
Finally, an analysis of aIl twelve Ricercate reveals the modal-
tonal ambiguity of this work, and the predominance of motivic
manipulation over harmonie organization in defining their formaI
structure.

r
-
RBSUMlI:

La première oeuvre éditée pour violoncelle seul, connue à

nos jours, est le Ricercate sopra il Violoncello (Bologne 1681)
de G. B. degli Antonii (Bologne 1660 - après 1696). Gordon

,. Kinney souligne le premier l'~portance historique du Ricercate

d'Antonii dans sa thèse de doctorat en 1962. Par la suite, on
retrouve peu d'autres écrits sur le sujet et, la plupart d'entre
eux sont basés sur les alléga~ions du Dr. Kinney.
Tout en reconnaissant l'apport du Dr. Kinney sur le sujet,
cette thèse se propose d'examiner les conclusions du Dr. Kinney
et mener plus loin les recherches sur l'oeuvre d'Antonii et sur
le compositeur lui-même, par une investigation indépendante. Par
l'examen de documents historiques et de récentes études sur des
sujets connexes, not'.s retracerons la vie d' Antonii et l'origine
de son Ricercate. La valeur historique du Ricercate d'Antonii
."
sera considérée non seulement du point de vue du développement du
violoncelle comme instrument de solo, mais aussi par rapport à la
tradition du ricercar italien. Enfin. une analyse de chacun des
douze Ricercate nous démontre l'nmbiguité tonalité-modalité de
cet oeuvre, et la prédominance de la manipulation de motifs sur
de l'organisation harmonique pour la définition des structures
formelles.
 'l'ABLE OF CONTENT S

(
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . • • . • . • • • . • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • v

LIST OF FIGURES . . . . • • . . . • • • . . • • • • • • . . • • • • . • • vii

LIST OF 'l'ABLES ••..••••••••••••••••..••••••• viii

LIST OF EXAMPLES •.•••••••••••••••••.••••.•••• ix

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS •..•••••••••••.•••••.••• xi

INTRODUCTION . . • . . . • . • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 1

CHAPTER I. LIFE AND BACKGROUND . • • • . . . . . • . . . • • 11

CHAPTER II. ANTONII' S RI CERCATE

AND THE HISTORY OF THE VIOLONCELLO . . • . • • • . • • • 21

CHAPTER I n . ANTONII' S RICERCATE

AND THE l'l'ALIAN RICERCAR TRADITION . . . • • • • . . • • 33

Antonii's Ricercate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

CHAPTER IV. ANALYSIS OF ANTONII' S RICERCATE •• 47

Tonal Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Mono-thematic structure:
Group I: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Ricercata III. • • • • . . . . • . • . . . • • 63
Ricercata V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Ricercata Xl • • . . • • . • . • • • • . . • • . 69
Ricercata XII • . • • • . . . • • • • . • . • •7 2

Group II: . . • . . . • . • • • . . • • • • • • • • • .75

Ricercata II . • . . • • • . • . • • . . • • • •76
Ricercata IV . • . . • • . . . • • • • • . • • .7 9
Ricercata VI . . • • • . . • . . • • • . • • • •83
Ricercata VIII . . • • • • . . • • . . • • • •88
Ricercata X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Multi-thematic Structure:
Ricercata I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
A-thematic Structure:
Ricercate VII and IX. • • • . . . • • 99

CONCLUSION . . • . • 103

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY.................. 107

APPENDIX

About the Edition of Antonii's Ricercate .. 115

Modern Edition of Antonii' s Ricercate . . . . . 118
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

1 wish to express my gratitude here to everyone who has

helped me during my thesis preparation. As a first-time author
writing in a language that i5 not my first while livina in a
foreign land, 1 have received more guidance than that directly
related to my thesis research. Too many people to name here have
helped me; to aIl of you, thank you for your time, patience and
encouragement.
There are a few to whom l owe my deepest indebtedness. From
Professor Bo Alphonce, who has done 50 much more for me than
supervise my thesis. and from Professor Mary C)T, my teacher and
adviser for the Concart Diploma in baroque cello. l have received
the warmest support and understanding during my two years of
residence at McGi11 University. Also my special thanks to Dr.
Ira Ashcroft of Wilfrid Laurier University and Ms. Catherine
Freitag for their generosity in explaining sorne foreign sources
to me, and to Ms. Sophie Rivard who has kindly translated my
Abstract into French. The research grant given to me by the
McGi11 Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research for my European
trip in the summer of 1986 is aiso greatIy appreciated.
Three teachers whorn l have much respected sinee my under-
graduate studies at Wilfrid Laurier University are specially
noted here: Dr. Peggie Sampson, my f irst baroque cello teacher

and through whom rny interest in baroque performance praetice was

v
 vi

( first cultivated; Ms. Christina Mahler who has taught me so much

more than playing the cello in the baroque style; and Dr. Anne C.
Hall who, apart from many other things, has been my guide in
unearthing aIl the traps waiting for me in the English Language.
To these three teachers, whose continuing concern and confidence
in me has been my greatest source of motivation, l am dedicating
this thesis.

(
 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page
l Title page of Antonii's Ricercate 2
2 Ricercata l, first page, Original Edition 5
3 Ricercata l, first page, Malusi's Edition 6
4 Ricercata l, first page, Kinney's Edition 7

vii
 LIST OF TABLES

Table Paae
1 Compass of Antonii's Ricercate
··... · 30

2 TuQn1, Accidental ( s ) at the clef, Time signature,

and Total number of measures of Antonii' s Ricercate
·· t.l-2
3 Banchier'':'', L'organo suonarino:
The Eight Tuoni .. . .· · ... ..· ·· t.l-3
{ I,a. Penna, Li l2.im;j. gll20ri mYsicgU,:
The Eight Tuoni .. . .·· · · t.l-t.l-
5 Surnmary of Thematic Recurrences in Ricercata III
· · 6t.l-
6 Summary of Thematic Recurrences in Ricercgta V ..· 67

7 Summary of Thematic Recurrences in Ricercat~ XI 69

8 Summary of Thematic Recurrences in Ricercata XII

· · 72
9 Summary of Thematic Recurrences in Ricercata II
· · 76
10 Surnmary of Thematic Recurrences in Ricercata IV 79

11 Summary of Thematic Recurrences in Ricercata VI

·· 83

12 Surnmary of Thematic Recurrences in Ricercata VIII

· · · 88
13 Surnmary of Thematic Recurrences in F,icercata X . · · 92
11,a. Summary of Thematic Recurrences in Riçerc~ta I 95

viii
-
LIST OF EXAMPl.ES
Example Page

•1
"-. III
lU,Q~;t:Qgt~ ,.9
1.2 RiQercata XI
2 RicerQgta X 50

3 RiQerccrta 1 51

..." t.. R.i.Q!i!;t:QSI,ta. II

Ricercata IX
52

53
5

6.1 R.i.cercata. VI 5,.

6.2 55

7.1 i.i.Q!i!;r;:Ç5i!.tè 1 58
7.2 Ricercata. IX 59

8.1 E,j,Qe;t:Qat g III 63

8.2 6,.
8.3 66

9 RiQercata V 68

10.1 E,iQ!i!rcata. XI 69
10.2 70
10.3 71
',,"
11.1 Ricercata XII 72
11. 2 7,.

12.1 IU,Q~;r;:cSl,:ta. II 77
12.2 78

13.1 R.i.Q§l;:Qàta IV 79
13.2 81
13.3 82

lt. .1 ~rQata. VI 8,.

lt..2 86

15.1 Ricerca:tg VIII 89

15.2 90

ix
(
x

16 Ricercata X 93

17.1 R.i~~;[~a:ta 1 96
17.2 98

18.1 Rj.Q!;[Qa:të VII 100

18.2 RiQ!;[cata IX
19 Ricercata VI l 102

<-
 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Acta MusicolQgiea
Archiy fÜr Musikwissenschaft
Journal of the American Musical
Instrument Society
Journal of the American Musicological
Society
!nr.l Journal of Music Theory
~ Musica Pisciplina
ML Music and Letters
MQ Musical Ouarterly
~ Musical Times

xi
 INTRODUCTION

The first known printed work for unaccompanied violoncello

solo is Ricercate sopra il Violoncello: a set of twelve ricer-
cars published in 1687 by the Bolognese composer Giovanni Battis-
( ta degli Antonii (ca. 1660-after 1696). The only remaining ori-
ginal copy of the edition is filed under "V. 83" in the Civico
Museo Bibliografico-Musicale 1 in Bologna, Italy.
The edition is in the old Italian movable-type notation. It
adheres to Italian notational tradition of the tirne--a tradition
that continued until the middle of the eighteenth century--in
using aIl the then current clefs (bass clef; soprano, alto and
tenor C-clefs; and treble clef) to avoid more than two ledger
lines. Al though the full ti tle suggests harpsichord as the al-
ternative instrument, the contrast of big and small print of the
{
words 'violoncello' and 'clavicembalo' leads one to suspect a
preference for the former over the latter (see Fig. 1). The
Ricercate have also been regarded by modern scholars solely as
part of the repertoire for violoncello. Willi Apel's The History
of Keyboard Music to 1700 (1967, rev. 1972), for instance, makes

1 Formerly known as the Liceo Musicale "G. B. Martini."

1
 l

Fi • 1:. Title a e of Antonii' s Ricercate • _ .

RICERCATE
SOPRA I"L VIOLONCELLO
.
.. ~'.A',rl", .A".
CONllca".
ALLI ALTEZZA. SERENISSIMA Dr

FRANCESC.Q
SECONDQ
n.a di Modooa R~g~io, &c.
DA GIa BATIISTA DE GL'
ANTONII
OrpDifta il St Ciacomo Mas&Îort d~ RR. PP. AsotMiJni di
JWosu, & Accadcmico fduMoAico
.f'" .. f.'"''''

--··--,--________.__ _______
IN aOLOCNA
I~._.
".DC.LXXXVII
,o ______ - -

.: i .
 3

no reference to this 'l1ork,2 nor is it mentioned in the article on

keyboard music in the 1980 eà~tJon of the New Grove Dictionary of
Music and Musicians (N~ Groye). 3 As compositions for violon-
cello, however, the whole set of Ricercate was transcribed into
modern notation by Gordon Kinney in his doctoral dissertation
"The Musical Literature for Unaccompanied Violoncello" in 1962.
Although acknowledging the designation of Antonii's Ricercate for
either violoncello or harpsichord, Kinney discusses them only as
solo works for the former. 4 In 1976, an apparently independent
modern edition of the Ricercate designated specifically for
violoncello solo was published in Italy.5 More importantly, the
article on Antonii in the New Grove also discusses this set of
works solely as pieces for the violoncello. b
The two modern transcriptions of the Ricercate cannot be
considered as Urtext. The modern Italian edition, in particular,
provides not only fingerings, bowings and articulation marks, but

2WilU. Apel, The History of Keyboard Music tG 1700 (1967,

orig. in German). Trans. and rev. by Hans Tischler (Bloomington:
Indiana University Press, 1972).
3 The New Groye DictiQnary of Music and Musician:à, 1980 ed.,
s.v. "Keyboard Music, I: Keyboard music to c. 1750," by Howard
Ferguson, 10: 11-21.
4 Gordon James Kinney, "The Musical Li terature for Unaccom-
panied Violoncello" (Ph.D. dissertation, Florida state Univer-
sity, 1962), in particular "The Ricercate of G. B. Degli Antoni,"
Ch. 3, pp. 193-228.

5G. B. degli Antonii, Dodici Ricercate per Violoncello solo.

Ed. by Lauro Malusi (Padova: Edizioni G. Zanibon, 1976).
"New Grove, s. v. "Degli Antonii, \1 by Neal W. la Monaco, 5:
323.
 also slurs for phrasings, and indications for dynamics and tempo.
In addition, the editor, Lauro Malusi, imposes key signatures on
Ricercate l, II, VII, VIII, and X (one additional fIat); he also
limits the clef changes to co~form with modern practice. While
these may aIl be acceptable editorial adjustmen~s in a perfor-
mance edition, alterations of the notes th6mselves are highly
questionable. A comparison of excerpts from Ricercatg 1 of the
original manuscript and the modern edition proves the latter to
be unreliable (Figs. 2 and 3). The entire measure 37 is trans-
posed an octave higher without any remark from the editor. The
B-naturals at measures 25 to 27 become B-flats because of the im-
posed one-fIat key signature; Malusi has totally ignored the "6*"
figure over the first B-natural found in the manuscript (compare
also measures 7 and 19). The C-naturals in the first two step-
wise sequences beginning in measure 33 are altered to C-sharps,
again without any remark by the editor about the alteration.
Kinney's transcription is faithful to the original to the
extent that the scattered figure-bass symbols found in seven
Ricercate (1, II, VI, VII, 7 VIII, IX, X) are aiso quoted below
the music (Fig. ~). When disagreeing with the original manu-
script, Kinney changeR the note(s) in the music and cites the
original for comparison at th3 bottom of the page. Missing
accidentals are provided above the music within square brackets.
Nevertheless, Kinney's transcription also resembles a perfonnance

7Ricercata VII has a few accidentals indicating the quality

of the third; it does not have any numerical figures.

,
J
 ---~~ -
Fig. 2: Ricercata It first page, Original edit ion

Opcr ~ prim! di Cio: lb uifta dt ,l' Anconij

B1
 l

Fig. 3: Ricercata 1, first page, Malusi's edition

DODICI RICERCATE
1 pu riolo//('I'ilo .\0/0

RICERCATA P
Fdlzloot • (Ufil dl LAURO MALUSI (l B IH:nLI ANTONII
1

ew ew éiIf
(IH\U(?) - 11190;)
Allegro moJcmto (.:; t~o)

w~d~lQ!J 1êft1 Cff) 1rJ[r

"fi
1 1

cruc
 Fig. 4: Ricercata I, first page, Kinney's edition

.'\

R 1': .:/{'.! ... A t

.. ri]
V ; l- J •l ~
_. ~-;i ill"
.- "1' ?' f- !--_o. ~ 1. - . .
-CJ.J ~t- t ~ ,. ; J-L
K - .. frl
rt,. ";1
, 't-
III
.- n~
III "
-j -
"
i
..
-1
1 •
~-....o-~--~-
1 -_::

-
l
edition for the violoncello. Only base, tenor and occaeionally
treble clefs, remain in his edition. Although necessary 50 as to
eonform with modern notational praetiee, Kinney's beaming of the
eighth- and sixteenth-notes whieh are aIl separated in the ori-
ginal refle~ts irnplied articulation. Furthermore, Kinney's
belief that these works are written in pure major-minor tonali-
ties leads hirn to impose many accidentaIs that contradict the
modal character of the musie. B
Kinney has been credited as the first scholar to reeognize
Antonii's Ricereate as the earliest printed work for unaecompa-
nied violoncello. While apparently unknown to many twentieth-
eentury 5eholars,9 Antonii's Ricercate were mentioned briefly by
Francesco Vatielli, albeit without reference to their historical

Bln addition to editing the music, Kinney also translated

Antonii's dedieation of his Ricereate to Francesco II, the Duke
of Modena. In the dedication, Antonii referred to his ricercars
as "amonici Studij" which Kinney translates as "harmonie
studies" (p. 199). ("SERENISSlMA / ALTEZZA / ALla grandezza
dell' animo deI!' A. V. da cui 5010 pono essere portati a qualche
grado que!::ti miei amoniei Studij [emphasis is mine], . . .")
The flowery choiee of words in the dedication (which is typical
of the tirne) , however, suggests that the word apmonici can also
be translated in its figurative sense as "harmonious" rather than
"harmonie."
9To name just a few: Wilhelm Joseph von Wasie!ewski, ~
Violoncello and its History (1888). Trans. by Isabel!a S. E.
Stig and (189~) (Da Capo Press Music Reprint Series. New Preface
by Robert C. Lawes. New York: Da Capo Press, 1968); Edmund S.
J. van der Straeten, History of the Violoncello. the Viol da
Gamba. their Precursors and Collateral Instruments (1915). 2
vol. (Reprint ed. New York: AMS Press Inc., 1976); Curt Sachs,
The History of Musical Instruments (New York: W. W. Norton &
Co., Inc., 19~O); Sibyl Marcuse, A Suryey of Musical In5trument~
(New York: Harper & Row, 1975).
 9

significance. 10 Kinney, on the other hand, devoted a full chap-

ter of his dissertation to these Ricercate. Recent discussions
of Antonii's Ricercate are also indebted to Kinney's research. ll
While the significance of Kinney's discovery is undeniable,
his dissertation begins to be dated. In the twenty-five years
since it was presented, our knowledge of the baroque has expanded
enormously, and source materials from the seventeenth century are
more readily available in facsimile editions and on microfilm.
In the light of more recent research, many "facts" and hypothe~es

from Kinney's disdertation prove to be incorrect.

It is the prirnary goals of the present thesis to examine
Kinney's conclusions, and to further the research on both the
Ricerr~ and their composer through independent investigation.
In the first chapter, the life of Antonii and the general back-
ground of his Ricercate are traced through an examination of
historical documents and more recent research on related topics.
The second chapter focuses on the historical importance of
Antonii's Ricercate in relation to the development of the violon-
cello as a solo instrument; in this discussion reasons are given
for the likelihood that they were composed for violoncello rather

I~rancesco Vatielli, "Primordi dell' arte deI violoncello"

(1913), in his Arte e vita musicale a Bologna (Studi e saggi ser.
III/S. Bologna: Forni Editore, 1927).
I~or example in Elizabeth Cowling, The Cello. 2nd rev. ed.
(New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1983); Dimitry Markevitch,
Cdllo Story. Trans. (from French) by Florence W. Sedar (New
JersRy: Surnmy-Birchard Music, 198~;; also New Grove, s.v.
"Violoncello" by Klaus Marx, 19: 856-62.
 10

than harpsichord. Chapter three further examines the position

of these pieces within the tradition ot Italian ricercar com-
positions. Finally, chapter four provides an analysis ot all
twelve Bicercate. The fusion of modal and tonal character in
these pieces results in a predominance of motivic manipula-
tion over harmonie organization as structural determinant.
A new transcription of Antonii's Bicercate is also provi-
ded, and l have made only those notational changes necessary
to conform to modern practice. Editorial procedures adopted
for the present edition are described in the Appendix. To
facilitate reading, however, all examples quoted in chapter
four are transcribed in bass clef only, unless otherwise
stated. For reasons given in the Appendix, the original
Bicercata XI appears as number XII, and vice versa; through-
out the thesis any references to these ~ieces use the new
numbers.
 CHAPTER l

LIFE AND BACKGROUND

Only scattered pieces of information are available about the

life of G. B. degli Antonii. Among the standard biographical

.. dictionaries, Fétis's Biographie universelle des musiciens (1835-

~~)l and Eitner's Quellen-Lexikon (1900-04)2 make short r6fe-

rence to this late 3e',.penteenth-century Bolognese composer. 3

Vatielli's "Primordi dell'arte deI violoncello" (1913) also

provides one of the first accounts of Antonii's life;4 Malusi's

discussion of Antonii and his op. 1 is based mostly on Vatielli's

1 Francois-Joseph Fétis, Biographie universelle des musiciens

(Brussels, 1835-~4), s.v. "Antoni (Giovanni-Battista Degli)."
Reprint of 1873 Paris impression, 10 vol. (Brussels: Culture et
Civilisation, 1972), Vol. AAR-BOH, p. 120.

2Robert Eitner, Quellen-Lexikon (Leipzig, 1900-04), s.v.

"Antonii (Antonl) Giovanni Battista degl'." Reprint: 10 vol.
with 1 suppl. vol. (Graz: Akademische Druck-U., 1959-60), Bd. 1:
171-72.

3 More recent research has provided verification of sorne of

Fétis's and Eitner's information in addition to adding sorne new
facts. Both Fétis and Eitner, for example, Tecorded that Antonii
wrote an opera Atide which was performed in 1679; recent investi-
gation suggests that this opera was written by Giovanni's brother
Pietro (New Grove, s.v. "Degli Antoni, Pietro" by Neal W. la
Monaco, 5: 323-24).

4 Francesco Vatielli, "Prirnordi dell' arte deI violoncello"

l'
} (1913), p. 133. As is the case with Fétis's and Eitner's entry
on Antonii, not aIl informaticn provided by Vatielli bas been
confirmed by more recent references.

11
 12

information. S In more recent resear('!h such as that in Die Musik

in Geschichte und Gegenwart (~), G. B. degli Antonii is briefly

mentioned in the article "Degli Antonii," in which most of the

content is devoted to his better known brother Pietro. b Kinney,

relying on MGG and Vatielli, provides no additional biographical

information. 7 The article on G. B. degli Antonii in the 1980

edit ion of the New Grove gives no more detail than MillZ, although

he is now given a separate entry and we find quite a different

bibliography. Slightly more than a hundred words long, the ~

Grove article is quoted below in its entirety to serve as a point

for comparison and of departure for further discussion.

De8li Antoni [Antonii], Giovanni Batti5t~ (b Bologna,

1660; d Bologna, after 1696). Italian composer and
organist, brother of PIETRO DEGLI ANTONI. He spent his
life in Bologna; he studied with Giacomo Predieri and
in 168"" became a member of the Accademia Filarmonica.
Later appointed organist of S Giacomo Maggiore, he held
this post until his death. He was highly esteemed as
an organist. He composed only organ and instrumental
chamber music. His Ricercate op. 1 pIayed a major role
in the evolution of music for solo cello. With its
multilinear textures this pedagogical collection can re
regarded as a forerunner of Bach's solo cello suites.

SLauro Malusi, op. cit., historical introduction. Relying

on Vatielli's information, Malusi's discussion cannot be accepted
prtma facie also.

b Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, s. v. "Degl i

Antonii," by Claude Satori. Trans. to German by Amalie Abert,
Bd . l l 1: 97 - 98 .

7 Kinney , Ph.D. diss., p. 193.

8 New Grove, s. v. "Degli Antonii" by Neal W. la Monaco.

 13

The articles by Fétis and Eitner and in ~ contain no dis-

cussion of Antonii's op. 1. The ~ article mentions, however,
that Antonii, like his brother Pietro, played a major role in the
development of the instrumental sonata in the latter part of the
seventaenth century. Antonii's op. 3, a collection of dances, is
noted for i ts "charming and graceful" character. The populari ty
of his op. 3 is demonstrated by the number of su~~iving copies in
different European libraries listed in the Répertoire Internatio-
nal des So~ges Musicales (~).q It also seems to be the only
work by Antonii that has been reprinted in modern facsimile
10
edition.
The primary source Serie cronologica de principi dell '
Accademia di'Fila1IDonici di Bologna by Giovanni Battista Martini
is not cited by any of the ab ove articles. ll Writing in Bologna
in 1776, Martini states that Antonii became a member of the
Accademia in 168~ when his brother Pietro was president of the
Accademia for the second time. Antonii is also described as a
student of Predieri and a well known organist. AlI seven works

9Répertoire International des SOurces Musicales, Ser, Ail

Bd. 2 (1972>, D1336-~5.
lb. B. degli Antonii, Balletti. correnti. gighe e sarabande
ga camera (op. 3, Bologna, 1677 [11687]) (Bibliotheca Musica
Bononiensis: Sezione ~, n. 1~5. Bologna: Forni editore, 1972).
I~. B. Martini, Serie cronologica . . • (Bologna, 1776).
"
.. Ed. by G. Gaspari (Bibliotheca Musica Bononiensis Sezione 3, n .
26. Bologna: Forni editore, 1970). Although not under Antonii,
Martini's book is listed in the bibliography under the article
about his brother Pietro in the New Grove. The two articles,
however, are written by the sarne author.
 ---~I

le.
by Antonii are cited. In short, Martini' s accoun'ts confirrn most
information given by ~ as weIl as the New Groyo.
Neither Fétis nor Eitner provides a date for Antonii. None-
theless, Antonii' s birth year 1660 is mentioned in both MOO and
the New Grove, and also in Apel's The History of Keyboard MuOic
to 1700. 12 Stephen Bonta, in his article "From Violone to Violon-
cello . . . ," gives Antonii's birth year as "circa 1670.,,13 This
information places Antonii's birth ten years later than the other
sources. It also implies that Antonii would have joined the Acca-
demia at the age of fourteen. Though not impossible, it is un-
likely that Antonii would have been admitted at such a young age
without his youth being mentioned. 14 On the other hand, Malusi
sugges ts Antonii' s b irth year as " 16,* 0 ( ? )" wi thout prov iding any
support for his claim. 15
Antonii's teacher Giacomo (Maria) Predieri (1611-95) was
highly esteemed in Bologna. According to the New Groye, Predieri

12Ape1 , op. cit., p. 693.

l~tephen Bonta. "From Violone to Violoncello: A Question
of Strings?" AMIS 3(1977): 89.
l~ntonii's brother Pietro was known for his admission to
the Accademia at the age of eighteen. Vatielli also noted D.
Gabrielli's admission to the Accademia at seventeen (in 1676).
However, Vatielli places D. Garielli's birth year at 1659, eight
years later than what John Suess has recorded in the New Groye
article on D. Gabrielli (Compare Vatielli, "Primordi dell' arte
deI violoncello," p. 136 with New Groye, s.v. "Gabrielli,
Domenico," by John Suess, 7: 67).
l~alusi, historical introduction.
 15

was known as an organist, cornettist and composer. lb As the vice-

maestro di cappella of San Petronio (1650-57) and a founding mem-

ber of the Accademia (1666), Predieri was involved in the two

most important Bolognese centers of musical activity. The "musi-

cians of the Predieri family" continued to be active in Bolognese

musical life until the middle of the eighteenth century.

Although there is no evidence of Antonii's involvement in

the cappella musicale of San Petronio, his acquaintance with it

is to be assumed. The cappella was famous as the center of sa-

cred music in Bologna, and both Antonii's teacher and brother

were recorded as instrumentalists there. It is also known to

have gathered virtuosi of the violoncello--including P. Frances-

chini, 17 D. Gabrielli, and Giovanni Battista Bononcini18 _-many of

whom played a vital role in thE:l development of the violoncello as

a solo instrument during the second half of the seventeenth

century.

Ali sources confirm Antonii' 5 enrollment in the Accademia

FilarmoniCÇ&.19 Sorne valuable info:l."'!nation about this important

l\Jew Grove, S.v. "Predieri" by Anne Schnoebelen, 15: 207.

l'lpranceschini was the first regularly inscribed and sala-

rjed violoncellist at the capella (1675) and among his students
was D. Gabrielli.

Illson of the Italian theorist G. M. Bononcini.

IHowever, the date of Antonii's enrollment in the Accademia

is most varied among aIl sources. Fétis stated that it was around
1650, Eitner placed i t around 1687, and VatieIIi asserted that i t
,( was from 1676 on. Relying on the findings of more recent research
"
- -~ and the New Groye, and also on Martini' s information as
primary, the present thesis holds 168~ for Antonii's admission to
the Accademia. (Al though Kinney s tated the year 16 t", 8, he might

1
 16
Bolognese society has been provided by John Suess. ~o Seventeenth-
century Bologna, in the absence of a secular court, relied on the
Accademia a~ the fi')cl.1!'!o of intellectual activities. Many of those
involved in the cappella were also members of the Accademia. Ac-
cording to Suess, "virtually aIl of the composers that one gene-
rally associates with the rise of the Ernilian [Bolognese and
Modenesel school of instrumental composition were members of the
1 AQcademia. ,,~1 The Accademia also attracted non - Bolognese, incl u-
ding Corelli and Torelli; its esteem ltlaS maintained well into the
eighteenth century, when Mozart and many others were still proud
to be members. The criteria for admission to the Accademia were
strict, as Suess explains:
The aspirant could apply for membershiPê~only after he
had frequented the exercise [esserc1zil for a year,
after he had satisfactorily completed the theoretical
indoctrination required by the president o~ cens ors or
any other composer member, and after he haà produced a
number of proper compositions to be performed at these
meetings. Then the aspirant had to produce an examina-
tion composition, consisting of at least four voices or
l parts, which had to be acceptable to the censors. After
he had overcome these obstacles, his name would be
brought before the membership for admittance, which
required a two-thirds vote in his favor. The procedure
ended with an admission ritual whereby the newly

have simply made a typing mistake (1648 instead of 16B'I) (Kinney,

Ph. D. dis 5 . , p. 193).)
~OJohn G. Suess, "Observations on the Accademia Filarmonica
of Bologna in the Seventeenth Century and the Rise of a Local
Tradition of Instrumental Music," auadriyium 8 (1967): 51-62.
Also see New Groye, s.v. "Bologna" under subtitle "The Academies
and Conservatory" by Elvidio Surian, 3: 5-6.
2lguess, "Observations • . .," 61.
2~ weekly meeting for the composers to discuss theoretical
matters and to perform their new works.
 ·
\ 17

elected member promised to obey the regulati~ns of the

academy and the directives of the president.

Thus, it was the duty of the cens ors , not the president, to
judge the compositions "that are presented by those who desire to
be admitted into the Order of Composers" and to approve "only
those considered to be good. ,,24 Antonii' s admission to the A.çca-
demi a therefore reflected his compositional skills, although it
1 also coincided with his brother's second presidency.
Most sources mention Antonii as an organiste Vatielli notes
that Antonii was also a singer and that he belonged ta the ~

pella of San Maria della Morte from 165~ on. 25 Neither piece of
info~îmation is supported by any other source. On the other hand,
Vatielli's claim that Antonii was not recorded as a cellist has
not been challenged by other references. Therefore, Antonii, not
J. S. Bach, could have been the first non-cellist to compose
works for unaccompanied violoncello. 26

1 Antonii's works are listed more completely in the New Grove

than in~. The op. 6 that was thought to be lost is included
in the New Greve. On the other hand, the New Grove' s l ist. of

2~uess , "Observations .," 57.

2":rbid, 5 8 .
2Vatielli, "Primordi dell'arte deI violoncello," p. 133.
2~hat Bach was the first non-cellist te write solo works
for the instrument is claimed by Klaus Marx in his New Grove
article on "Violoncello" (19: 860). This is repeated by the same
author in the article "Violoncello" in the New Grove Dictionary
of Musical Instruments (198~ ed., 3 vol., 3: 805-1~).
 l

18

different editions is incomplete compared to that of the RlSM.

The ~ list also provides information about where these works

can be found; this allows sorne speculation about Antonii's repu-

tation outside Bologna. The British Museum, for instance, con-

tains a copy of op. 2 (1687 ed.), whereas op. 3 can be found in

two libraries in W. Germany (each in a different printed edi-

tion) . The most notable collection is located at the Bodleian

Library in Oxford, which has opp. 3 (1688 ed.), 5 (Ricerc~ for

violin and violoncello [or harpsichord), and 6 (Balletti). Ac-

cording to Denis Stevens, these works were purchased by the music

school of the Oxford Professorship of Music (founded by Williarr.

Heather in 1626) "among other best music being issued by the

presses at Venice and Bologna, especially the consort music. ,,27

As consort music was favoured, the omission of op. 1 as weIl as

opp. 2 and 7 (bath versetti for organ) is understandable. On the

other hand, a~ noted by both Fétis and Eitner, Antonii's organ

versetti had already been noted as early as in J. Krieger's pre-

face to his Sechs musicalische Partien (Nuremberg, 1697). Eitner

also mentions that a certain Professor Frz. Commer purchased a

copy of Antonii's op. 2 in 1868.

Stevens's listing of the Bodleian Library collection is most

2benis SteVenf5, "Seventeenth Cent.ury Instrumental Music in

the Bodleian Library," ]l'OM 26 ( 1967): 68. It might be owing to
the lack of informa~ion about this collection that Sartori con-
cludes that op. 6 had been lost, as he states both in his BibliQ-
gr?afia della musica strumentale Ita11ana--stampata in Italia finQ
al 1700 (Biblioteca di Bibliografia Italiana 23. Firenze: Leo
S. Olschki-Editore, 1952) and in the ~ article. According to
ElSM, the Bodleian Library has the only copy of op. 6.
 19
interesting in that only two works by Antonii's brother Pietro
are listed, as opposed to four works by Giovanni. However, in
many ways overshadowed by his brother Pietro, Giovanni has been
less valued by modern scholars. Twelve years older, Pietro was
known as both a "gifted" composer and a cornett player. Along
with trombone and organ, cornett supported choral music in Italy
until the end of the seventeenth century; Pietro was said to have
performed on the cornett in many European cities and courts. As
a composer, Pietro influenced not only contemporary composers
including Corelli, but later Bach and Handel.~ His high esteem
in the Bolognese circles can also be inferred from his being
president of the Accademia si~ times.
Some additional information about G. B. degli Antonii as a
composer is found in Apel's discussion of Antonii's versetti.
Apel cites an excerpt from Antonii's op. 7 and mentions his claim
of inventing the thor0ugh-bass figures "not only for the bass but
occasionally for the upper part as weIl. ,,29 Finally, the differ-
ent Bolognese firms that published Antonii's works reflect his
reputation as a composer. AlI seven works were published between
1687 and 1696; presumably, aIl were printed during Antonii's
lifetime. Most of Antonii's works, including op. 1, were printed
by Micheletti. According to Vatielli, Micheletti was not a pro·

2~, s. V • "Degl i Antonii;" Kinney further commented that

both Giovanni's and Pietro's works were known to Bach and Handel
(Kinney, Ph.D. diss., p. 193).
2~pel, op. cit., pp. 693-9~. Antonii's claim has not been
corroborated by other references.
- 20

lific publisher, and his publications carry dates only from 1683
through 1690. 30 Opp. 2 and 3, on the other hand, were published
by Monti and Silvani, the two most ~portant publishers in
Bologna during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.

3'Francesco Vatielli, "Editori musicali dei 5ec01i XVII e

XVIII" in Arte e vita musicale a Bologna (1927), p. 25"".
 CHAPTER l l

ANTONII'S RICERCATE
AND THE HISTORY OF THE VIOLONCELLO

The te~ violoncello was not used to identify specifically

l the bass instrument of the violin family until the later part of
the seventeenth century. Elizabeth Cowling states that "The de-
cade of the 16805 is a turning point in the narne rvioloncello]
for the instrument [bass violin], because it appears at least
seventeen times somewhere in the scores liated by Sartori [in his
Bibliografia, 1952], once as 'violoncino' but in aIl the rest as
'violoncello' . ,,1 Bonta further suggests that the term "violon-
cello" might denote not only the smaller body size, but also the
thinner two lower strings (C and G):
. . . the bass violin, probably from about 1610 on, was
made in two sizes. The larger, apparently the more com-
mon and most of~en called violone, sacrificed ease of
playing in favor of bass sonority. The smaller, often
called violoncinQ, reversed the priorities. With the
advent of wirewound strings [for the lower strings C
and GJ, however, it became possible to satisfy both re-
quirements on the smaller instrument, which soon becarne
the only forro of the bass violin, and henceforth was

ICowling, p. 59. The term yioloncino can be found as early

as in G. B. Fontana's Sonata a 1. 2. 3 per Violino 0 Cornetto.
Fagotto. ChitarrQne, Violoncino e stmile altro instrumenti
(Brescia, 16,* 1) .
21
 22

commonly called yioloncello.'

The existence of two different sizes of violoncello (bass

violin) is evident in many violoncellos extant from the seven-
teenth century. It is also recorded as late as Quantz's Versuch
einer Anweisung die Flote traversière zu spielen (Berlin, 1752),
which confirms, besides the body size, the thicker and thinner
strings used for the larger and smaller violoncellos:
Those who not only accompany on the violoncello, but
also play solos on it, would do weIl to have two spe-
cial instruments, one for solos, the other for ripieno
parts in large ensembles. The latter must be larger,
and must be equipped with thicker strings than the
former. If a small instrument with thin strings were
employed for both types of parts, the accompanimenf in
a larger ensemble would have no effect whatsoever.

Seventeenth-century (and early eighteenth-century) Italy

associated the term 'violone' with the bass violin rather than
with the 'over-sized', octave-transposing bass viol as we do
today. By looking at the innumerable fast passaees assigned to
$'

2 Stephen Bonta, "Compromises in the Design of the Bass

Violin, 1530-1700," unpublished typescript copy (1985), p. 2. In
another article, Bonta mentions W. von Wasielewski who in 1888
already noted that "The etyrno.Logy of the term violoncellQ alone
suggests its connection with the violone as weIl as the size re-
lationship between the two" (Bonta, "From Violone to Violoncello
• • • ;" 81.\.). Similarly, E. van der S:-.raeten obser.led in 1915
that "Both the endings 'ello' (in violoncello] and' ino' [in
violoncinol are diminutive. signifying that the instrument i5 a
'small violone' or bass Il (Straeten 1 v. 1. p. 130).
3Johann Joach~ Quantz, [On Playing the Flute]. Enelish
translation, 2nd ed. with introduction and notes by Edward R.
Reilly (New York: Schirmer Books, 1985), p. 2~1.
 23
this 'violone' by different Italian composers,4 we can assume
that the instrument could not be the extra-large bass viol.
Indeed, according to Bonta, the first edition of Banchieri's
L'organo suonarino (Venice, 1605) was already among the last
known Italia~ t.reatises to associate the term 'violone' with the
viol family. In subsequent editions of L'organo suonarino
(Venice, 1611, 1638), 'viola bassa' was used instead of 'violone'
l to refer to the bass member of the viol family.5 Although viol
playing in Italy was still being praised by the Englishman Coryat
in his travelling accounts in 1611,6 already by the middle of the
century, both French violist Maugars and the Englishman Thomas
Hill recorded that viols were rarely played in Italy.7
Cowling' s "decade of the 1680s" is further reduced by Bonta
in another of his articles, where he observes that "even though
the term violoncello can be identified with Bologna as early as
1665, and with San Petronio as early as 167~, it is not until
1
4For example, the violone parts found in aIl sonatas of
Corelli (opp. 1 to 5, dated from 1681-1700).
513onta, "From Violone to Violoncello . . . ," 73-7~.
~Thomas Coryat, Coryat's Crudities (London, 1611). Excerpts
of this are translated in Readings in the History of Music in
E§r.formance, selected, trans. and annotated by Carol MacClintock
(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1979), pp. 11~-16.
7 For Maugars, see André Maugars, Response faite à un curieus
~le sentiment de la musique d'Italie (Paris, 16~O) which has
also been translated in Readings, pp. 116-26. Hill's letter is
{. recorded in Alfred E. Hill and W. Henry Hill, AntoniQ Stradivarij
hl..:L life and wOl;"k (1902). Reprint. New introduction by Sydney
Beck and new suppl. indexes by Rombert Wurlitzer (New York:
Dover Pub., 1963>, pp. 110-11 footnote.
 1687 that the term began to be widely used by those publishini in

BOlogna."a Significantly, 1687 was the year that Antonii publish-

ed his Ricercate for unaccompanied violoncello. In addition to
the fact that the smaller print on the title page suggests the
harpsichord only as an alternative instrument for these pieces,
the new popularity of the violoncello makes it likely that the
work was written with this instrument in mind. Nevertheless, it
should be noted here that the choice of different basso continuo
instruments, such as "violone 0 spinetta" or "violone 0 theorbo,"
stated on the title page of a printed edition--especially of trio
sonatas--is common at the time. The basso continuo parts for both
sets of Corelli's sonate da camera (opp. 2 and ~) and also the
op. 5 violin sonatas, for example, are written for either violone
or harpsichord. 9 AlI other instrumental works by Antonii also
assign the continuo part to either violoncello or harpsichord. IO
That Antonii's Ricercate were written specifically for the
violoncello i5 most strongly suggested by their dedication to
Francesco II, the duke of Modena. Only twenty-five ~1les away
from Bologna, Modena had an established tradition of string play-

a Stephen Bonta, "Terminology for the Bass Violin in

Seventeenth-ce!ltury Italy," l.\M.lS t..(1978): 28.
9Corelli, Sonate da Camera a tre. dui Violini. e Violone. 0
Cembalo, op. 2 (Rome and Modena, 1685), op. t.. (Rome and Bologna,
169t..); Sonate a Violino e Violone 0 Cembalo op. 5 (Rome, London
". and Amsterdam, 1700).
l~tonii's opp. 3, t.. and 6 are sets of dances for violin
and violoncello or harpsichord. Op. 5 is a set of Ricercate for
the same instrument combination.
 25
ing from the tirne Uccellini was there (16/,&,1-/,&,5). Many composers
and performers were attracted to Modena during the second half of
the seventeenth century for its high lavel of performance, among
them espacially the Bolognese. The patronage of Francesco II also
encouraged musical activities in the court of Modena:
During the two decades of Francesco II d'Este's reign
(167~-9/'&') music at the court reached its most splendid
phase. The young duke stimulated many musical perfor-
mances, mostly oratorios and sacred and instrumental
music; . . .He also made efforts to establish è good
library and university there and played a part in the
founding (c.1683) of the Accademia de Dissonati. . . " ll

Although no source confirms what the duke's favorite instru-

ments weret the violoncello (bass violin) was obviously one of
them. He could even have been a cellist himself. AlI the ear-
liest known unaccompanied works for violoncelle were associated
with him. 12 The connections were frequently separately mention-
ed, but no scholar seems to have noted their possible combined
significance. From 167/,&,-92, both Colombi and G. B. Vitali were
l
appointed as vicemaestri di cappella. The duke was known to have
taken lessons from them; they, in turn, had composed sorne minor

1New Groye, s.v. "Modena" by Elvidio Surian, 12: 450.

l~part from Antonii's ricercars, there are the seven ricer-
cars by D. Gabrielli (1689) found in manuscripts in the Estense
Library of Modena. Also in 1691, D. Galli presented to the duke
an exquisitely carved violoncello (so beautifully carved that it
cannot be played) along with a set of unaccompanied violoncello
sonatas titled Trattenimento musicale.
 26

pieces for "violone" and "basso" solo.13 D. Gabrielli, the

Bolognese "Dominic of the violoncello," was highly esteemed by
the duke. Regularly invited by Francesco II to play in his
court, D. Gabrielli was employed us a chamber player to the duke
during his year of absence from San Petronio in 1688 - 8 9 . 14 There
is also a story abe.,ut the duke sending his personal physician to
,
i
Bologna for the dying D. Gabrielli in 1690. 15
Francesco II'5 interest in the violoncello is most clearly
reflected in his commission of a violoncello from Stradivari for
bis use. Dimitry Markevitch records the story:
On April 5, 1686, Stradivari himself delivered the
cello and received from the prince [Francesco II] not
only high praise but ~lso a bonus of thirty gold
pistoles on top of the agreed price. 16

That Stadivari's violoncello was sold to Francesco II the year

before Antonii's Ricercate were composed hints at a connection
between th~se two evants. Before examining this connection more
closely J however, the type of violoncello required by Antonii' s
Ricerca~e needs further classification.

Itowling, pp. 78-79. Without enough evidence indicating

what kind of instrument these pieces have assigned, it is ques-
tionable whether these never published pieces have anticipated
Antonii 1 s Ricercate ta he among the first solo pieces written for
the basa violine
l\iilliarr, Klenz, Gioyanni Maria Bononcini of MQdena (Durham,
N. Carolin~: Duke University Press, 1962), p. 26; also Vatielli,
.- "Primordi dell' arte del violoncello, " p. 136 .
lVatielli l "Pr1roordi dell' arte deI violoncello," p. 136.
l'Markevitch, p. 112.
 27

Bonta's extensive research on the terminology of the violon-

cello and his admirable effort to classify different sizes of
bass violin are, unfortunately, confined to the normal four-
stringed type with modern conventional tuning (C-G-D-A). It is
weIl known, however, that violoncellos with more than four
strings and with different tunings were used during the seven-
teenth century particularly in ~taly, but also in France and
Gerrnany.17 Under the subheading "Type of violoncello required,"
Kinney ccncludes that Antonii's Ricercate are written for a six-
stringed violoncello:
Analysis of the fingering pat~erns called for in Degli
Antoni' s ricercate reveals that these compositions were
designed to be played on a six-stringed violoncello
tuned the sarne as the contemporary viol, with the
alternative tunings of C aù~ D for the lowest string
recommended by Simpson. . .

The existence of the six-stringed violoncello is obscure.

No instrument of this kind is extant, and few early seventeenth-
century writers mention its existence. None of these writers--
among them Brossard (Dictionaire de musiaue, Paris, 1703),
Mattheson (Pas Neu-Eroffnete Orchestre, Hamburg, 1713) and

I The compass of Galli's sonatas extends to a low B-flat,

thus conf1rrning that the older Italian tuning of the bass violin
(Bb-F-C-G) was ~till in use. Both Antonii's and D. Gabrielli's
works, on the other hand, are written for the higher tuning (the
lowest note does not go below C2 ). Cowling also mentions a set
of violoncello sonatas by a certain Jacob Klein Le Jeune (~
Sonates à une Basse de Violon & Basse Continue, Op. 1, Bk. III,
n.d.) found jn the Musikbibliothek der Grafen von Schënborn,
Wiesentheid, Gerrnany, in which the violoncello is tuned D-A-E-B
for Nos. 13-18 (Cowling, p. 84).
l~inney, Ph.P. diss., p. 196.
 28

Walther (Musikalisches Lexikon, Leipzig, 1732)--provides any

detail or exact tuning; they mention the six-stringed violoncello
only when they also mention the five-stringed type. Wilhelm von
Wasielewski, after quoting from Mattheson, gives a description
and the tuning of the five-stringed violoncello only. 19 Both
Cowling and Markevitch COnuTlent on the six-stringed type; their
.,. descriptionf3 are obviously indebted to that of Kinney. 20 It was
Sibyl Marcuse '\oTho first expressed suspicion of the confusion of a
viola da gamba with the violoncello. 21 There are known instances
where gambas were converted into violoncellos. Wasielewski, for
instance, recalls a German viol in and gamba maker Jacob Stainer
(1621-83), who was known to have converted gambas into violon-
cell05. 22 Unlike Italy where viol playing declined by the middle
of the seventeenth century in favour of the bass violin, in other
countries such as France, Germany and England the gamba continued
to be employed in solo and continuo playing weIl into the eigh-
teenth century despite the growing dominance of the violoncello.
Thus a confusion of a violoncello with a gamba by the early
seventeenth century writers, none of whom was Italian, is not
unlikely. Marcuse states that Mattheson's comment about five-
and six-stringed violoncellos was copied "verbatim or quasiver-

IWasielewski, p. ~6 .
2~owling, p. 77; Markevitch, p. 19.

2Marcuse, p. 53~.
2Pwasielewski, p. 39.

J
-------------------------------------

29

batim by Mayer, Walther, Eisel, Zehler. ,,23 Yet, despite Marcuse' s

claim, none except Walther refers to a s~-stringed violoncello.
Incidentally, Walther based his comments not only on Mattheson
but aiso on Brossard.
Kinney's argument that a six-stringed violoncello was used
for Antonii's Ricercate is not convincing. He quotes several
pa~sages--ail from Ricercata I--and comments that they are "typ-
ical of many found in aIl twelve of these compositions" and that
"the way in which these changes [of clefs] frequently coincide
with change~ of string or of position suggests the possibility
that this notat~0nal feature may cften have been used to warn the
executant of such changes. ,,24 However, seemingly arbitrary clef
changes can also be observed wi thin Ricercata l, su ch as in the
middle of the imitation at measures 3 and~. Furthermore, both
Ricercate V and XII remain in bass clef for the entire piece.
Most importantly, since Antonii's Ricercate have survived only in
.".
·t
j

...
t
print, to what extent the change of clef was editorial remains an
open qllô~tion.

While none of the Ricercate goes below C2 , two of them--

Ricercate V and XlI--do not extend ab ove E4 (Table 1). These two,
and aiso Ricercata II, which goes as far up as G4 , can be played
on a conventional four-stringed violoncello tuned C-G-D-A without

2~arcuse, p. 538.

2~inney, Ph.D. diss., pp. 197-98. Passages cited by Kinney

from Ricercata r are the following: measures 13-19, 37-39, 59-
62, and 77-86.
 1

......
30

exceeding the fourth position, which, according to modern 8chol-

ars, was the limit of fingering positions until the beginning of

the eighteenth century.

Cornpass of Antonii's Ricercate

Ricercata Range

l Ci! A4
II
III
Ci!
C2 - ~4
4
IV Ci! A4
V Ci! E4
VI Ee A4
VII Ci! B4
VIII De Cs
IX
X
Ce
Di! - ~s4
XI De B4
XII Ce E4

The rest of the Ricercate, of which the highest notes exceed

G4 , can be played on a five-stringed violoncello, a species whose

"
existence is weIl known and confirmed. 25 As compared to the pos-

sible varied tuning for a foux-stringed violoncello, the most

cornrnon of which was C-G-D-~, the top two strings of a five-

stringed violoncello can have rnany different tunings; among the

2~esides Brossard, Mattheson and Walther, other writers who

mention the five-stringed violoncello include Quantz (1752), L.
Mozart (Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule . . . , Augsburg,
1756) and most recent scholars on violoncello and on musical in-
.- struments in general. With the introduction of thumb and higher
positions, the French cellist Martin Berteau is credited with the
final abolition of the fifth string of the violoncello around
1725 (Straeten, p. 124; Kinney, Ph. D. diss., p. B2 j Bonta, "From
Violone to Violoncello . . .," 82).
 31

known ones are: C-G-D-A-Il, C-G-D-~-Q., and C-G-D-A-E.. 26 The

first two tunings have been accepted by most modern scholars as

normal, but the last one has been noted only rarely apart from

its use in the sixth unaccompanied violoncello suite by Bach.

Sorne of Antonii's Ricercate, however, seem to support the tuning

of the fifth string to an E4. With the E-string, the note A4'

the highest note called for in Ricercate l, IV and VI, can be

1
played by the little finger in the first position. Similarly,

the Bb 4 of Ricercate III and K, and the B4 of Ricercate VII and

XI can be played within the second position. Nevertheless, the

Cs that can be found in both Ricercate VIII and IX seems to in-

dica~e that the tuning of the fifth string to D4 would be more

appropriate, since then the Ilote will be played by the little

finger in the fourth position. The tuning of the fifth string to

D4 will aiso allow the entire Ricercata II to be pIayed within

the first position. In short, a five-stringed violoncello is

suitable to aIl Ricercate, perhaps with the exception of Ricer-

~ V and XII which can be played on a four-stringed violoncello

within the first two positions.

Finally, returning to the possible relation between

Antonii's Ricercate and Francesco II's commission of a violon-

2~esides the weIl known fifth unaccornpanied violoncello

suite by Bach, Kinney also refers to aIl seven ricercars of D.
Gabrielli as usingC-C,·D·~tuning (Kinney, Ph.D. diss., p. 233).
However, the highest notes for the Iast two ricercars of D.
Gabrielli are A4 and G4 respectivelY. With the double-stops also
found in these two ricercars, l consider the intended violoncello
for D. Gabrielli's seven ricercars should be of five strings
tuned C-G-D-~-D.
 ~~ -~--~--~--------'l

32

celle from Stradivari the year before Antonii's dedication, there

is unfortunately no evidence to show whether Stradivari:s violon-
celle had four strings or five. We know, however, that he made
both types towards the end of the seventeenth centu~y. Marcuse
notes that "The great majority of Stradivari' s celli were of
larger size, sorne originally had five strings. ,,27 A f ive-

stringed violoncelle of Stradivari, dated 168~, is also recorded

by Hill and Hill:
168~ is the first authentic date known to us [Hill and
Hill]: it is that of the instrument [violoncello] in
the possession of the well known player Leo Stern. It
was brought to England at the beginning of the late
[eighteenthl century by General Kyd, who entrusted it
to the hands of Dodd, one of the best rnakers of that
period, in order to have the size slightly reduced.
the presence of holes in the head for a fifth peg
clearly indicates the interesting fa~t that it was
originally strung with five strings.

Thus, while in no way a proven fact, it is possible that the

violoncello Stradivari made for Francesco II had five strings and
that Antonii's Ricercate were composed for this instrument.

2Marcuse, p. 535.
2~lfred Hill and Henry Hill, pp. 115-16.
 CHAPTER III
ANTONII'g RICERCATE
AND THE ITALIAN RICERCAR TRADITION

"The ricercar had no forro! ,,1

Richard Tappa's comment, although restricted to his study of

keyboard ricercars from 1520 to 1720, carries sorne degree of

validity. Although much research has been done,2 ricercar as a

distinct compositional type has not been satisfactorily classi-

fied. Like fugue, ricercar is not so much a musical form as a

compositional technique or procedure. Warren Kirkendale, who

1 Richard Joseph Tappa, "An Analytical Study of the Use of

Imitative Deviees in the Keyboard Ricercars from 1520-1720"
(Ph.D. dissertation, Indiana University, 1965), p. 199.

l 2 At least eight Ph.D dissertations have focused on ricercars

and the related genres: G. Sutherland, "Stuè" es in the Develop-
ment of the Keyboard and Ensemble Ricercare trom Willaert to
Frescobaldi" (Harvard University, 1942); R. Murp~y, "Fantasia and
Ricercare in the Sixteenth Century" (Yale Ulliversity, 1954); J.
Monroe, "Italian Keyboard music in the Interim between Fresco-
baldi and Pasquini" (University of N. Carolina, 1956); C. Slim,
"The Keyboard Ricercar and Fantasia in Italy c.1500-50 with
reference to parallel forms in European lute music of the sarne
period" (Harvard University, 1960); R. Douglass, "The Keyboard
Ricercars in the Baroque Era" (N. Texas State Univers i ty, 1963);
R. Tappa (1965); M. Swenson, "A Study of the Ensemble Ricercare
in the Baroque Era" (Indiana University, 1970); J. Meadors, Jr.,
"Italian Lute Fantasias and R.icercars Printed in the Second Half
of the S5xteenth Century" (Harvard University, 198'*).
Also there are articles devoted to the ricercar, such as
Hans Eggebrecht, "Der Terminus Ricercar," AfMw 9/2(1952): 137-'*7;
articles on "ricercar" in MQg and the New Grove.

33
 --------------------,

3".

explains ricercars in terms of the literaI thinking of the time,

also reminds us that the meaning of the word "ricercar" never

confines itself exclusively to a musical denotation, but always

retains its literaI Italian sense "to seek, to search for. ,,3

There~ore, the composers of ricercars might have been concerned

with the basic meaning of the word--IIto seek" rnusically for a

motive or an imitative plan, or practically for technical im-

provernent, or for a cornbination of these--rather than confining

ricercars to one musical scheme or s~ructure. Especially in

Italy where ricercar composition appeared most prominently from

the beginning of the sixteenth century to the end of the baroque

period, the noun form of the word 'ricercar' (or 'recercar',

plural 'ricercari,)4 was used interchangeably with its verb

'ricercare' (or 'recercare,)5 or past participle 'ricercata' (or

'recercata', plural 'recercate,)b and also its Spanish forms

.,
.'
3 Warren Kirkendale, "Ciceronidns versus Aristotelians on the
ricercar as Exc{di um, from Bembo to Bach," JAMS 32 ( 1979 ): 11.
This has been confirmed by a comparison of his explanation with
the definition of "ricercare" offered in The Cambridge Italian
Dictionary (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 19G2).

4 As in Ganassi's Regola &ubertina (Venice, 15~2-~3), or

Fontana's Ricercqri per organo (Rome, 1677). 'Recercar' is found
in aIl prints of Frescobaldi's keyboard collections (Rome, 1615;
Venice, 1626; Venice, 1635).

SAs in V. Galilei's Eronimo dialogo (Venice, 158~), or in

.,.. Diruta's Il Transilvano, Book Ii (Venice, 1609-10) .

bAs in Bassano's ~ç4te, passaggi et cadentie (Venica,

1585), or in Fasolo's Anlwale ogapisticQ (Venice, 16~5). Antonii
also employs 'ricercata' for his opp. 1 & 5.
 35

'recercada' or 'recerchare' (plural 'recerchari' ).7

Apel seems to be the f irst mur..~cologist to suggest 'study'

as an English equivalent of 'ricerear, ,8 thus recognizing the

overall praetieal funetion of aIl compositions bearing the same

titie. As a refinement of the usual, overly generalized, group-

ing of the ricercars of the Italian renaissance and baroque into

imitativè (polyphonie) and non-imitative (homophonie), a division

{
into four categories of studies is suggested here: preludes,

pieees to display sorne form of contrapuntal learnedness, demon-

stration pieces in the instruction manuals, and lastly, those

pieees where the word 'ricercari as part of their complete title

implies the didactic meaning of the terme While there is sorne

degree of overlap among these categories, in order to place

precisely Antonii's Ricercate in the history of Italian ricercar

composition, a brief understanding of each separate category is

essential.

The preludiai rieercars are pieees for warming up fingers,

for testing the tuning of the instrument, and also for setting

the mode for the piece which follows, vocal or instrumental.

Improvisational in nature, few ricercars of this kind were

written out. Sorne lute pieces by Spinacino which were published

in Petrucci's Intabolatura de Lauto (Venice, 1507), and a set of

7Such as M. A. Cavazzoni's Recerchari motti Canzoni (Venice,

1523), in which 'recercare' is used as title of the individual
;,(, pleces; also in Ortiz's Tratado de glosas (Rome, 1553).

8Wl.'lll.' Ape,
l "Th e Ear l y Deve l opment 0 f t h e 0 rgan R'l.cerear, ,,
MQ 3(19~9): l~O-~l.
 36

organ works by M. A. Cavazzoni (Venice, 1523), the earliest known

compositions using 'ricercar' as title, are among the few that

survive in print. Nonetheless, written accounts show that the

preludial practice of the ricercar was common and continued weIl

into the eighteenth century. Among these accounts, Brossard's

Dictionaire de musique (Pa~is, 1703) provides one of the more

,
,~
neteworthy examples:

RICERCATA. Search; a kind of prelude or fantasy played

on the organ, harpsichord, theorbo, etc., in which it
5eems that the composer is searching out the details
[les traits, lines] ~f the harmony which he plans te
use in the measured pjeces to be played next. This i5
usually do ne on the spot and witheu} preparation;
consequently it demands much skill.

Another type of ricercar was written for k6yboard and

instrumental ensembles. Owing to the nature of the medium which

allows performance of multiple voices at the sarne ti~e, the

keyboard and ensemble ricercars most often displayed extensive

contrapuntal treatment and imitative technique. After Fresco-

baldi, however, the growing basso continuo practice and the

\1 "RICERCATA. veut dire, RECHERCHE. C'est un espèce de

Prélude ou de fantaisie qu'on joue sur l'Orgue, le clavecin, le
Théorbe [etc]. où il semble que le Composit~u~ Recherche les
traits d'harmonie qu'il veut employer dans les pièces réglées
qu'il doit joüer dans la suite. Cela se fait ordinairement sur le
champs & sans préparation, & par conséquent cela demande beaucoup
d'habilité." Sebastian de Brossard, Dictionaire de musigue
(Paris, 1703). Facsimile-reprints of the 2nd ed. (1705)
(Dictionarium Musicum. Hilversum: Frits Knuf, 1965). Eng.
transe and ed. by Albion Gruber (DictiQnary of Music. Music
Theorists in Translation, V. 12. Henryville: Instit'lte of
Medieval Music Ltd., 1982); other written accounts of improvising
ricercars can be found in articles of Eggebrecht and Kirkendale
(Both op. cit., see Footnotes 2 and 3).
(
37

increasing interest in violin playing in Italy resulted in a

decline of these "imita'tive ricercars." The few keyboard

ricercars composed during the rest of the Italian baroque are

mainly of two functions: either they are part of a collection of

organ pieces to be used to replace items of the Proper and the

Offertory during chur ch services--such as those collected in

Croci's Frutti musicali (Venice, 16~2) and Fasolo's Annuale

{
organistico (Venice, 16~5)1~-or they are compositions by more

conservative organists who were alarmed by the decline of the

"learned style" in organ playing in Italy. The preface of

Battiferri's Ricercari (Bologna, 1669) n\akes explicit the com-

poser's attempt to preserve the dying tradition: the early ba-

roque practice of playing multiple parts was replaced by simple

basse continuo support at the orgnn. Subsequently, according to

Battiferri, organists in his day "were scarcely able to brins in

the second part, or the third and the fourth. . . the knowledge
{ of these things had departed." II The preface of Fontana' s Ricer-

cari per organe (Rome, 1677) echoes similar concerns.

The conservative approach of the Italian keyboard ricercars

after Frescobaldi is best reflected by their overall composi-

tional features. These ricercars continue to use the alla breve

time signature (~) for the entire piece--except for those few

I~oth show influences from Frescobaldi's Fiori musicale

(Venice, 1635).

l~nglish transe from Douglass (Ph.D. diss., 1963>, pp. 85-

86.
 38

which have a middle section in triple or compound meter--and they

seldom have note values smaller than eighth notes. Unlike the

Italian sonatas of the time which began to use signatures with

more than one sharp o~ fIat at the clef, thus implying their

growing inclination towards major-minor tonalities, aIl keyboard

ricercars still use the traditional modal signatures: one fIat

, or none. Harmonically, too, these ricercars seern to remain

modally inclined.

From the middle of the sixteenth to the early seventeenth

century, a third type of ricercar abounds in Italian instruction

rnanuals, most of which are for solo non-keyboard instruments.

These ricercars not only serve as technical exercises for acquir-

ing proficiency on the instrument studied, but rnany are also de-

rnonstration pieces for diminution. While the pedagogical inten-

tion is shared by aIl of these ricerr-ars, cornpositional rnethods

may vary greatly, no doubt owing to the differences in idiomatic

.
writing for different instruments. Hence the ricercars for viols

are more contrapuntally wri tten. 12 Those for winds and other

predominantly melodie instruments include more florid passages of

sixteenth- and thirty-second-notes and a freer style imitating

the spontaneous rnanner of improvised embellishment during per-

l~or example, those in Ortiz's Tratado de glosas (Rome,

1553) and the three ricercars for viola bastarda in Virgiliano's
Il Dolcbnelo (Bologna, late sixteenth century). The ricercars in
Ganassi's Regola Rubertina (Venice, 15~2-~3) occasionally include
some double-stops.
 39

formance. 13 Although innumerable ornamentation treatises and in-

strumental (and vocal) tutorials persisted throughout the baroque

and beyond, it is important to note that diminution ricercars, as

weIl as the diminution manuals themselves. disappeared by the

third decade of the seventeenth century as a result of the grow-

ing integration of elements of embellishment into the thematic

structure of baroque compositions in general. 14

The last type of ricercar is repres~nted by pie ces where the

term 'ricercar' as part of the title suggests that the word im-

plied "study" in both COlllpositional and practical skill. A.

Gabrieli's posthumous publication Canzoni alla francese (Libro V,

Venice, 1605) contains three ricercars that freely paraphrase the

preceding canzonas 15 and four "Ricercar ariosos." In another

'ricercar' collection by Metallo, 1:he Rj,cercari a due voci per

sonare et cantare (first printed in Rome, 1595), none of the

pieces is titled or prefixed 'ricercar'. AlI of these 'ricer-

cars' show a closer relation to canzonas; many or them have

I~or example, those in Bassano's Ricercate. passaggi et

cadentie (Venice, 1585) and the thirteen ricercars for t:.ceble
instruments in Virgiliano's Il Dolcimelo.

l~he last set of ricercars from Jiminution manuals is found

in F. Rognoni's Selva di varii passaggi (Milan, 1620). Fantini's
Modo per imparare a sonare di tromba (Frankfurt, 1638) uses the
term "ricercar" ta denote a set of tonguing exercises of no more
th an ten measures in length, and thus they are no longer studies
in diminution. (See Imogene Horsley, "The Diminutions in Compo-
sition and Theory of Composition," AcM 35(1963): 121.1.-53.)

15rhey are: "Ricercar sopra Martin menoi t," "Ricercar sopra

Orsus au coup," and "Ricercar s opra Pour ung plais ir. " Libro VI
(published ~ame year) contains another "Ricercar sopra Con lei
fossio."
 t..o
livelier meledies than their contemporary keyboard and ensemble
ricercars would employ. Although stylistically it may be ques-
tionable whether aIl these pieces should belong to the history of
ricercars, they aIse reflect the diverse nature of pieces using
'ricercarI as their titles. Therefore the use of this term for
its literaI meaning rather than as representative of a particular
compositional technique is further affirmed.
l
 1.&.1

Antonii' s Ricercate

The general lack of analytical research into the solo non-

keyboard ricercars has led to a confusion of Antonii's Ricer-
~16 with ricercars of the instruction manuals. Kinney con-
cludes that the Antonii Ricercate belong to "the f:.:ee, non-irni-
tative type" like those of Ganassi' s Regola Rubertina and Ortiz' s
Tratado de glosas. 17 Yet they are related to the renaissance
non-keyboard ricercars not 50 much in their compositional struc-
ture as in their similar practical nature and in their having
been intended for a mostly single-line instrument. l8 The overall
compositional features of Antonii's Ricercate reflect influences
from both the tradition of Italian keyboard ricercars and the
sonatas of the tirne. Eleven ~f the twelve ricercars have either
one flat only or no accidentaI at the clef, a practice resernbling
that of the Italian keyboard ricercars of the mid-seventeenth
century (Table 2).
With the (functionally) two-sharps signature of Ricercata
XI, however, Antonii has departed from the regular eight chur ch
TUQni that wcre first codified by Banchieri in his L'organo

I~ikewise the ricercars of Antonii's contemporary D.

Gabrielli.
Ikinney, Ph.D. dis5., pp. 200-2.
I~lthough the violoncello, like the other string instru-
"
men1.:.S, is capable of playing more than one note at the saroe tirne,
Antonii did not include any double-stops in his ricercars. D.
Gabrie~li, on the other hand, has included a few chords in his
ricercars for the same instrument.
 t...2

TABLE 2

Tuoni. Accidental<s) at the clef. Time signature.

and Total number of measures of Antonii's Ricercate

Ricercata Tuono Accidental <s ) Time Total no.

at the clef signature of measures

1 d none C 89
II d none C-9/8-C 11t...

~
III F C 118
IV F C-12/8-C 76
V a none C 106
VI a none C- 6/iIt-C- 6/iIt-
C-12/8-C 112
VII e none C 101
VIII d none C- 3/2-12/8-C 98
IX C r;ne C 101
X g C-12/B-C 96
XI D fi-C'-F'l C 118
C'-FI-C
XII G none C-12/8-C 92

suonarino (Venice, 1605) (Table 3) and had been practised by the

Italian organists in accompanying plain chant since the beginnlng

of the seventeenth century. Instedd, he has used the reformed

set of Tuoni that had already been suggested, significantly, by

late seventeenth-century Bolognese treatises, such as Li primi

albori mus ical i by Lorenzo Penna. 19

I Many late seventeenth-century German treatises, on the

other hand, have begun to discUS5 a Tuono on D that has a two-
sharps signature ab the seventh of the eight church Tuoni. The
F-sharp in both the fourth Tuono (on e) and the eighth (on G) is
also shown in the signature in these Gerrndn treat~ses. See, for
example, the eight Tuoni listed in Prinner's Muslkalischer
5chl issl ( manus cr ipt (V ienna ), 1677) as quote d in Wa 1 ther Atcher-
son, "Key and Mode in Seventeenth - century Mus ie Theory Books, Il
~ 17(1973): 217. For other German treat~ses that follow this
order, see aiso Joel Lester, "The Recognition of Major and Minor
Keys in Gerrnan Theory: 1680-1730," JMI 22( 1978): 73-7i1t.
 f,j,3

TABLE 3

BANCHIERI. L'ORGANO SUONA&INO: THE EIGHT TUONI 20

Tuono : Cadences:
Principante (Sign.) Mezana Indiff. Finale (Mode implied)
(1) d ~one A Fb D (Dorian)
(2) g D B G (Transp. Dorian)
( 3 ) a none E C A (Aeolian)
( f,j, ) e none C A E (Transp. Aeolian)
(5) C G E C ( Ionian)
(6 ) F ine C A F (Transp. Ionian)
(7 ) d A F D (Transp. Aeolian)
(8) G none D B G (Mixolydian)

Penna's Li primi albori musicali (Bologna, 1672) listed

bdsically the sams eight church Tuoni described by Banchieri as
those used by the modern composers of his own time (Table Yr). 21
On the seventh Tuono (on D wi th a B- fIat) however, Penna made an
additional comment after his presentation of the cadences on A,
F, and E, advising the reader that this Tuono was also used by
sorne other composers without the B-flat and with a major third. 22

l
2~ummarized from Adriano Banchieri, L'organo suonarino
(Facsimile and Rare Books on Organ and Organbuilding, Vol. 27.
Amsterdam: Frits Knuf, 1969), pp. ~O-f,j,l. Atcherson refers to
these eight church Tuoni as "pitch-key modes" (Atcherson, Qlk.
.Q...Ï.b, 216); Lester prefers to calI them the eight "church keys"
(Lester, op. cit .• 72); Powers calls them the "psalm-tone keys"
(New Grove, s . v. Il Mode , l - l l l : Pol yphonic ." by Howard Powers,
l2: 376-f,j,18).

2torenzo Penna, Li primi albori musicali (Facsimile ed. of

168f,j, ed.
Bibliotheca Musica Bononiensis, sezione 2, n. 38.
Bologna: Forni Editore, 1969).
r 22l1Aviso, che altri forniscono veramente in D. la, sol, re,
ma caminano fuori deI b. molle, e vanno con terze Maggiori."
Penna, p. 131. In addition to this alteration, Penna also shows
another possibility of the seventh Tuono which is on E.
 ,

The existence of thi5 alternate Tuono on D 5eems to be implied

also in G. M. Bononcini's Musico prattiQQ (Bologna, 1673). A

contemporary of Penna, Bononcini stated that the authentic form

of the Mixolydian mode was omitted as one of the "TuQni ordinari-

ly used by cornposers [of his tirne]/I 5ince i t was "nearly identi-

cal" with that of its plagal forrn. 23

TABLE 1,;

PENNA. LI PRIMI ALBORI MUSICALI: THE EIGHT TUONI:~

Tuono Sign. Cadenze di mezo Finale (Mode implied)

(1 ) d ne A (Dorian)
~
D
(2 ) g
(3 ) a
1 D
C
G (Transp. Dorian)
(Aeolian)
none E A
( t... ) e none B A E E (Transp. Aeolian)
(5 ) C G C (Ionian)
(6 ) F
( 7 ) dQJ;:
x;;ne
Bb
C
G C
if F
D
(Transp. Ionian)
(Transp. Aeolian)
D [ ? ] [Transp. Mixolydianl
(8 ) G none D C G (Mixolydian)

The change of the seventh Tuono from a "minor" d mode with

B-flat to a "rnajor ll D one without the B-flat cornes maybe more as

a surprise in theory than in actual practice. In theory, the

2b. M. Bononcini, Musico pratticQ (Monuments of Music and

Music Literature in Facsirnile, 2nd series--Mus. Lit. 78. New
York: Broude Brothers, 1969), p. 1'*7. Quoted from Klenz, p.
152, footnote 59.

2'Sumrr:arized frorn Penna, Part II, Ch. 21, pp. 128-32. Note
the Tuoni with a major third have inner cadences on the sub-
dominant (as opposed to the former tradition of having an inner
cadence on the mediant) which, presillnably, implies the increasing
tonal awareness in Italy in the course of the seventeenth cen-
tury. The presence of an inner cadence on B instead of C in TUODQ
on E aiso shows the graduaI recognition of its independence as a
Tuono in addition to its dependence on the Aeolian mode.
 t...5

first Tuono on d without the B-flat and the "traditional" seventh

Tuono on the saroe tone but with a B-flat in the signature are

different: the former is in Dorian mode and the latter in trans-

posed Aeolian. In practice, however, a distinction between these

two Tuoni may be arbitrary since the B-flat inflection has often

been used in the Dorian mode. More importantly, with the inter-

vallic structure of a transposed Mixolydian, the altered Tuono in

D makes the eight church Tuoni more "tonal" as a set: four Tuoni

with minor thirds followed by four Tuoni with major thirds, a

grouping that strongly implies the move towards the final emer-

gence of the maj or-minor tonal i ty .25 Wi th the sharpening of the

leading-tone (C-sharp), a "new" Tuono with two sharps is now

being suggested. Although neither Penna nor Bononcini mentions a

two-sharps signature for this new Tuono, it is likely that the

mode of Antonii's Ricercata XJ, like the modes of the rest of his

Ricercate, is based on the eight chur ch Tuoni of the late seven-

{ teenth century.

Finally, the time signatures of Antonii's Ricercate clearly

2~n 1713, Mattheson's Das Neu-Erëffnete Orchestre also de-

scribed the same set of Tuoni as the "best known and most promi-
nently" used by Italian and other contemporary composers of his
time, hence incorporating them finally into the twenty-four major
and minor keys:

Tone TI:iad OI: Tone Triad or

(1 ) D D F A d minor (5) C C E G C major
(2 ) G G Sb D g minor (6 ) F F A. C F major
(3 ) A A C E a minor (7 ) D D F A D major
J.. (~ ) E E G B e minor (S ) G G B D G major

Quoted from Lester, OE· cJ. t. , 8~. See aiso N~w Grove, s.v.
"Mode, " 12: ~16 .
.;'

reflect the influence of contemporary Italian sonatas. None of

his ricercars uses the alla brave signature. Instead, common

time (C) begins and ends aIl ricercars, with half of them further

divided into sections by inner changes of time signature to tri-

pIe or compound meter (in sorne more than once). The general rhy-

thmie motion in these Ricercate is also more lively than in those

written for the organ. AlI the odd numbered Ricereate are in con-
l stant eighth-note motion. The even numbered ones, on the other

hand, contain passages of eighth and sixteenth notes. Motivi-

cally more interesting than continuo parts, aIl these Ricercate

clearly resemble basso continuo lines of the time. The relation

between the two is most readily observed in the eighth-note

"walking-bass" motion and the melodie contours of all thematic

motives. As will be seen in the next chapter, the figures used

within each Ricercata are, on the whole, of the same kind as

. those found in a basse continuo line of a sonata. ThlS resem-

blance cannot be a mere coincidence, especially since they are

intended for the violoncello--the small brother of the 'violone',

which was becoming the most common continuo instrument in the

Italian baroque by the end of the seventeenth century. Neverthe-

less, the careful thernatic manipulation within eaeh piece makes

Antonii's Ricercate conform to the Italian ricercar tradition,

demonstrating their multiple intentions of serving as composi-

tional and instrumental studies, and at the same time as artist~c

displa~r .
 CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS OF ANTONII'S RICERCATE

Tonal Design

The tonal design of Antonii's Ricereate shows a combination

of modality and tonality. A~ discussed in chapte~ three of this
thesis, the dominating seales of these pieces are based on the
eight "fixed-pitch" refonned Iuml1. Tonal elements, however, are
present in the overall harmonie bcheme of eaeh Rieercata: the
predominantly tonic-dominant harmoni~ structure, the frequent
modulations to closely related keys, anJ the secondary dominants
in sequences, especially of the ci~cle-of-fif~~s type. The
introduction of brief chromatic passages in sorne Ricereate also
prevents a strong sense of modality.
To Kinney, these harmonic factors are enough to conclude
that "In aIl twelve of Deili Antoni's rieercate tonal expression
in tanns of the major-minor type of key-tonality is at aIl times
unequivocal and clear."l As will be shown below, however, moda-
lity is clearly discernible within the tonal schemes of these
Ricercate. In fact, numerous passaaes can better be understood
modally than be forced into a tonal explanation with aIl kinds of

1 Kinney, Ph.D. diss., p. 202.

"7
1
exceptions and surprises. The followina discussion summarizes
the more notable elements of modal-tonal distinctions found in
the Ricercate of Antonii. The discussion is by no means com-
pIete: the subject of the transition from modality to tonality
needs further study. and that is beyond the scope of thie thesis.
One of the most obvious modal elements found in the major-
like ~~ is the inner cadences on the mediant. such as at
measure ~9 of Ricercata III and measure 70 of Ricercat~ XII. The
third dearee of the scale had been a standard tone for an inner
cadence of aIl the modes aince Zarlino's Le istitutioni apmoniche
(Venice, 1558). It is still found in sorne late seventeenth-
century Italian treatises, such as Bononcini's Musico pratticQ.ê
Penna r S Li primi albori musicali was one of the earliest known
Italian treatises which place inner cadences of the major-like
Tuoni on the fourth and fifth rather than the third and fifth
degrees, thus implying a recognition of the 3ubdorninant function
in the tonal sense (see Table ~ in the previou~ chapter). The
fact that Antonii published his Ricer'~ in the sarne period in
which Bononcini and Penna published their treatises confirms
their transitional p~eition in the change from modal to tonal
thinking.
Another evidence of modality in these pieces i5 the deliber-
ate avoidance of the tritone in many s6quential passaaes, both in
major- and rninor-like Rlcercate (Ex. 1).

2See , Bononcini, op. cit., Ch. 16 (pp. 137-(&,5), which

containe duos illustrating the eight Tuoni and their cadences.
 ,.9

Ex. l

1. Ricercata III

2.

By contra~t, a~ in Ricercata IV, the con~tant appearance of

tri tone interval~ and the absence of "non-modulating" accidentals

,.
aive the piece a more tonal character.

The pre~ence of cro3~-related tones ie as~ociated with the

modal practice of flattening the upper neiihbouring note when it

i~ the peak of "the melodic line. At mea~ure~ 1..\.0 to ,.1 of Ricer-

~ X, the E-flat at the second beat of measure ~1 is a conse-

quence of the exact transposition of the ascending ~ixteenth-note

motion in measure 39 where the B-flat is the upper neighbour. The

subsequent exten~ive sequence--on a motive con~i3ting of a major

second upward ~ollowed by a perfect fifth down--contradicts Kin-

ney'~ speculation that a fIat i~ rnissing for the E-naturai at the

third beat of rneasure ,.1 since this note i5 part of the sequen-

{ tiai model itself (Ex. 2).

 50

Ex. 2

Rieercata X

...nrc.
....
..
-- -
lIa.

1 _.. :"-."
rU IfJ
,- 'f
l ... .L ...

----- .. _-_ .. -_.

The arrangement of moda~ materials within a tona~ scheme

exposes most strongly the mixture of moda~ity and tonality in

these pieces. At mm. 23 to 30 of Ricercata l, for instance,

a motive is imitated at the fifth after a brief interpolation

(Ex. 3). Then the motive spins out into a comp~ete eircle-

of-fifths sequence, which includes the key-intensifying

tritone interva~ between B-f~at and E at mm. 28 and 29. The

overall harmonie motion of the ent.ire passage therefore is

tonal. However, a closer look at the materials within this

tonal scheme reveals that the scale i5 Dorian not D minor. A

C-natura~ instead of a C-sharp is found within the inter-

poJ.ation at m. 24. S;Ï milarJ.y, a B-natural i5 used instead of

a B-flat on G within the fifths sequence at m. 27.

 {
51

Ex. 3
Ricercata l

1>
17

c. 'F ft .b

In minor-like modes, the consistent lowered sixth degree in

descending lines and raised sixth and seventh degrees in ascend-
ing lines may eug~e~t a tonal interpretation until the implied
harmonies are examined. At the la~t entry of the theme of Ricer-
~ II, for example, almost the entire passage could be explain-
ed tonally if a C-sharp intead of a C-natural were present within
the exact transpositions of the minor seventh interval at measure
111 (Ex. ~). The fact that aC-nature is present suggests the
modal rather than tonal character of this passage.

~f
1
 52

Ex . .J,t
Rieereata II

lOb

------------
---
i

110

.... - - - - - - - - - -

-------

At measures 18 to 21 of Rieercata lX, the overall harmonie

motion of this passage is direeted towards tonieizing the domi-
nant (Ex. 5). However, the aseending seale, with the C-sharp at
measure 20, is peeuliar in the tonal sense. Although the note
can be considered simply as the third of the secondary dominant
of D, it also sUigests a double leading-tone for the cadence--
 53

another trace of the remaining modal influences. 3

Ex. 5

lU cercata IX

.
"

c r"

Observations such as the above reflect Imogene Horsley's

colt11\ent that "In actual practice inner cadences were often the
focal points for inner modulations . . the cadences which
seventeenth-century theorists assigned as proper inner cadences
were, in fact, arrivaI points on the tonies in other modes. ,,4 In
Ricercata VI, for example, transposed Dorian on A rather than A
minor govern3 the ov~rall scale ~tructure of the piece. A modu-
lation to its dominant results in outlining E Dorian instead of E
minor. Already at measure ~, the presence of a D-natural within
the ascending scale hints at this modal relationship within the
tonal scheme (Ex. 6.1). The modal-tonal mixture is made even more
explicit later at measures 10 to 19 (Ex. 6.2). On the surface
level, two ~itations have taken place. The first pair of imita-
ive entries shows an ascending scale outlining a mino~ third

3Much in the way that double leading-tones oocur for malodic

rather than harmonic reasons at cadences in other works of the
t~e (such as in some organ works of Buxtehude),

4Imogene Horsley, "Symposium on Sevemteenth-Century Music

Theory: Italy,"!lHI 16(1972): 56.
l
Ex. 6.1

Ricercata VI

bein& answered exactly at th~ fifth (mm. 10-12). The second pair
beains with a motive on D that extends the ascending seale ta a
fifth and 1s asain answered exactly at the fifth, sUSiesting a
tonie-dominant relationship in D major (mm. 13-161. Upder this
surface structure, however, the overall harmonie motion has been
disguised. The reduction of the first imitation shows an aseend-
ing scale on A Dorian. Beainning with the second imitation, E
Dorian takes over as the underlyi.ni modal ~cale. The apparent
contradiction between A min or and D major disappears from the
modal viewpoint: the "D major" imitation i5 a normal area within
E Dor1an. AIso, the presence of C-sharp followed by a D-natural
in the reduction at measures 15 and 16 clearly sUisests the scale
structure of E Dorian rather than E minor. Th~ prolongation ot
the note D, extending throuah the second tmitation untii the
cadence on E, further emphasizes its funetion in a modal rather
than a tonal framework.
 55

Ex. 6.2

... -- -
III

- --- +

~-- .. ----_.-
lB

..... 1

,~-- -,

1
 56

The rest c·f this chapter is devoted to a fonnal analysis of

aIl Antonii's Ricercate. In analysing unaccompanied pieces like
those of Antonii, it is important first to separate vertical and
linear elements as formal detenninants. None of the Ricercate
contains any double-stops. Although imp~ovisation was supposedly
part of stringed continuo playing (especially in chamber sonatas
of the time) 1 , to what extent the occasional figures found in
Ricercate l, II, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X were actually realized
by the cellist during a solo performance depends on the skill of
the individual player. Vertical realizations. therefore, are not
essential elements in determining the formal structure of each
Ricercata. In short, Antonii's Ricercate are self-sufficient
compositions. They cau be heard and analysed as such without
including any chordal elaborations.
In addition, like that of many other purely instrumental
baroque pieces, the form of Antonii's Ricercate depends primarily
on formal procedures, such as fugue or ~itation, rather than on
formaI schemes, such as vocal models or dance forms. The coexis-
tence c: modal and tonal relationships further weakens harmonie

l "It should be noted in passing that the bass players of the

chamber sonatas were not to refrain from improvising h~onic
lines suggested to them by the figuring of the continuo; .
they were practically forced to do this when the harpsichord was
lacking. " Marc P in cher le, Corell i. His Life. His Work (Trans. by
Hubert Russell. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1956),
p. 60.
 57

hierarchy and internaI key-relationships as means of formaI

definition. Consequently, the melodic de~ign of each Ricercata
is the primary object of formaI analysis, and Fortspinnung, or
motivic spinning-out, is regarded as the fundamental composi-
tional procedure that achieves structural coherence within each
piece.
In his chapter devoted to a discussion of Antonii' s Ricer-
~, Kinney groups the twelve ricercars into three formaI types:
FormaI types--Degli Antoni's twelve ~~cercate comprise
three formaI types, characterized as follows: Type 1--
ricercate ,,·hich, at least superficially, are of the
"perpetuaI motl.on" character in that they consist of
unbroken succession~ of eighth-notes from beginning to
end CRicercate l, III, V, VII, IX, XI]: Type 2--ricer-
~ divided by changes 0f meter into three or more
contrasting sections, each of which starts with a free
variant of the initial theme [Ricerç-+~ II, VI, VIII,
XII]; Type 3--~ç§rcat§ structurall~ similar to Type 2,
but differing from the latter in that the opening sub-
ject is followed by a "tonrl reply," as it would be in
a fugue [Ric§rcate IV, Xl.

Kin'1e'r' s cla~sification is inconsistent and incomplete.

While thematic manipulation plays a significant role in Ricerca~

of Kinney' s Types Two and Three, he ignores i t in the six Ricer-

~ of his Type One. 3 PerpetuaI eighth-note motion, however, by
no means suppresses motivic exploitation within a piece apart
from being a rhythmic restraint.

2Kinney, Ph.D. diss., p. 20~.

3 0f the six Ricercate of his Type One, Kinney discusses only

number~ l and XI, and does 50 onJy in brief outline (pp. 20~-7).
 58
In term5 of ~ubject-an5wer imitation, the initial thematic

motive of both Ricercate 1 and IX i~ followed ~ediately by an

exact imitation at the fifth. While Kinney use~ only tonal an5wer

as a basis for classification, real answers exist and actually

play an important role in Antonii'5 thematic imitation5. At the

beginnini of both Ricercate 1 and IX, for example. a real answer

. instead of a tona: answer prevents the melodie contour of the
.:froNl
initial themeAbeing 5eriously disturbed (Ex. 7).

Ex. 7
l . Ricercata 1

initial motive

real answer

tonal answer

=
 59

2. Ricercata IX

initial motive

real answer

tonal answer

The formal classification of Antonii's Ricercate is revised

here. Perpetual eighth-note motion is dismissed as a structural

criterion. Also, an initial imitation "as i t would be in a

1 fugue" seems arbitra.ry as a fonnal determinant sinee Antonii,

unlike Bach,4 does not attempt in any of his Ricercate to make a

complete two-part fugue out of one-part writing. The subject-

answer imitation of the t.hematie idea can therefore appear at any

place in the piece (at the beginning or at one of the reeurren-

ces) to ereate a temporary pseudo-polyphonie. but not neeessarily

fu&al. texture.

4As in the Prelude of his fifth unaccompanied suite for

violoncello.
 1

60

The monothematic criterion of Kinney's Type Two remains

suitable for aIl Antonii's Ricercato except three: ~orcate l,
VII and IX. Although Ricercata IX besins with a two-measure
tonic-prolonging motive that is immediately answered at the
fifth, this motive does not reappear for the rest of the piece.
Consequently, even though Ricercata IX has a fugue-like begin-
ning, structurally it is closer to Ricercata VII whose initial
motive has no apparent predominance in the course of the work.
S~ilarly, the multi-thematic structure of Ricercata 1 distin-
guishes it from the category of monothematic structure. In
brief, the twelve Ricercate are grouped into three categoriee:
monothematic, multi-thematic, and a-thematic. The monothematic
category is divided into ~wo sub-groups: those with simple
thematic reccurrence and those with imitative recurrences.
In the foreword of the modern edition of D. Gabrielli's
seven ricercars for unaccompanied violoncello, Dieter Staehelin
observes that "From the starting point of improvisatory material
and the frae presentation of and experimentation with possible
styles of execution, the need to provide a coherent formaI
structure for a larger movemont leads to an 'imitative' style of
writing in which the distribution of materials 13 determined by
t#he working out of motive. liS Similarly, in Antonii' s Ricerçate,
the absence of a fixed formaI scheme and the dependence on a
s~p16 tonie-dominant polarity allows for a freer style. Espe-
,,.

5 D• GabrielIi, Siehen RicerCari. Ed. by Dieter Staehelin

(Mainz: B. Schott's Sëhne, 1975), foreword.
 61
cially in the episodic passaaes prolonaing one harmony, notes are
looeely grouped making up motives that are not necessarily crea-
tina a momentum for further expansion and diminution. Therefore,
a systematic analysis of every fiaure in any of Antonii's Ricer-
~ is ~practical and impossible. Nevertheless, by an analysis
of the overall motivic manipulation in terms of thematic recur-

« rences and the various Fortspionun2 techniques, these ricercars

can show considerable structural unity under the surface of an
apparently non-restricted approach. Interestingly, the overall
plan of many Ricercate exposes a coherent structure that is com-
parable to conventionai formaI types, especially a tripartite
desian. b

bAs already noted in the Introduction, aIl ex~nples illus-

trating the discussion of each Ricercata below have been tran-
scribed in bass clef. For Ricercate VIII and X, treble clef is
f. aiso used since many quoted passages are too high for the bass
clef alone. When the discussion is not demonstrated by an exam-
ple, tbs measure(s) quoted are referring to the edited version in
the Appendix, where the original clefs are retained.
 62

Monotbematic 5truCtur~:

Group.....!
The majority of Antonii's Ricercate are monothematic. Ac-
cording to the reappearances of the initial motive, they can be
sub-divided into two groups: the initial motive of the first
group reappears each time indepE:'ndently; the initial mo'tive of
the second group i5 imitated immediately at least once in the
course of the piece.
The fir~t group consists of Riçerca~ III, V, XI and XII.
On the whole, the recurring motives of these Ricercate are rela-
tively identical to the initial idea. \ln Ricorcata XII, al-
though the change of meter gives a certain rhythmic variety to
the recuTring motive, the malodic contour of the initial motive
is retained.) Consequentl y. the thernatic recurrences in this
group play a partjcularly important role in controlling struc-
tural unity by means of the time interval between their appea-
rances within each piece, as weIl as by the overall tonal level
of each recurrence (tonic or dominant). Apart from the reap-
pearance of the entire theme, thematic fragments are often found
as models for episode-like sequences. In Ricercate XII, an extra
motivic device is also used to maintain structural unlty and
interest.
 63

Ricercata III (Table S[R.3], Ex. 8[R.3])

In ~ercata III, the theme appear~ three tUnes only in the
108 mea!Sures (Table 5). The initial motive i~ extended irrrne-
diately throuSh sequences which lead to a cadence on the mediant
(m. 10). By meladic reduction, a fundamental ~adence-like motive
is shown to underlie the !Surface !Spinnini-out in measures 1
throuih 6. The reduction of the modulation shows a concise
duplication of this fundamental structure (Ex. 8.1).

Ex. 8.1

-----------------------------
",--1

.
i

- - ....
~

2' ~ r r '45 J J r
':;> -I

""~ K-IO

h O;~'t '''f r
:
1
TABLE 5

SUMKARY OF THEMATIC RECURRENCES IN RICERCATA III

bes. m. thematie idea overall tonality
1 theme 1 (end III)
60 reeurrenee 1
108 reeurrenee 1

, Both recurrenees of the theme besin with the tonie. For

each recurrence, the identieal openina two mea~ures are followed
by a sliahtly different pJ:'olongation before returnina to the
tonie. thus "spinning-out" the thematic motive even further. The
reduetion of the first reeurrence shows the underlyina fundamen-
tal motive without subsequent modulation (Ex. 8.2a). The reduc-
tion of the second reeurrenee state~ this eadenee-like motive
three times and. likewi~e, the melodie deseent uneovered by the
reduetion of the upper melodie line at mea~ure3 2 to 5 (Ex.
8. 2b)'

Ex. 8,2

a
'0
jf2:H UrŒBI rm fl1J
) 'rtau{.-h"" , _______ '". ",----#-
1 tu t an JEt rrH fJD
1 1 Î
,r--= or
(2i r p==-- r' "
r r
 1
i

1
( 65
1

108

bJ~~~~UD~
l~~~-~---~'-~êr-~l~
. ~~~~~~~-~
(
1 mJ "~ ---.-- '1
··,1
r

The infrequent thematic recurrence~ are compen~ated for by

the development of individual figure~ from the theme a~ unifying

element~, The partially filled triadic figure at measure 2 ('x')

appear~ twice, both time~ in inversion, a~ the model of a sequen-

ce (Ex. 8. 3a) . Similarl y, the de5cending leap of a fourth in

motive 'y' at me·a~ure 9 reappear3 f ir3t in ~tepwise sequence at

mea5ure 6~ (1n the oppo~ite direction) and later extend5 by mean~

of regi~ter tran~fer into a sequence at measure 10~ (Ex. 8.3b),

At mea~ure 100, a p5eudo-return of the theme begins with the fi-

aure of four repeating eiihth-note~ on F (an octave higher than

 --~---~--~------------

1 66

in m. 1). Not only is the melodie reduetion of measures 100 to

102 identical with the melodic outline of measures 2 to ~. it
also exposes the fiaure 'y' (Ex. 8.3e). The structural function
of the initial theme as unifyina element of the piece is thus
reaffirmed.

Ex. 8.3

l a

, ~
,....,~--,

.
b Ti ftïn
l~ an flBjf ad rut
1 1 1 v
 l 67

Ricercata V (Table 6[R.51, Ex. 9[R.5])

The theme of Bicercata V, apart from its frequent reappear-
ances, is gradually reduced from four measures at the beginning
to an essentially one-measure motivic idea during its subsequent
... A A
recurrences (Table 6). Beginning with an 8-7-8 neighbour motion
(m. 1), the theme ascends to the dominant (m. 2) which is then
prolonged by means of both the neighbour and scalewise (in oppo-
site direction) motions (Ex. 9a). The entire theme is maintained
in the next two recurrences: the first in the dominant (exact
transposition, beginning in m. 21); the second in the tonie
(beginning in m. 36).

TABLE 6
SUMMARY OF THEHATIC RECURRENCES IN RICERÇATA V

beg. m. thematic idea overall tonality

1 initial motive 1
21 reeurrence V
36 reeurrence 1
75 shortened 1
90 shortened V
9t.. inver. & shortened 1
98 inver. & shortened 1

In the next two reeurrences, the dominant prolongation is

eliminated. Thus, the initial motive is followed immediately by
the eircle-of-fifths sequence (Ex. 9b). The last two thematic
recurrences, both of whieh begin in inversion on the tonie, fur-

r ther omit the dominant tonieizationi the final recurrence (orna-

mented beginning) even el~inates the fifths sequence (Ex. 9c).
 68

In parallel with the aradual shortenina of the oriainal thematic

motive, each recurrence appears also after a shorter time
interval, thus helpina to build a climax towards the end of the
piece.

r.
1
,....- , ~..:-. - - - ............
• ... .., JI

l ~M11 fJD @J 1cl Wms 1IDl ~MI,. 1•

.t
.1

c .hUE I~œu r•' 1· 1

l an I.Jill }
 69

Ricercata XI (Table 7[R.11], Ex. 10[R.11])

In Ricercata XI, ~tructural coherence depends on the six
reappearances of the initial theme alternating in dominant and
tonic forrn~ (Table 7). The last appeaxance of the theme, comina
in the exact forrn of the original, gives the piece an additional
sens~ of overall unity.

TABLE 7
~y OF THEHATIC RECURRENCES IN RICERCATA XI
beg. m. thematic idea overall tonality
1 theme 1
11 T.ecurrence V
26 recurrence I
~9 recurrence V
67 recurrence I
91 recurrence V
108 theme I

l'he initial theme, apart from the ~equential extems ion, i3

made up of two types of. stepwise figures moving towards the tonie
o (Ex. 10.1). Before the beginning of the sequence, the theme
con~ists of two ~tepwi5e figures moving towards the same D in
oppo~ite directions. At the ~nd of the sequence, on the other
hand, the figure move~ in the same direction as the first one
although it descends to the tonic an octave lower..

Ex. 10.1
 70

In the middle two tonie versions of the recurrence, the end

of the sequance is followed by the ascendina fiaure (Ex. 1D.2a).
The spinnina-out sequence is identical with that of the initial
theme; only the ending of eaeh extension varies. The first two
recurrences in the dominant. on the other hand. end on the de-
!cendina figure (Ex. lD.2b). Also, the extended theme contains
only three instead of four sequential statements and it ends on
the dominant eventually. Most interestingly, the beginnina me-
lodic contour of the dominant versions is tonally adjusted. As
the resultin~ gesture resembles a cadential progression, these
two recurrences replace the structural cadences; thus, formal
articulations are deliberately avoided (mm. 10-11 and ~8-~9).

~, 10, ~

J(,
a.
2:~

n
2:fj
Il
b ,.~
 71

'\
The Iast thematic recurrenee begins in the dominant but

states the sequentiai pattern four times--as in the tonie form--

and ends on the tonie. Accordingly, the aseending figure is

found at the end of the theml~ (Ex. 10.3). AIso, this Iast domi-

nant version is di5tingui~ned irom the other recurrenees begin-

nin& in the dominant by the preeeding cIearIy articulated cadence

which disjoins the theme from the previous section (m. 90).

Ex.1Q,3

-'.
 ---.
72

Ricercata Xlr (Table 8[R.12], Ex. 11[R.12])

Ricercata XII shows a straiahtforward structural plan when

analysed accordina to the number of recurrences of the thematic

motive (Table 8). Both outer simple-meter ~ections carTY the

theme three times in tonic-dominant-tonie order, whereas in the

middle compound-meter section the theme recurs only twice. The

, return to the simple meter at measure 5~ beains with a spinnina-

out of the second part of the initial motive (E.x. 11.1).

TABLE a
SVMMARY OF THEMATIC RECURRENCES IN RICERCATA XII
bea. m. meter thematic idea overall tonality

1 C theme 1
a recurrence V
18 recurrenc~ 1
29 12/8 recurrence V
36 recurrence 1
5l.\. C partial recurrence (1)
65 recurrence 1
77 recurrence V
8<' recurrence 1

M. 11.1
 73

Variety within the structural regularity rf this Ricercata

is achieved by the subtle change in each thematic recurrence.

The first measure of the 1nitial motive at the tonie ne ver reap-

pear~ the ~ame way: three times i t i~ an octave lower than the

original (mm. 18, 36, and 8~); at measure 65 i t tonicizes the

dominant by raising the C-natural to a C-sharp (Ex. 11.1b). The

dominant ver~ions of the motive are tonally adjusted within the

corrmon-tune sections (mm. 8-10 and 77-79). In the beginnl.ng of

the compound-mater section, however, the thematic motive has

modulated to the dominant by following the exact triadic outline

(D-F'-A) as in the tonie version .

 7~

In addition to the thematic variation, a melodic contraction

i5 found before each major ~ectional division (Ex. 11.2). At the

end of the first section, a stepwise ascent is first presented as

an elaborate sequence, then as an unornamented sixteenth-note

motive an octave up (mm. 1~-17}. Before the beginning of the

final section, this contraction device reappears at measures 62

to 6~. Although the stepwise sequence doea not reappear at the

end of the piece, the contracted melodic ascent is still apparent

within the sixteenth-note sequence at rneasure 90 before t.he final

cadence.

Ex. 11.2

'z
- 6 1 -,"1 ~t'1

~V"J V '\! v "

" t:P'"
~1

,
-- ,
1.
, JI1 ------~
#ID 1!Ptt ma "10 1 î 4j
..
l 75

GrQUp II

The second group of monothematic Ricercate are those which

conta in at least one bnmediate transposition of the initial idea

at the fifth, thu3 creating the effect of a subject-answer imita-

tion. This group includes Ricercate II, IV, VI, VIII, and X. AlI

of them use rhythmic patterns apart from constant eighth-note mo-

tion and contain a t least one mater change (from duple to triple

or compound meter) in the course of the piece. By making use of

the different possibilities for rhythmical grouping, the motive

can be varied greatly from the initial appearance. An bnmediate

imitation therefore confirms the thematic role of the transformed

motive ( s).

Non-thematic gestures continue to be used as extra unifying

elements in sorne ricercars. As was the case in Ricercata XII,

the increase of surface motion by means of running sixteenth-note

passages is characteristic of all Ricercate of the second group,

especially when approù.ching a c] imax or an lmportant structural

cadence. The final section of each ricercar not only returns te

the origl.nal duple or common-time meter, it often serves to sum-

marize those varlOUS unifying elements which occurred in previous

sections.
l 76

Ricercata II (Table 9[R.21, Ex. 12[R.21)

In Ricercata II, each meter change is followed by a reap-

pearance of the thematic motive (Table 9). An immediate imitation

of the motive is found at the return of the duple-meter section,

where the motive i5 greatly extendecl. A clear cadence articulate~

the end of each section. However, separation of sections i5

avoided by the overlapping of the cadential tonic with the first

beat of the new section.

TABLE 9

SQMMARY OF THEKATIC RECURRtNCES IN RICERCATA II

beg. m. meter thematic idea overall tonality

1 C initial motive 1
38 recurrence III
51 recurTence 1
71Jt 9/8 recurrence 1
97 recurrence 1
106 (107 ) C imitation 1 (V)

The first duple-meter section, aiso the longest, has another

ternary des ign (Ex. 12. la ). For the middle appearance, the motl ve

begins on the mediant--the only example of :...uch a relationship in

aIl twelve of .Autonii 1 5 Ricercate. In the trlple-meter section,

two identical staternents of the motive functlon as the outer

boundaries within which fragments of the motlve are separately

exploited (Ex. 12.1b): the spinning-out of the first part of the

motive begins in measure 80 (slightly elaborated), and of the

second part in measure 88.

 77

Ex. 12.1

1 t 3 ~ $" " 8 1 10 Il

,. Win [fi ij €JJJ jï 1

..,.
1 J A,I r , 7' f ID '1

t l 3 ~

2; pH P~!f 1G'J h
r 6 7 6 f 1" '1

l l '1 .{, "1 tl 1 10 Il

The brief final section serves both as a return of the duple

meter and as a !5urrrnary of the f irst 5ection. The extended motive

and it3 tonal answer (incompletc) consist not only of elements

from the thematic motive, but also of the one eighth- and two

sixteenth-notes rhythmic unit that has been an additional charac-

 78
teristic figure of the duple-meter section (Ex. 12.2a). Despite

the opposite direction, the pre-cadentlal sequence at measures

111 to 112 also echoes that of the end of the first sect~on (Ex.

12. 2bl.

Ex. 12.2

A trill sign has been specially marked over the B-flat (note

nine) at the beginning (m. 2)--the only embellishment marked in

all of Antonii'3 Riçercat~. Accordlng to the perfolmance practice

of the time, a similar trill might be expected at every recur-

rence of the motive. At measure 105, the C-natural (note seven)

seems to be replaced by a B-fla~ after the filling-in of the

octave which includes a C-sharp leadlng to the high 'D' (note

six) . Nevertheless, in actual performance, ,f?! C-natural might be

heard as the upper not r of the trill on the second B-flat (note

nine, cf. Ex. 12.1a & 12.2a).

 l 79

Ricereata IV (Table 10[R.~], Ex. 13[R.~])

The frequent thematie imitations of Ricercata IV resemble

most elosely those of a fugal composition. At the beginning of

each new section, the complete theme is followed by a tonal an-

swer (Table 10). AlI the single entries of the theme are found

only within eaeh section.

TABLE 10

SYMMARY OF TtlEMATIC RECURRENCES IN RICERCATA IV

beg. m. meter thematic idea overall tonality

l (7 ) C theme (imitation) l (V)

19 recurrence l
30 (33) 12/8 :i.mi tation V (l )
39 recurrence V
~7 recurrence l
53 ( 58 ) C imitation l (V)
72 recurrence l

The chan&e from common to compound meter modifies the rhythm

but not the melodie contour of the theme (Ex. 13.1a). On the

other hand, the order of theme and answer is reversed at the

compound-meter section (Ex. 13.1b). The emphasis on the dominant

is reinforeed by the final cadence of the section (m. 52).

Ex. 13.1

, "
a. ji, E
l
lPJ n!JJJ 1iJÔUfû WU U li 1Jffl [J' [tiJ 1
1
~

ct [Httt 1 UHi VUIf

ft
 80

B (.... ,

ffj J f J } J } JI)n q F( ~ J- ~ 1r gr p
f f p r F 1[ :

At the retum of the common-time section, the theme and its

tonal answer are greatly expanded. This expansion i5 by no means
8traightforward (Ex. 13.2). The first two notes of the initial
theme are restated for an entire measure (cf. mm. 1 & 53). Both
the dominant and tonie notes now oecupy two heats each. AIso,
the leap from the dominant to the tonie, which is found twice in
the theme, oeeurs only once here and is upward instead of down-
ward. The leapini in the opposite direction results in a change
of device for the following prolongation of the tonie. In the
initial theme, the tonie is prolonged by the move up a fourth and
back down (last two beats of m. 1). In the expanded version, the
tonie is prolonged through the moving back of the tonie to the
reiister (an octave lower) where it is found in the initial theme
(first three beats of m. 5~). For these two beats of tonie pro-
longation, it i5 also worth pointing out that in the inl.tüü
theme, the sixLeenth-notes figure follows the eighth-notes one,
whereas the order of the two rhythmie patterns is reversed in the
expandt;,d version. Note. howev';3r, -that the leap down froliTt A te F
at the end of the prolongation i~ identieal in both the inltial
and the expanded theme. Similarly, the tonie prolongation in the
l 81

hi&her octave is mueh more elaborate in the expanded theme than

in the initial one. The ending of the expanded answer is varied

(mm. 60-63) in avo1ding the tonicization on the dominant (as in

the case of all endings of the previous answers). The entire

last section therefore remains in the tonie.

Ex. 13.2

\~~~uw~~~
l",.,"" ---------------- .

-------- ------

---_ ... - ,
x'

J~~~~~~
l~~---$-~';---§!~.~.
___ ~_><~-~---~

j~~~~~~~
.!' --
l~--~--~----~~~~~~~
-- ~
-1 82

The last reappearance of the theme in the tonic retains most

of the original co~tour (Ex. 13.3a). The melodic cadence in the

final recurrence is replaced by a harmonie one with running

!ixteenth-notes extending it~ ending (mm. 7~-75) until the final

closure. Like the ascending scale at the end of the first see-

t~on (m. 29), the ~cale-like sixteenth-note passage at mea~ure 75

connects the sequence to the final cadence (Ex. 13.3b).

Ex. 13.3

a ';:'"tE 8n" 1JUl1!l1 [JO 111.;00 #Jl Jïlj 1JJJlJ

l

III :

.'
 1,:

.1
83

Ricercata VI (Table 11[R.61, Ex. 1~[~.61)

The multiple transformations of the initial motive of

Ricercata VI secure both unity and variety for the piece (Table
11). The recurrine motive varies at the beginnine of each new
section, and the new variant becomes the head motive for further
imitations within that section.

TABLE 11

SUMHARY OF THEMATIC RECURRENCES IN RICERCATA VI

bei. m. meter thematie idea overall tonality

1 c initial motive 1
7 partial recurrence 1
10 (11) imitation 1 (V)
13 ( 15) imitation IV ( 1 )
19 reeurrence V
25 6/" variant 1
38 variant 1
"3 C variant 1
56 (58) 6/" imitation 1 (V)
62 variant 1
..... 67 variant V
71 C variant 1
.... 78-80- 12/8 imitation 1 (V, 1 )
82
93 (96) C imitation 1 (V)
101-102- imitation V ( 1 • V)
lOt..

The initial motive is itself quite elaborate. In the first

one-and-a-half measures, the tonie is prolonged by repeating
notes and a neighbouring G-sharp before deseending to the domi-
nant (Ex. l~.la). The dominant is thon stretehed by spinnina out
the repeatine-note figure from the first two beats ot the firet
measure ehromatically to its dominant before endine on a Melodie
(
cadence at measure 5.

Ex. lit .1

'fi

11

r';lIdi. "
 1

85
The beainning of each new section brinas back the motive in
a slilhtly different way. In the first compound-meter section
(6/~), the initial motive is s~plified (m. 25) and a descendina
arpelgio has replaced the repeatina-note fiaure (Ex. 1~ .lb). For
the remainina sections, the repeatina-note fiaure reappears only
twice as the beginning of the thematic motive (second compound-
meter section [6/", m. 56] and final section [rn. 93]). Instead,
the arpeaaio, either descending or ascending, elaborated or
plain, gains thematic importance in three of the Middle sections
(second common-time section [m. ~3], third common-time section
[nwn. 71-72], and third compound-meter section [12/8, m. 78]).
More importantly, the arpeggio is also outlined within tbe ad-
justed answer of the returned initial motive in the final section
(m. 96).

The lengthy dominant prolongation is eliminated in all the-

matie recurrences. On the other band, the various figures leadina
to a descent from the tonie to the dominant in the initial motive
have been either contracted or further elaborated in the follow-
inl sections. It is only when the original motive returns in the
final section that the figures reappear in their complete forro.
The extent of the imitations of the varied motive in each
section differs amona sections. In the first two sections, only
the head motive--the repeating-note or the arpeggio figure--ini-
tiates the motivic spinning-outs (Ex. 1~.2a). In other sections,
the entire varied motive is repeated and at times imitated at the
fifth creating a pseudo-two-part structure (Ex. 1~.2b). Although
 86

the rniddle two common-tirne sections are brief and episodic ~n na-
ture, the spinning-out rnaterial~ in both sections are, as noted,
ba~ed on the arpeggio figure. In the final ~ection, not only
doe~ the therne recur at ~horter interval~. but the long ~ix-

teenth-note passage aiso intensifies the surface rhythm as the

piece approaches the end. Significantly, the running pas~age

includes a sequence on the arpeggio figure (Ex. 1~.2c).

1
Ex. lit· 2

0.

rs (Ji '

?: r ) ) r~j r 1 r J r r
l 87

H tntIImll J,r~rfœl(' er;UJ(ffII-r fJ

, I;~ i $III 1 r [lUf! ttt 1f
c fi: li H D~J1jj IJI1if tJti[j I~H rf âii 1 tu cr pP 1t
l HfUtirr 1tUU'ttfllUtrQlrtml EUlf g 1
"'

.... 4... 1 .).

''''' •••• l

J .1 1 ... ... - - - - ....';';'4 -h - - - - - - - - J

T
"7' .. - . .,.
1
1
 88

Ricereata VIII (Table 12(R.81, Ex. 15(R.8])

In Ricercata VIII, thematic reeurrences make use of both the
initial idea and the subsequent spinning-out (Table 12). The
initial one-measure eighth-note motive is followed by a spinning-
out sequence based on a pattern of mixed sixteenth and eighth
notes repeating three tbnes before the first cadence. For the
first two sections, the eighth-note motive dominates the thematic
recurrences. In the first section, either its appearanee i5
followed by a slightly different spinning-out, or the motive is
overlapped by a tonal answer (Ex. lS.1a). In the second section,
only the eighth-note motive is being imitated (Ex. 15.1b). In
addition to the fugue-like imitations, both sections aiso make
prominent use of register transfer creating a pseudo-polyphonie
texture (mm. 38-~0. ~9-57).

TABLE 12
{ SUMMARY OF THEHATIC RECURRENCES IN RICERCATA VIII
beg. m. meter thematic idea overail tonal i ty
~
1-S-7 C initial motive I (V, 1)
18 recurrence V
32 (33) imitation l (V)
37 (38) imitation l (V)
~3 (~6) 3/2 imitation l (V)
58 (61) imitation I (V)
69 (70) 12/8 imitation l (V)
73 variant I
79 variant V
83 (8~) C imitation I (V)
87 variant V
( 95 recurrence I
J.
1 89

Ex. 15,1

- ,. ua fU J i
1

b op J J ) I? J_~J 1J. 1) j 1J J JI) J JI;. 3:14 4

:i J Ji 1 ~J j J 1J J J 1 ln 1 2: r ~r r
1 1 frJ1

- i r f f) 1; r J if il J j 1 f r r 1 r rOr 1 r Url
,: r r J 1 r f r 1 r f JJ 1J g:
(
90

For the rest of the piece, the thematic development uses the
beginning part of the spinning-out pattern rather than the
eighth-note initial motive. A reduction of the spinning-out

sequence at measures 2 and 3 shows a melodic outline sirnilar to

the varied motives used in the last two sections (Ex. 15.2a).
~1ce the imitation at the fifth, which occurs in the middle of
the original sequence, follows the varied motive instead (mm. 69-
70, 83-8~). As an exact imitation, the original B-flat is not
used except the single entry of the dominant version at measure

BD.
The final return of the initial motive at measure 95 resem-
bles a siIflilar procedure preceding the end of the first section
(beginning in m. 38): the motive is accompanied by a sequence
vutlining melodic descent towards the cadence (Ex. 15.2b). The
modulation to F beginning at measure 89 also echoes that of
measures 23-29 in the first section (Ex. 15.2c).

Ex. 15.2

l
 ,
91

r p[ p Of rlJ 1 f·

J
~ ;:j]]J 1 D1J p, 1J'a J0 1J ru jm 1If QJ ê
.' ;: '!tri Uu 1{Jill [lf[~ 1~[jiJl91,CJU Gr t
c llmSJ ltat IIIifHrrw" Imn 1}JJ 1fJ ED (i
l i ;~ p
" >

;ô QfijftliQlt1B-,fl j Itl4:bI1{fIinnll
 92
RicercAtA X (Table 13[R.10], Ex. 16[R.10])
The two-measure initial motive of Ricercata X overlaps
with itself four times, alternating tonic and dominant forms.
The four overlapping appearances also substitute for the sUb-
sequent spinning-out and together moke up a complete phrase.
For the remainder of the common-time section And also the
next compound-time section, this phrase i5 often made up of
two instead of four statements of the initial motive (Ex.
16a); the motive can also reappear alone (Table 13).

TABLE 13

SUMMARY OF THEMATIC RECURRENCES IN RICERÇATA X

bei. m. me ter thematic motiv~ overall tonality
1-3- C initial motive 1 (V, l, V)
5-7 ( imitation)
11 recurrence l
25 (27) imitation 1 (V)
33-3"- imitation 1 (V, 1 )
3S
("6) recurrence 1 (V)
"'6063* 12/8 recurrence
recurrence
V
1
66 (67) imitation 1 (V)
711, recurrence 1
79 C variant 1
8"
88
variant
variant
V (end III)
1

In the last common-tirne section, the initial motive is

greatly varied: only the ascending triadic outline in the first
four measures confirms its relation to the original motive (Ex .
.( l6b). Nevertheless, similar compositional procedures further
link this last section with the first. At measures 33 to 36 of
 93

the first section, for example, a motive is imitated twice in

tonie-dominant-tonic order; the tonie version outlines the de-
scending tonie triad. Similarly, the varied motive. apart trom
the ascending triadic outline, is repeated twice in the sarne
tonie-dominant-tonie order. The modulation to the mediant (B-
fIat) at measure 17 also seems to be eehoed at measure 86. More
interestingly, the figure following the mediant cadence of the
.....
final section is the sarne (except in direction) a~ the sequence ~

precedin& the imitation at measure 33 (cf. mm. 29-33 & 86, Ex.
16c) . By eontrast with the lack of an articulated cadence at the

end of the first section, a melodie cadence at measure 92 is

ünnediately extended by a sixteenth-note passage, and a struc-
turally more articulate harmonie cadence is repeated at the end

of the pieee.

Ex. 16
1
a
}:~ C r
l

l ~ <~j)

"
l, r- flrruUUtlfrrr p =
1

i (~)
If If

h j. t 1Jffl fJ ij I;tm r ~ 1[fi ha @I$} :

1
(

l .

""
,

t ~. t
1
ru mfJ) iJ l JjJ ;tJJJ 1~Jj) fJlJ lJJJ 1$
1. (loI..j )
Tif f f - -
,. ~ f ttH û1 èS 1 r pÛï ~, f

(i)
b ,:~ @ prr (r 1Pt lU fr r riE

r
l 95

"ulti. -thematic Structure:

Ricercata~ (Table l~[R.l]), Ex. 17[R.l])
~ercata 1 uses four other motives apart from the initial
one for thematic manipulation. The return of the initial motive
at the end (mm. 87-89) aives a sense of overall unity that is
much needed in closina a multiple thematic presentation (Table
le.) .

TABLE le.
SUMMARY OF THEMATIC MOTIVES IN RICERCATA 1
beg. m. thematic idea (imitation)
1 (3) initial motive 1 ( V)
23 (25) new motive 1 (V)
55 (57) new motive V (1)
63 (6~) new motive V (1)
69 (70) new motive 1 (III)
87 initial motive 1

•
The first section (mm. 1-23) begins with a two-measure ini-
tial motive prolonging the tonie (Ex. 17.1a). The motive ie re-
peated exactly in the dominant followed by sequeneing on its
fragment~. In order to keep the section in the tonie, two caden-
ces are avoided: the cadence on the mediant is evaded by the
return of the initial motive an octave above the expected regis-
ter (m. 10); the one on the dominant by extending the melodic
mot~on beyond the cadentlal gesture (m. 19). The conclusive
tonic cadence at mea~ure 23, on the other hand, ls strengthened

'.& by a change of rogister at the beglnning of the next section.

 96

A new motive (Ex. 17.1b) replaces the initial motive for

variation in the next section (mm. 23-5~). In addition to an
exact imitation at the fifth (after an interpolation), the new
motive is restated in the tonic upon completion of a circle-of-
fifths sequence (m. 30). lts inversion also forros the opening of
a sequence (beginning in m. 37) wnich is later fragmented (begin-
ning in m. ~O). The end of the second section is marked by a
less articulated melodic cadence (m. 55).

ix. 17.1

c " -·---ï
~;: tUUtf 1Wf~tU IIUUJJ IlUt f
1 97
From measure 56 on, various signs of closure are evident.
Therefore, althouah more thematic motives are suaaested with
immediate imitations, none of them is followed by further fraa-
mentation (Ex. 17.1c). Also, these motives appear within a
shorter time-span and are imitated ~~ increasinaly tiahter in-
tervals: the first two motives are imjtated at the fourth (domi-
nant-tonie [mm. 55-59 and 63-6~]) and the last one at the third
l
(tonic-~~diant [mm. 69-72]). FormaI articulations amona the mo-
tives are blurred by ~~e occurrence of cadential or quasi-caden-
tial gestures without actual cadential function (mm. 63 and 69);
imitations of two of the li!otives are also extended to include
such a cadential gesture (mm. ~~-~6 and 70-72). Furthermore,
some compositional details of the previous sections reappear, in
particular the evaded cadence on the mediant (cf. mm. 10 and 82)
and the register transfer of an otherwise continuous rnelodic pat-
tern (Ex. 17.2a). In addition to the return of the initial motive
"
at the end, the repetition of the chain of "seventh chordslt--the
second time longer and displayed such that its pattern besins on
the stronger beats of the measure --also 5eems to prepare the
listener for the closure (Ex. 17.2b).1

IKinney considers these two chains of "seventh chordslt as

displaying two different sets of suspensions: 7-6 and 2-3
respectively. See, Kinney, Ph.D. diss., p. 203.
 (
98

Ex. 17.2

Il ",: ŒU 1EUt tUF I1tU tUi, mr i

(.

(...
 l

99

A-thomatic structure:
Ricercate YII and-IX
Ricercate VII and IX are made up of variations of different
fisurative patterns. Unlike aIl the others of Antonii's Ricor-
~ in which the initial motive gains structural ~portance as
thematic model, both Ricercate VII and IX rely solely on the pro-
1 cess of Fortspinnun& as a unifying force in shapins their forms.
Consequ"ntly, they provide especially rich demonstrations of the
numerous techniques of motivic spinnins-out that are prominent in
aIl of Antonii's Ricercate.
RicercatA IX is larsely made up of scale passases and as-
cending and descending sequences of thirds, fourths and fifths,
designed both modally (avoiding the tritone interval, as in m.
37) and tonally (tritone included, as in m. 55). Ricercata VII,
on the other hand, makes use of variations on the circle of
fifths: the implied harmonies can be in root position or in
inversion, diatonic or chromatic. Both descending and ascending
sequences of fifths are found, although the former is more the
norme Of ton the fifths sequence will lead to a cadence, but there
are also fifths sequences (on separate motives) that succeed one
another without a pause (as in mm. 31-~3).

Octave leaps affecting each note of the circle-of-fifths

sequence are cornmon in rnany of Antonii's Ricercate. In addition,
both Ricercata VII and IX show the octave transfer as another
major spinning-out device (Ex. 18); the octave leap can also
(
100

initiate a sequence on its own (a common basse continuo line

motion) t as in mea:sures 65 to 66 of Ricercata VI!. The trans-
ferrine of an octave up and down while continuini the ascending
(or descending) sequence lensthens the ~itation without ex-
ceedine the playable range.

Ex. 18
1. Ricercata VII

J. ... ~ Ët:~ +.,.".,. ~"- ~r:f:~~

.
~
~

rr"..IC"'·'" ... ~=
4o~ ,J..~
J.~= -+

--' . . ... - - - .. -_ .. " ' ........ ..

c. b A
fo

- .. .. .. . - ... - ... ~- ... _-- - - - -

2. Ricercata IX

, / ~ ~ . J'"'r-,-.. f"ot..
. -
LXJ:J L,.....J.oooI ' :; .:;1- ,.;. " -:t

.. -
( ~

r'...... ... . l+ -"" " 1 ...

.. .. - -- -- ... - - - - -. ,
- . . " T1 ' [ ~
.
...

•
 101

-
ott-

InternaI cadential progressions normally affect formaI arti-

culation. In Ricercata IX, after the closing of the initial ~i-

tation at measure 9, further internaI cadences are avoided by a

seemingly unbroken series of spinning-out sequences (see, for ex-
ample, mm. 17, 2B, 87, and 97). With the constant eighth-note
motion throughout the piece, articulations of phrases rely solely
on a change of sequential pattern, or a change of direction, reg-
ister and length of the model figure.
- In Ricercata VII, cadential formulae are frequent but not
aIl have cadential function. The actual cadences are followed by
brief, non-thematic ~itative entries (mm. 1~, 28, 60). The appa-
rent cadence on B at measure 5 is reinterpreted as a continuation
of the fifths sequence when it is ~ediately followed by a more
definite cadence on E at measure 6 which is reinforced at measure
7.
 102
The seemingly non-thematic approach of Ricercata VII exposes
a structural unit y of the entire pie ce by returning the descend-
ini scale at the end as an inversion of the beginning: this
descending scale is also identical (at the lower octave) to the
second half of the two-measure reduction of the initial eiiht-
measure spinnini-out motive (Ex. 19).

Ex. 19

, f:..,. of" M .,...:-

,,'" r"1""T"" ~ r-r--

,......41,,, '" ~.J ""'i..J ~ J' &,..i-;J ..... .,J

*~ ,,-.,.. 1"".,.. r, - - - 1 ~ -....... ~ .,. .-

--... ~
1

l ,.

------. -.
{

f 1
 CONCLUSION

This paper has examined the twelve Ricorcate for unaccompa-

nied violoncello by the late seventeenth-century Boloinese oom-
poser Giovanni Battista desli Antonii. Published in Boloina in
1687, this work precedes by at least thirty years the much better

known--yet never published in their time--six unaccompanied

suites by J. -'. Bach. Although historically they are siinificant
as the first known printed pieces for unaccompanied violoncello,
Antonii's Ricercate continue the tradition of the seventeenth-
century Italian keyboard ricercars and resemble the basso con-
tinuo lines of the time.
Wallace Berry states that the analysis of compositions that
do not conform to a particular predefined form "could be the most
valuable study of aIl. ,,1 In this thesis Antonii' s twelve Ricer-
~ have been divif.ed according to the rnost obvious formaI cri-
terion: the recurrence of a motivic idea, in particular that of

Inlt could be arsued that the analysis of "free" forms is

the most valuable study of aIl. For while the application of a
standard design by no means solves the problems, it does sUiiest
and often deterrnine the nature of many of these solutions. The
fascination of studying forms which depart from the norm in
fundamental ~ and ordering of ayants i8 the discovary and
analysie of factors which are independent of standard methods,
even thoush many of the most vital secrets of any instance of
forro lie in its particular variable details." Wallace Berry,
Form in Music. 2nd ed. (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1986),
pp. '*0<'-5.
103
 10C.

~~e initial motive or theme. The analysis of each Ricercata

based on its melodic structure reveals considerable overall
structural coherence, at t~es under an apparently ~provisatory

surface. This result suggests that FortspinnunS can be an im-

portant formaI determinant in works of an improvisatory nature~

especially those where the distinction between modality and

tonality is not sharp. The present thesis has indicated that
1 Antonii's Ricercate are based on the eight "fixed-pitch" reformed
Tuoni. Although harmonically each ricercar is structured on an
overall tonal scheme, the contents within are modal. As noted
above, the attempt to differentiate modal and tonal elements is
by no means exhaustive. Instead, it is hoped that what has been
presented here will contribute to further study on this subject.
The historical importance of Antonii's Ricercate as composi-
tions for violoncello solo has been emphasized here. Research
into their p03sible significance as part of the harpsichord re-
1 pertoire might provide further insights. The intensive thematic
recurrences and motivic manipulation in aIl of them would offer
an interesting challenge to the harpsichordist reùlizing an upper
part.
Finally, Neal la Monaco commented that Antonii's Ricerca~e

"played a major role in the evolution of music for solo cello.

With its multilinear textures this pedagogical collection can be
regarded as a forerunner of Bach' s solo cello suites. ,,2 Apart
(

2New Groye, s.v. "Degli Antoni, Giovanni Battista." The

complete entry is quoted in the first chapter above.
1 105

from there being no record of any po~~ibility that Bach knew this
work (or any other early Italian unaccompanied violoncello reper-
toire), the compo~itional procedures used in the six unaccompa-
nied violoncello ~uite~ by Bach are dra~tically different from
those in Antonii'~ Ricercate. Bach's movements conform struc-
turally to the appropriate dance forms. The preludes, with their
freer formaI designs, also show influences from tlle German key-
l board tradition. The frequent chordal formations integrated into
the otherwise linear texture of Bach's violoncello suites also
reflect the striving for harmonie richness eharaeteristic of
German music since the end of the seventeenth century (as opposed
to the Italian emphasis on the melodie element). Con~equently,

although rnotivic developrnent is prorninent in thern, the spinning-

out elements in aIl of Baeh's suites are supported by a hierarchy
of underlying harmonie structures, while Antonii's Ricercate are
still rnodally oriented. Therefore, the "rnultilinear textures" in
his ricercars do not so mueh point forward to Baeh's intricate
harmonie polyphony as they refleet Antonii's dependence on the
Italian ricerear tradition since G. Gabrieli and Frescobaldi.
Nevertheless, it i5 interesting to note Bach's setting for
both tunings of the four-stringed violoncello in the first five
suites 3 as weIl as for the five-stringed instrument in the sixth
~uite. Unlike the Italians, German eomposers Beern to adhere to
the conventional tuning of the violoncello in fifths. While no

3The first four suites use eonventional tuning; in the fifth

~uite, the highest string i~ tuned atone lower.
, 106
special notational indication is necessary in the Italian works,
a special notation system (in addition to the word "scordatura"
at the title page) has been used by Bach in his fifth suite where
the violoncello is tuned C-G-D-~. The manuscript of the fifth
suite shows the position of the notes instead of the actual
pitches on the varied string, a practice Biber had already used
in his Mystery (Rosary) sonatas for violin and bass (ca. 1676).
(
It was not until the beginning of the twentieth century,
when Pablo Casals performed Bach's suites in public, that these
became standard concert works. It is hoped that the work re-
ported here will invite other historians and analysts, as weIl as
performers, to further study of Antonii's Ricercate. With the
growing interest in baroque performance practice, rnaybe his work
will also one day gain the recognition it deserve3.

{
 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. Musical SOurceo

Anton!!, G.B. deCli. Bicercate .opra il Violoncello Q

Clavicembalo (Bologna, 1687). Microfilm from the Civico
Museo Bibliografico-Muoieale, Boloana, Italy.
------------------- Ricercate sopra il Violoncello.
Unpublished edition by Gordon Kinney, in his "The
Musical Literature for Unaceompanied Violoncello,"
Ph.D. dissertation, Florida State University, 1962.
------------------- Dodiei Ricercate per Violoncello solo.
Modern edition. Edizione a cura di Lauro Maluoi.
Padova: Edizioni G. Zanibon, 1976.
Antonii, Pietro degli. Tre Sonate per Violino e Pianoforte.
Revised and first new edit ion by Bernhard Paumgartner.
Zürich: Hug and Co., 19~7.
Bassano, Giovanni. ~ercate. passaggi et cadentie . . .
(Venice, 1585). Modern ed. by Richard Erig.
Italienische Diminutionslehren 1. Zürich: Musik-verlag
zum Pelikan (Pelikan Edition 975), 1976.

- Battifferi, Luigi. Ricercari (Op.3, Bologna, 1669).

Ed. by G. G. Butler. Corpus of Early Keyboard Music
~2. American Institute of Musicology, 1981.

Gabrieli, D. Sieben Ricercari (Modena, 1689). Modern cdition

by Dieter Staehelin. Mainz: B. Sehott's Sohne, 1975.
Fasolo, G.B. Annuale OrganisticQ (Veniee, 16~5). Modern
edition. Foreword by Rudolf Walter. Heidelberg: Willy
Müller, Süddeutseher Musikv~rlag, 1977.
Fontana, F. Ricercari per Organo (Rome, 1677). Modern
transcription by Gerhard Doderer. Mtlan: Edizioni Suvini
Zerboni, 1975.
Pasquini, B. Collected WOrks for Keyboard [~ Ricercari and
28 sonatasJ. Modern editOn by Maurice Brooks Hayneo.
Corpus of Early Keyboard Music 5. American Institute
of MUsico!ogy, 1968.

107
 108
(
Salvatore, G. Collocted Keyboard worko [Ricercari a quattro
voci (Naples, 16,.1)]. Modern edition by Barton Hudson.
Corpus of Early Keyboard Music 3. American Institute of
Musicology, 196,..

B. Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Apel, Willi. Harvard Dictionary of Music. 2nd. ed.

Massachusetts: The Be11nap Press of Harvard University
Pres!5, 1969. s. v. "Ricercare".

The Cambridge Italian Dictionary. Gen. ed. Barbara Reynolds.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1962, s.v.
"ricercare" and "armonici".

Die Muslk in Geschichte und Gegonwart. Hrsg. von Friedrich Blume.

Kassel: Barenreiter-Verlag, 19~9.
s.v. "Degli Antonii," by Claude Satori., Ger. transe by
Amalie Abert. Bd. 3: 97-8.
s.v. "Ricercar," by Stefan Kunze and Wolfgang Osthoff.
Bd. 11: ~32-38.

Eitner, Robert. Quellen-Lexikon (Leipzig, 1900-0~; 10 vol.).

Graz: Akademische Oruck-U. Verlagsanstalt, 1959-60 (10 vol.
and 1 suppl. vol), s. v . "Antonii (Antoni) Giovanni Battista
degl'," Bd. 1: 171-72.

( Fétis, Francois-Joseph. Biographie universelle des musiciens

(Brussels, 1835-""). Reprint of 1873 Paris impression, 10
vol. Brussels: Culture et Civilisation, 1972, s.v. "Antoni
(Giovanni-Battista Oegli)," Vol. AAR-BOH, p. 120.

The New Groye Dict~onary of Music and Musicians. Ed. by Stanley

Sadie. 20 vol. London: Macmillan Press Ltd., 1980.
s.v. "Analysis," by lan D. Bent. 1: 3,.0-88.
s'v' "Baroque," by Claude V. Palisca. 2: 172-78.
s. v. tlBologna," by Elvidio Surian. 3: 1-9.
s. v. "Degli Antoni, Giovanni Battista," and /'Deg1i Antoni,
Pietro," by Neal W. la Monaco. 5: 323-2,..
S.v. "Forro," by Arnold Whitta11. 6:70~··10.
s.v. "Fugue," by Roger Bullivant. 7: 9-21.
S.v. "GabrielIi, Domenico," by John Suess. 7: 67.
s. v. "Harroony," by Carl Dahlhaus. 8: 175-88.
s.v. "Mode," Harold S. Powers. 12: 376-~50.
S.v. "Modena," by Elvidio Surian. 12: "50-51.
S.v. "Musica ficta, III: After 1600," by Robert Donington.
12: 802-11.
* 109
•
s.v. "Predieri," by Anne Schnoebelen. 15: 207-08.
s.v. "Ricercare," by John Caldwell. 15: 835-38.
s.v. "Stradivari, Antonio," by Charles Beare. 18: 193-96.
s.v. "Theory, theorists." by Claude V. Palisca. 18: 7~1-62.
s.v. "Tonal i ty ," by Carl Da&'\lhaus. 19 : 51- 5 5 •
s.v. "Violoncello, " by KlaufJ Marx.. 19: 856-62.
Répertoire International des Sources Musicales (Einzeldrucke vor
1800). Pub. by Interna~ional Musicololical Society and the
International Association of Music Libraries. Series AIl
Bd. 1-9. Kassel: Barenreiter-Verlaa, 1971-81.

c. lreatises

Banchieri, Adriano. L'Organo Suonarino (Veni~e, 1605).

Facs~ile and Rare Books on Oraan and Organbuildinl,
Vol. 27. Amsterdam: Frits Knuf, 1969.
Bononcini, Giovanni Maria. Musico Prattico (Bologna, 1673).
Monunlents of Music and Music Literature in Facsimile,
2nd series--Mus. Lit. 78. New York: Broude Brothers, 1969.
Brossard, Sébastien de. Dictionaire de Musique (Paris, 1703).
Facsùnile-reprints of 2nd ed. (1705). Dictionarium Musicum.
Hilversum: Frits Knuf, 1965.
[Dictionary of Musiç] Enslish translation and edited by
Albion Gruber. Music Th~~rists in Translation v. 12.
Henryville: Institute ot Medieval Music Ltd., 1982.
Corrette, Michel. Méthode. ~héorigue et pratique pour apprendre
en peu de temps 10 yioloncelle.,. (Paris, 17~1).
Réimpression. Genève: Minokk Reprints, 1972.
Fantini, Girolamo. Modo per imparare a sonare di tromba 1 1 1

(Frankfurt, 1638). Faes~ile ed. Nashville: Brass

~ess, 1972.

Ganassi, Sylvestro. La Fonteaara (Veniee, 1535).

Facsimile. Bibliotheca Musica Bononiensis, sezione 2, n.
18. Bololna: Forni Editore, 1969.
Ganassi, Sylvestro. Regola Rubertina (Venlee, 15~2, 15~3).
Facsimile. Bibliotheca Musica Bononien~is, sezione 2,
n. 18a. Bololna: Fomi Editore, 1970.
Mozart, Leopold. Versuch einer aründliehen Violinschule ...
(Augsburg, 1756). Neue Ausg. Wien: Veriaa C. Stephenson,
1922.
t 110

Penna, Lorenzo. Li Primi AlbOl."i Mu!dcali (Bolo&na, 1672).

Facs~ile ed. of 168~ ed. Bibliotheca Musica Bononiensis,
sezione 2. n. 38. Bologna: Forni Editore, 1969.
Praetorius, Michel. Syntagma Musicum II; de Organographia
(Wolfenbüttel, 1619). Facs~ile. Documenta Musicologica.
Kassel: Barenreiter Verlal, 1968.
Ortiz, Diego. TratadO de glosas ..• (Rome, 1553). Modern ed. by
Max Schneider. Kassel: Barenreiter Verlag (Barenreiter-
AU8sabe 68~), 1958.
Quantz, Johann Joachim. Versuch einer Anweisung die Flote
traversière zu spielen (Berlin, 1752). Fac~imile of 3rd ed.
(1789). Documenta MUsicologica, erste Reihe. Kassel: H.P.
Schmitz, 1953. [On Playing the Flute] English translation,
2nd ed. with introduction and notes by Edward R. Reilly.
New york: Schirmer Books, 1985.
Walther, Johann Gottfried. Musikaliscbes Lexikon (Leipzig,
1732). Faksimile-Nachdruck. Documenta Musicologica III.
Kassel und Basel: Bàrenreiter Verlag, 1953.

D. Ynr.ublished papers

Bonta, Stephen. "Compromises in the Design of the Bass Violin,

1530-1700." Unpublished typescript copy.
Cyr, Mary. "The Violoncello Piccolo in Bach 1 s Cantatas."
Unpublished typescript copy.

Kinney, Gordon James. "The Musical Literature for Unaccompanied

Violoncello." Ph.D. dissertation, Florida State University,
1962.

Tappa. Richard Jo~eph. "An Analytical Study of the Use of

Imitative Deviees in the Keyboard Rice:r:cars from 1520-1720."
Ph.D. dissertation. Indiana University, 1965.
 111

E. Books

Apel, Willi. Ibe Hiatory of Keyboard Muaic to 1700.

Trans. and revised by Hans Tisohler. Bloominaton:
Indiana University Press, 1972.
Arnold, F.T. The Art of AoeomPaniment from a Thorough-baao.
London: Oxford University Press, 1931.
Berry, Wallace. Form in Muaie. 2nd. ed. New Jersey:
Prentioe-Hall, Ine., 1986.
Boyden, David. The History of Violin Playing ...• London:
Oxford University Press, 1975.
Bukofzer, Manfred F. Muaie in the Bax'ogue Era. New York:
W• W. Norton & Co., 1no., 19 t.. 7 .
Cowling, Elizabeth. The Cello. 2nd revised ed. New York:
Charles Seribner's Sons, 1983.
Donington, Robert. 1he Interpretation of Early Muaie.
London: Faber & Faber Ltd., 197t...
Hill, Alfred Ebsworth & W. Henry Hill. Antonio Stradivarii
his life and wOrk (1902). New introduction by Sydney Beek
& new suppl. indexes by Rombert Wurlitzer. New York:
Dover Pub., Inc., 1963.
Holler, Karl Heinz. Giovanni Maria Bononcini' s "Muoico Prattico"
in aeiner Bedeutuni für die musikalische Satzlebre deo~
Jabrhunderto. Collection d'Etudes Musicologiques. Sammluni
...... musikwissenschaftlicher Abhandlungen, Bd. t..t... Baden-Baden:
Verlai Heita GMBH, 1963.
Horsley, Imogene. Fugue. New York: The Free Press, 1966.
Klenz, William. Giovanni Maria Bononcini of Modena.
Durham, N. Carolina: Duke University Press, 1962.
MaeClintoek, Carol, seleoted, transe and annotated. Readingo
in the Hiatory of "uoie in Performance. Bloominiton:
Indiana University PreBs, 1979.
Markevitoh, Dimitry. Cello Story. Trans. by Florence W. Sedar.
New Jersey: Summy-Birchard Music, 198t...
Marcuse, Sibyl. A Suryey of Huoicai Inotruments. New York:
Harper & Row, 1975.
( 112

Martini, Giovanni Battista. Serie croDologica de principi

dell'Accademia de filarmonici di Bologna (Bololna, 1776).
Ed. by G. Gaspari. Bibliotheca Musica Bononiensis, sezione
3, n. 26. Boloana: Forni Editore, 1970.
Newman, William S. Tbe Sonata in the Baroque Era. ~th ed.
New York: W.W. Norton & Co., Inc., 1983.
Palisca, Claude V. Baroque Music. Prentice-Hall History of
Music Series. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.
Pincherle, Marc. Corelli. His Lite. His Work. Trans. by
Hurbert Russell. New York: W.W. Norton & CO., Inc., 1956.
Sachs, Curt. The Historv of Ifusical Instruments. New York:
W. W. Norton & Co., Inc., 19,.0.
Satori, Claudio. Bibliografia della musica strumentale
Italiana- -stampata ~i.A, Italia fino al 1700. Biblioteca
di Biblioarafia Itali~~a 23. Firenze: Leo S. Olschki-
Editore, 1952.
Van der Straeten, Edmund S.J. History of the Violoncello.
the Viol da Gamba. their Precursors and Collateral
Instruments (1915). 2 vol. Reprint ed. New York:
AMS Press Inc., 1976.
Vatielli, Francesco. Arte e yita musicale a Bologna. Studi
e saggi 15er. III/S. Bologna: Fomi Editore, 1927.
von Wasielewski, Wilhelm Joseph. The Violoncello and its
HistQrY (1888). Trans. by Isabella S.E. Stigand (189~).
Da Capo Press Music Reprint Series. New Preface by Robert
C. Lawes. New York: Da Capo Press, 1968.
Weiss, Piero & Richard Taruskin, selected and annotated. Music
in the Western World: A Histon in Documents. Ne,,' York:
Schirrner Book~, 197~.
 113

F. Articles

Abbreviations :

Acta Musicologica
Archiy für Musikwissenschâfi
Affierican Musical Instrument Society JOurnal
Affierican Musicological Society JOurnal
JOurnal of Music The ory
Musica Disciplina
Music and Letters
Musiçal Quarterly
Musiçal Times

Ailsop, Peter. "The Role of the Stringed Bass as a Continuo

Instrument in Italian Seventeenth Century Instrumental
Music," Chelys 8 (1978/9): 31-37.

Apel, Willi. "The Early Development of the Organ Ricercar,"

~ 3(19/j,9): 139-50.

-----------. "Neapolitan Links between Cabezon and F'rescobaldi,"

W 2"'-(1938): '*18-37.
Atcherson t Walther. "Key and Mode in the Seventeenth Century
Music The ory Books," .!lMI 17 ( 1973): 20'*- 32.

Berger, Jean. "Notes on Sorne 17th-Century Compositions for

Trumpets and Strings in Bo!ogna," MQ 37 (1951): 35'*-67.

Bonta, Stephen. "From Violone to Violoncello: A Question

- of Strings?" AMI.S. 3(1977): 6"-99.

--------------. "Further Thoughts on the History of Strings,"

The Catgut Acoustical Society Newsletter 26(1976): 21-26.

-------------- "The Uses of the Sonata da Chiesa,"

~ 22(1969): 5"'--8'*.

-------------- "Terminology for the Bass Violin in Seventeenth-

Century Italy," AM.I.S "'-( 1978): 5-/j,2.

Eggebrecht, Hans. "Der Terminus Ricercar," Af.MH 9/2(1952):

137-"'-7.

Einstein, A. "Vincenzo Galilei and the Instructive Duo,"

- Mt, 18 (1937): 360-68.

 114
(
Fischer, Wilhelm. "Zur Entwicklungsgegeschichte des Wiener
klassischen Stils," Studien zur Musikwissenschaft 3 (1915,
Vienna): 2~-8~. English translation by Bo Alphonce,
unpublished typescript copy, 1987.
Haar, James. "The Fantasie et Recerchari of Giuliano Tiburtino,"
~ 59(1973): 223-38.

Horsley, Imogene. "The Diminutions in Composition and Theory of

Composition," A.QM 35(1963): 12~-53.

---------------- "The Solo Ricercar in Diminution Manuals:

New Light on Early Wind and String Technique, Il AçM 33 (1961):
29-~0 •
(
- - - - - ----- - ----- "Symposi'A1\ on Seventeenth-Century Music
Theory: l'i:.aly,'' ~ 16 (1972): 50-61.

Kirkendale, Warren. "Ciceronians versus Aristotelians on the

"
Ricercar as Exoldium, from Bembo to Bach," !lAMS. 32 (1979): 1

l-~~. ~

Lester, Joel. "Major-Minor Concepts and Modal Theory in

Germany, ).592-1680," !:IAMS 30(1977): 208-53.

------------ "The Recognition of Major and Minor Keys in

German Theory: 1680-1730," JMT. 22(1978): 61.l.-103.

Mishkin, Henry G. "The Solo Violin Sonata of the Bologna

School," MQ 29(191.l.3): 92-112.

Schnoebelen, Anne. "Performance Practices at San Petronio

in the Baroque," A.çM 16 ( 1969 ): 3 7 - 5 5 .

Schulenberg, David. "Composition as Variation: Inquiries

Into the Compositional Procedures of the Bach Circle
of Composers," Current Musicology 33 (1982): 57-87.

------------------ "Composition before Rameau: Harmony,

Figured-bass, and Style in the Baroque," College Music
Symposium 2~/2(198~): 130-~8.

Stevens, Denis. "Seventeenth Century Italian Instrumental

Music in the Bodleian Library," AcM 26 (195~): 67-7~.

Suess, John G. "Observations on the Accademia Filarmonica of

Bologna in the Seventeenth Century and the Rise of a Local
Tradition of Instrumental Music," Quadriyium 8 (1967): 51-62.

( Sutherland, Gordon.
MG 31(19~5):
"The Ricercari of Jacques Buus,"
~~8-63.
 APPENDIX
ABOUT THE EDITION OF ANTONII'S RICEBCATE

The different clefs have been retained in their original

places. In avoiding any subjective judgement within the varied
possibilities of beaming, eighth-notes are grouped in four in
duple time and three in triple or compound time unless a change
of clef occurs within the prescribed unit. When there are six-
teenth-notes, each beat i5 beamed separately. In the original
edition, unless the sarne note is being repeated ~ediately, an
accidentaI applies only to the note it precedes. Consequently,
appropriate neutralizing signs are added in the present tran-
scription within square brackets. Similarly, square brackets
indicate ether edi torial al terations such as the following:'

Misplaced notes:
lU,~~;r;:QQ:tg V m. 9: the second 'D-E' are originally tC-D'
ij,Q~;[Qg:tg VI m. 50: the fourth 'C' is originally a 'B'
m. 88: the first 'B' is originally an 'A'
Rice~cgta VIII m. 13: the first 'F' is originally a 'G'
m. 93: the first 'E' is originally a 'D'
R.iQ~;[Qa:tg XIr m. iJ,O: the 'C( .. ) , i3 originally a 'B'

......'
'Sorne of the alterations have also been noted by Kinney in
his edition.
115
l 116
Missing accidenta~s:

Ricercata II m.'76: first 'Bb' , the fl.at is missing

Ricercata VII m. 10: first 'FI, , the sharp is missing
m .11: first 'Cf, , the sharp is missing
Ricercata VIII m. 25: both 'Bb's, the fl.ats are missing
m 098: first 'Sb, , the fl.at is missing

Incorrect figures:

Ricercata. l m . 29: figures are origina11y at m.28

Ricercata II m. 22: the second '6' is originally a flat
Ricercata VIII m. Il: '4#' is origina1ly '43'
m. 33: '6#' is origina1ly only , 6'

Moreover, sinee on.ly the sharp and f.lat signs are

used as accidenta1s in these Ricereate, natural signs

have been used in the present transcription whenever

appropriate both in the music and in the figures °

The consistent alternat ion of the Ricercate between

constant eighth-notes (a~l the odd-numbered ones) and

mixed rhythmic e1ements (a11 the even-numbered ones)

suggests that the order of the la st two Ricercate should

be reversed. Accordingly, in the present edi tion the

original Ricercata XI appears as no. XI:r, and vice

versa.

The 'Othree sharps" key signature in the (now)

el.eventh Ricercata--'F#' above and below 'Ci' (bass and

al.to clefs), or 'C#' above and below 'Fi' (tenor and so-

prano clefs) --has been transcribed without the redundant

doubling of 'F#' or 'C#' 0 The numerous changes of clefs

- 117
in this Ricercata might explain the misplaced sharps in many
key signatures, especial1y in the tenor cle~. Sinee the
present edit ion has altered the :format of the key signature,
key signatures with miaplaced sharps in the original edit ion
are listed below rather than using a square bracket in the
score:

Ricercata XI

measure clef original key signature

(le:ft to riqht)
2 tenor C, &, C (sharps)
18 tenor C, &, C (sharps)
19 tenor C, &, C (sharpa)
25 tenor C, &, C (sharps)
27 tenor Cf E, C (sharps)
32 alto F, B, pt (sharps)
35 bass ~, C, pt (sharps)
66 bass ~, C, F (sharps)
69 tenor C, &, C (sharps)
76 tenor C, E, C (sharpa)
-
\
 9
t: ~ ban F;:z::
1
4
ï2tft r rrEi+ §tfj EUiI iJfl [fff-J ([ f r tUJ 1
-#

-
~, ~ ~~ ~ ~
l rj 1r 18 tf1J !8 1fA Cff ri r rit [ ru p2 r(E
53 j8' e
1

56 b
9: frrr mt 1p orFf Ü 1 an [[fj 101 lB ~
~ ~

...
60_ cru 1mJdDJ /"1 ffl;J n~
lB
1t

64) f Bhl cm 1BTI BD 1JJJJLrm 1J11 a 1

68 rw trI' ( If BiÊn;] IHE lB JJ1 nï.Œ~1
8~
~ ± cl b~ -+-:t:k"
2' Œb EID 1Et U OB Il rH tiit 1[ffJ rHî 1
72 b

76)=~ ffD Eî 5 au an rr~:f(Uf rttftr~

1 1

.
- 80 Jét f r[ UJ1IB 1 brrg=1DJ 1 üL [ttJ 1ŒEJ ~
. 84~B ID] v: leu Œ@ tt& D;Jj tJ~~tq~
1 1

88 ~,

9"[JJJ [fJ 1 0: Il .

~
 IUCl:.HCATA I I

(
.....

-
 f f
9c;
fiœcr} trî ft rUI 1] J
;f ~ J. ,

1
-
1 1
.1-
ri
r
rr ? 1 :
h,
H HE!
-
1

99 §= f bru t br If n f fi !
.,.
C f qf
t ( -'
rn 1 UI! tH f 1

li' 114
~9:UU 1 WJ ;m J Il
 RICERCATA lTI

~ ;::t:1' ..r-r;-: ~ 1

):.z: Efiir!(jiUiiE!aMJdijfJWFlfHF
2d rff îfJ1J jf U1ft ff [Hr 1FrUtoqr 1 ŒEr iql
10
n=@ laU l11J i aB [[ ;rif&! U1J figlQ
î:i
~ ~-t.-#' #-

I~
rHsr iF Î î m' rrU 1;m fiI! IFIl Jj)J LtJÎJ tmJ
)b
15

T) jJJj [U 1rFrf PB 1[fLt Dlli ill1 cID Œf; arll

19
1

242:~ Uù ttt 1Jm lW! JT1} ft] 1Jffl dU 1[ru HHI .#--

Fu U,g JJ 1 an ma 1fTJJ ~
29
::;1$ [flitfHJfW J]JJ
34

lm j JDJ
+

2: ~ [fij Uu i lI[ r fItt 1 iTjl;-1:J15 1iffl rriP

tID fi Ui tu; lIif 1Q) HE 2fjJ fflJ 1JrJ tmhl

39 -#- ~
): f 1

44 - g:B
?-~ r::- m
cm 1[!Jj' + Jj,1J i;n :tu
f" tJJJ IÊij} QfJ
1 1 1

:"1- ~ , f'
Sh ïrJ i8 ! W =1 tJ [if! LUf EHI fm tm:§f;;
49
1 1 1 1

7-& ifÎJ ,I1JJ fin WJ IUifBh tfU Hri arr il

54
1 1 1
·..
<

t+ ~ ~+~ ~;' t
je
98
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