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Giuseppe Gherardeschi, a composer revealing the Pistoiese organ by Umberto Pineschi

The life

Giuseppe Gherardeschi, son of Domenico and Umiltà Lazzerini, was born in Pistoia on 3 November 1759. He was baptized the following day in the baptistery of

the Cathedral of Pistoia, where his father was maestro di cappella at least from 1775 after having been organist from 1755 to 1771. Giuseppe was taught the first elements of the musical art by his father and by his uncle Filippo Maria, a pupil of Padre Martini in Bologna, and maestro di cappella first of the Cathedral of Pistoia and then of the Primaziale (Cathedral) of Pisa. His education was completed in Naples at the famous “Conservatorio della Pietà detta de’ Turchini” as a student of its director Nicola Sala (1713-1801), a pupil of Leonardo Leo and renowned teacher having, whose pupils such names as Giacomo Tritto and Gaspare Spontini. Back in Pistoia, Giuseppe was appointed organist of the Madonna dell’Umiltà church. In 1785 he married Alessandra Leporatti, who bore him seven children, that is Atto, Giovanni, Luisa, Francesco, Luigi, Anna and another Atto (born after first Atto’s death). Left a widower on 28 November 1794, on 26 February 1795 he married Francesca Maestripieri, one year older than he, who bore him a daughter, Carolina, in 1797. In 1795 Giuseppe Gherardeschi had been admitted among the individuals forming the chapel of the Cathedral as first soprano and, at the same time, as a substitute for his father, who was its director but suffered from physical impotence. In 1800, after his father died, Giuseppe was appointed to his job, with obligation of teaching some Church college students twice a week, with the possibility of holding the position of second soprano.

The autograph titles on the front page of his three compositions reveal his political tendencies, especially his respect for the established order.

Antifona e Salmo 65 a pieno coro di voci e strumenti da cantarsi in occasione di ringraziare l’Altissimo per qualche favore segnalato ed eseguito nella Cattedrale di Pistoia a risposta col popolo il dì 26 e 27 luglio 1799 in occasione della repentina liberazione della Toscana dalle mani dei rapaci francesi nemici di ogni bene e specialmente del popolo d’Iddio e per il ritorno del nostro amabile Ferdinando III nostro amoroso padre e sovrano [B. 141, 1] Antiphon and Psalm 65 for full choir of voices and instruments to be sung for some special distinguished favour and performed at the Cathedral of Pistoia, with people answering, on 26 and 27 July 1799 for the occasion of the sudden liberation of Tuscany from the hands of the rapacious French, enemies of every good and especially of the people of God and for the return of our gracious Ferdinand the 3rd, our loving father and sovereign.

Te Deum a pieno coro di voci e strumenti da eseguirsi alternativamente col popolo per la felicissima istantanea e desideratissima liberazione della Toscana dall’armi desolatrici francesi seguita l’anno 1799. Composto in 5 giorni [B. 163, 4]. Te Deum for full choir of voices and instruments to be performed in alternation with the people for the very happy instantaneous and very desired liberation of Tuscany from the desolating French arms in the year 1799 Te Deum. Composed in 5 days.

Ecce sacerdos magnus, in occasione dell’ingresso nella Cattedrale di Pistoia del Sommo Pontefice Pio VII il dì 7 novembre 1804. Replicato per l’istessa fausta occasione il dì 28 maggio 1815 in occasione che l’istessa Sua Santità da Genova tornava a Roma dopo la disfatta del traditore Murat datagli dagl’austriaci [B.

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85 n. 3]. Ecce sacerdos magnus,on the occasion of the entrance of the Supreme Pontiff Pius VII in the Cathedral of Pistoia on 7 November 1804. Repeated for the same happy occasion on 28 May 1815 after the defeat of the traitor Murat by the Austrians. Giuseppe Gherardeschi was maestro di cappella until the end of his life. He died in Pistoia on 6 August 1915. The day after his death his son Luigi applied for the

same job and received it from the chapter of the Cathedral. The organ works

Almost all the Giuseppe Gherardeschi’s organ works were published from 1978 on, when a first collection appeared, which was meant to be also the only one by

its editor, the same editor of the present collection. The favour encountered by this collection, that very soon had a second edition, persuaded the editor to publish other pieces in a second collection, then in a third and finally in a fourth collection. There were no organized plan, since every time only the pieces considered interesting at the moment were selected. Their context, often crucial for their understanding, was not taken in account. Such a fragmented presentation of the Gherardeschi organ works did not allow one to fully appreciate both their lesson on the Pistoiese organ and the artistic relevance of the composer. Therefore, it was necessary that a new edition should not only include all known compositions for organ, but especially should give them the same order they have in the manuscripts. In these fonts, actually, all these organ pieces are not isolated but grouped in one of the following ways: 1. A series of sonatas; 2. Masses (consisting of three pieces, namely Offertorio, Elevazione and Postcommunio, or, in one case only, versets to be played in alternation with the Gregorian chant of the ordinary of the Mass (Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus and Agnus Dei): 3. Collections of versets. At the beginning or at the end of two of these collections, there are pieces for the eucharistic benediction, that is intonations for the hymn Tantum Ergo or for the benediction itself. There are only two exceptions: the Sonata per organo a guisa di banda militare che suona una marcia and a g minor fugue without title and name of the composer, but certainly an autograph by Giuseppe Gherardeschi, that could be, considering its many mistakes (parallel octaves and fifths), a juvenile exercise on the Zipoli’s theme for the d minor Canzone transposed a fourth higher.

In the first edition (2009) every piece was given an opus number (a P, followed by a number), since up to then they never had one. The edition appearing in the website of the “Giuseppe Gherardeschi” Organ Academy is the second edition, revised where necessary. The organs intended by Gherardeschi’s organ pieces

Typology. Independent of their musical value, Giuseppe Gherardeschi’s organ pieces have a unique relevance because of the accurate indications of registration that all of them bear, with the only exception being the aforementioned fugue. One should remember that before Gherardeschi was discovered around 1965, little was known much less appreciated about the Pistoiese organ. The general and accepted opinion was that its purpose was for improvisation, and that no literature was ever written for it. Moreover, its extraordinary abundance of registri da concerto in the bass and in the treble and the criteria of their possible combinations was a mystery. Gherardeschi’s organ works disproved these assumptions, by finally revealing, in a perfect and complete way, the logic of the da concerto stops in the Pistoiese organ of the 18th and 19th centuries. Examining the registrations indicated by Gherardeschi for the different collections of pieces, it clearly appears that each one was meant for a precise type of instrument among those existing in Pistoia at that time from the essential Italian organ (Principale, Ottava, Decimaquinta, Decimanona, Ripieno, Flauto in ottava and Voce umana) to an instrument enriched by a larger number of da concerto stops typical of the organs of the Pistoiese school (Flauto traverso 8’ [stopped], Flauto in XII soprani, Flautino 1’ bassi, Cornetto soprani, Trombe 8’ basse e soprane, Clarone 4’ bassi, Musetto 8’ soprani e

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Violoncello [reed Voce Umana] 4’ bassi), copied or inspired by the organ built in 1664 by the Flemish Jesuit Guglielmo Ermanni (this was how Willem Hermans was called in Italy) for the church of Sant’Ignazio di Loyola – known also as “Spirito Santo”– attached to the Jesuit college in Pistoia.

Ripieno. The registrations suggested by Gherardeschi involving stops from the Principale-Ripieno family suppose five separate ranks (Principale, Ottava, Decimaquinta, Decimanona), followed by a pieno not better specified. However, such a disposition seems to reflect one of the most common schemes adopted by the Tuscan organ builders since the 16th century, that is the Decimanona followed by two or three ranks together. In the Ripieno of Onofrio Zeffirini at the Badia Fiorentina (1553), the Decimanona is followed by three ranks together (XXII-VI-IX).This is exactly what we find in later instruments until Gherardeschi’s time, for instance in the Cacioli-Tronci (1745) of the church of the SS. Prospero and Filippo, Pistoia, in the Troncis of Stazzema, Lucca, (1787) and Vellano, Pescia (1795) and in the monumental three manual and two pedalboard Tronci (1815 ca.) of the church of San Pier Maggiore, Pistoia. In the Ripieno of Cesare Romani da Cortona in the organ of San Martino church, Siena (end 16th – beginning of 17th century), the Decimanona is followed by two ranks together (XXII-VI). Later on this is the preferred scheme for middle size instruments by the Pistoiese builders Tronci and Agati, for instance in the organs of the Santa Maria delle Grazie church, Pistoia (1755) and of the Villa Rucellai chapel, Campi Bisenzio (1793), now in the Cathedral of Pistoia, also described as the standard specification in the Combinazioni di regitrature (middle 18th century, Fondo Venturi, Biblioteca Comunale, Montecatini Terme, Pistoia). Three other types of division in the Ripieno are to be found in the same period in Tuscany: 1. All the ranks divided; 2. XIX, XXII, XXVI-IX; 3. XIX-XXII, XXVI-XXIX.

Manuals and pedalboards. The compass of the manual and of the pedalboard required by Gherardeschi’s organ pieces reflects the transition in the Pistoiese organ building school in the last quarter of the 18th century from a 45 key manual (C-c’’’, with short first octave) and an 8 keys pedalboard (C-B, a short octave) to a 47 key manual (C-d’’’, with short first octave) and a 10 key pedalboard (a short octave, with e flat and a flat added). Significant examples are the three Sonate per organo (1787), written for a manual up to d’’’, but with variations to perform them also on manuals up to c’’’ only, and the Messa in Elafà (1813), exploiting the two chromatic keys newly added to the pedalboard.

It is necessary to mention, concerning the pedalboard, that Gherardeschi’s habit to write B and B flat to be played by the pedals below the left hand stave with two ledger lines, does not mean that the pedalboard of the Pistoiese organ reached a B flat lower than C. The two keys existed on paper only, never in reality.

Stops. We report here four significant organ specifications, starting with the prototype, that is the Hermans organ 1664. Gherardeschi’s organ work Sonate e Messe per organo was written either for this organ or for an identical instrument. We continue with a Tronci organ 1787, the year Gherardeschi composed his [Three] Sonate per organo and two Agatis built respectively in 1794 and in 1797.

Guglielmo Ermanni [Willem Hermans], 1664 (curch of Sant’Ignazio di Loyola, or “Spirito Santo”, Pistoia) Manual of 45 keys (C-c’’’ with short first octave). Pulldown pedalboard of 9 keys (C-c short octave). Stops (bass and treble divide between f sharp’ and g’): Principale 8’ Ottava Decimaquinta Decimanona Vigesima seconda Vigesimasesta, nona e Trigesimaterza

Flauto [stopped] 8’ Flautino bassi 1’ Flauto in duodecima soprani 2’ 2/3 Cornetto IV soprano Trombe basse 8’ Trombe soprane 8’

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Voce umana bassi 4’ Mosetto soprani 8’

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[Subbass 16’ at the pedal] Special effects: Timpano, Usignoli, Tremolo Sliderchest

Antonio and Filippo Tronci, 1787 (curch of Santa Maria Assunta, Stazzema, Lucca) Manual of 47 keys (C-d’’’ with short first octave). Pulldown pedalboard of 8 keys (C-B short octave). Stops (bass and treble divide between e flat’ and e’) Principale 8’ [double in the treble] Ottava [double in the treble] Decimaquinta 2’ Decimanona 1 1/3’ Vigesima seconda, sesta e nona 1’, 2/3’, 1/2’

Flauto in ottava 4’ Flauto in duodecima 2 2/3’ Ottavino soprani 2’ Cornetto IV soprano Trombe basse 8’ Trombe soprane 8’ Clarone bassi 4’ Mosetto 8’ soprani [originally, later on replaced by a Corno Inglese 16’]

Contrabbassi ai pedali 16’ Sliderchest Pietro Agati 1794 (church of San Michele Arcangelo, Treppio, Pistoia). Manual of 45 keys (C-c’’’ with short first octave). Pulldown pedalboard of 8 keys (C-B short octave). Stops (bass and treble divide between e flat’ and e’): Principale 8’ Raddoppio del Principale [from d’] Ottava [double from d’] Duodecima 2 2/3’ Decimaquinta 2’ Decimanona 1 1/3’ Vigesima seconda 1’ Vigesimasesta e nona 2/3’, 1/2’

Flauto in selva 8’ Flauto in ottava 4’ Cornetto IV soprano Trombe basse 8’ Trombe soprane 8’ Violoncello basso 4’ Mosetto soprano 8’ Voce umana soprani 8’

Contrabbassi ai pedali 16’ Special effects: Timpano, Usignoli. Sliderchest Pietro Agati 1797 (Church of San Michele Arcangelo, Vignole, Pistoia). Manual of 47 keys (C-d’’’ with short first octave) Pulldown pedalboard of 17 keys (C-e with short first octave) Stops (bass and treble divide between f sharp’ and g’, except Principale, Ottava and Decimaquinta that divide between f’ and f sharp’ probably because of a later modification):

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Principale basso 8’ Principale soprano 8’ Ottava bassa Ottava soprana Decimaquinta bassa Decimaquinta soprana XIX-XXII XXVI-XXIX Voce umana soprana 8’

Flauto in selva basso 8’ Flauto in selva soprano 8’ Flauto in ottava basso Flauto in ottava soprano Flautino basso 1’ Cornetto IV soprano Trombe basse 8’ Trombe soprane 8’ Clarone basso 4’ Bombarda soprana 16’ Violoncello basso 4’ Mosetto 8’ soprani Corno di bassetto 8’

Campanelli soprani Contrabbassi 16’ [for the pedals] Accessories: Timpano, Tirapieno, Polisire (= free combination to add stops). Springchest

The registration

The organ works of Giuseppe Gherardeschi are, as we already pointed out, a real treatise of registration for the different types of the Pistoiese organ of the last quarter of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. Often one finds there some combinations of stops suggested that one otherwise would not have thought possible.

Gherardeschi’s clever use of the divided stops allows one to casually move from the bass section of the keyboard to the treble section and the other way round in such a way that the listener has no time to realize that. Two examples are: Principale (entire, 8’), Musetto (treble 8’) and Clarone (bass 4’) in the 4th verset of the Gloria of the Messa in Elafà and Principale, Flauto, XII and Violoncello bassi 4’ in the Postcomunio of the C major Messa. It is difficult, or even impossible, to guess what kind of division between bass and treble among those organs used in Pistoia at the time Gherardeschi liked better for his pieces: f sharp’ / g’ for the Hermans and Vignole organs and e flat’ / e’, e’ / f’ and f’ / f sharp’ for the other organs.

It is important to point out the difference between Organo aperto and pieno that we find only in Gherardeschi, even in the same work, the Messa in Elafà. In many Italian regions, even in Tuscany in earlier times, these two indications have the same meaning, the complete Ripieno without flute. On the other hand, in Gherardeschi the Pieno is the Ripieno (he never says if complete or partial), while Organo aperto means the complete Ripieno with the addition of Trombe and Cornetto. This is explicitly indicated in the registration of the seventh of the Versetti concertati solenni Rossi Cassigoli XXIII,13 and implicitly in the B flat major Offertorio.

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Finally, Gherardeschi writes where one has to use the two special effects never missing in a Pistoiese organ, the same as we find in the Hermans organ, that is Timpano (kettledrum) and Usignoli (nightingales).

Some of Gherardeschi’ s pieces belong to two different collections, with the same notation, but with different registrations. For instance, the 14th verset in sesto tono of the MS B. 181, 26, to be played with Principale e Voce Umana, is also the 6th verset of the MS Rossi Cassigoli XXIII,14, to be played with Flauto Traverso e Violoncello o Clarone. This is one of the two reasons why the collections are complete in this edition, in spite of the repetitions. The other reason is that the same piece can have fingering indications in one collection and nothing in the other. Manuscript sources Oblong folio cm 22,5x30 ca.,10 staves per page, grouped into systems of 2. The letter B (initial of Busta) means that the font is located in the Musical Library of the Capitular Archive of the Cathedral of Pistoia. The letters RC (initials of Rossi Cassigoli) mean that the font is located in the Central National Library of Florence. B. 181, 2. 1813; autograph; 8 folios; no page numbers, folio 8b blanc. Messa per organo / in Elafà / composta da Giuseppe Gherardeschi maestro / di cappella della cattedrale / di Pistoia / per uso del signor Francesco Baldansi di Prato / 1813. Contains five Versetti per il Kirie [sic], nine per il Gloria, two per il Sanctus, one per l’Agnus Dei and Preludio per attaccare il Postcomunio in Bfà. B. 181,6. End of the 18th – beginning of the 19th century; miscellaneous file; no title; 20 folios; no page numbers; folios 11ab, 12ab e 20b blanc. It contains the following autographs of Giuseppe Gherardeschi, even if his name never appears: a g minor fugue, the fifth of the Versetti concertati in quinto tono and, except the first, the Versetti brevi a pieno which are also found in RC XXIII,13; from the 7th to the last of the Versetti concertati which are found in RC XXIII,14; Offertorio in B flat major; Elevazione in E flat major, a F major allegro and other incomplete pieces. There are other complete or fragmentary compositions (versets etc.) which are written in a different hand and probably by other authors as well. B. 181,7. End of the 18th 19th century; 13 folios; no page numbers. Sonate / e / Messe per organo / del sig.r / Giuseppe Gherardeschi. Includes two pieces Per Benedizione, two Avanti il Tantum Ergo and two series of pieces for the Offertorio, Elevazione and Postcomunio [sic], the first in D major and the second in C major. B. 181,13. Folios 2; no page numbers. Sonata per organo a guisa di banda militare che suona una marcia / del sig.r / Giuseppe Gherardeschi. B. 181,21. End of 18th century; 8 folios; no page numbers; folio 8ab blanc. Versetti per organo a pieno e concertati in tutti i toni. Giuseppe Gherardeschi’s autograph, although without composer’s name. It contains three versets of the first tone, three of the second, three of the fourth, four of the fifth (two of them also in RC. XXIII,14 ), four of the sixth (three of them also in R.C. XXIII,14), three of the seventh, four of the eight and one of transposed eight tone. B. 181,23. 1787; 4 folios, no page numbering. Suonate da organo del sig. / Giuseppe Gherardeschi / 1787. It contains Rondò in G major, Postcomunio [sic]. Rondò in F major and Cantabile per il Traverso solo con Clarone nei bassi. B. 181,26. End of 18th – beginning of 19th century; 24 pages with modern numbering. Versetti concertati solenni / del sig.re Giuseppe / Gherardeschi. Contains a series of three versets for the first, second and third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and octave tones, plus an Andantino per Benedizione. Many of these pieces have fingering. RC XXIII,13. End of 18th – beginning of 19th century;10 folios; no page numbers. Versetti concertati solenni / in quinto tono / del sig. Giuseppe Gherardeschi. It contais 10 Versetti brevi a pieno and 11 Versetti concertati.

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RC XXIII,14. End of 18th – beginning of 19th century;12 numbered (1-12) folios. N° 10 Versetti a pieno e / N° 10 Versetti concertati / per organo / del sig.re Giuseppe Gherardeschi / maestro di cappella della/cattedrale di Pistoia. RC XXIII,18. End of 18th century; 6 folios; no page numbers. Pastorale / del sig. Giuseppe Gherardeschi. Actually there are two Pastorales, from folio 1a to folio 5a.

The other compositions of Giuseppe Gherardeschi

VOCAL-INSTRUMENTAL COMPOSITIONS FOR THE CHURCH (from two to eight voices, with organ or more instruments, up to the full orchestra): at least 30 masses, including two Requiem masses; 3 matins; 9 motets; 37 lamentations; 21 psalms e cantics; 21 hymns for the Vespers; 5 Te Deum; 2 Stabat Mater; 3 litanies; 8 Cori per la processione del venerdì santo; Via Crucis. ORATORIOS: Il sacrificio di Jeft (1803); choirs for the Sisara (1802); cavatina Mentre al valor s’applaude in the oratorio Il voto di Jefte. THEATER OPERAS: Daliso e Delmita with choirs and ballets (1782); L’apparenza inganna (1784). CANTATAS: Angelica e Medoro, sinfony and cantata (1783); L’ombra di Catilina (1789); L’impazienza 1798); La speranza coronata (1804 e 1809). OTHER SECULAR COMPOSITIONS: arias Già ti vedo in campo armato and Or che trovo, sposa amata (1781); duo Prendi l’estremo addio (1783); scenes and arias Deh, serbate eterni dei and No, pur teme un’alma forte and arias Sento da un giusto sdegno e Fosca nube (1784); rondò Ah, se in vita mio tesoro (1785); Notturno a due voci per l’immatura morte della sua amabile sposa (1794); three Duetti con pianoforte obbligato (1798); pollonese Mi pizzica, mi stimola (1800); cavatinas Voi d’amante dolci affetti (1805) and Il carattere si tenga di superba e di civetta; song with piano accompaniment A te serbarmi per sempre io giuro.

INSTRUMENTAL COMPOSITIONS BESIDES THOSE FOR ORGAN FOR ORCHESTRA: 5 symphonies in three movements (allegro, largo, allegro): in D major (1781), in C major (1783), in E flat major (1787), in C major (1790) and in D major (no date); Sinfonia concertata a più strumenti in D major, in three movements (allegro assai, andantino affettuoso, allegro giusto); Concertone in D major (1789) in three movements (allegro, marcia, rondò); Sinfonia a più strumenti obbligati (1786) in D major, only one movement; 3 sinfonies in one movement, all in C major. FOR THE CHURCH: Concertone per l’Elevazione, marcia, risposta al Pange lingua, risposta agli improperi e marcia lugubre for flute, oboe, clarino [sic, that is “clarinetto”], horn and bassoon (1786); Quattro sonate per vari strumenti a fiato in occasione della processione del venerdì santo (1794); Per benedizione for 2 violins, 2 clarinets, 2 horns, bassoon and organ (1815). CHAMBER: Concertone per violini, viola, clarinetto obbligato, corni, violoncello e contrabbasso (1784); Sei sonate notturne a 8 parti (1787); Tre divertimenti ò vero sonate concertate (1789); Tre quintetti per 2 clarini, 2 corni e fagotto (senza data); Tre divertimenti per il pianoforte, flauto e violoncello (1783); Sei trii per 2 violini e violoncello (1784); Dieci sonate per 3 clarinetti (1792); Sei sonate per cembalo o pianoforte con l’accompagnamento di un violino obbligato (the only work that Gherardeschi could have printed during his life, in Florence by Del Vivo, no date); Sei duetti per due clarinetti (1804); Duetti per fagotto (no date). FOR HARPSICHORD: Sonata III per il cimbalo o pianoforte op. 1 (1781); Sonata per cimbalo (no date). EDUCATIONAL WORKS Pratica di contrappunto e fuga conforme le regole dettate da’ buoni autori; Regole fondamentali per apprendere la musica compilate e schiarite per i suoi scolari (1801); Bassi per l’accompagnatura (no date), Vocalizzi e ariette per basso (no date); Otto solfeggi a due (1782); Solfeggi in chiave di tenore (1809); Solfeggio per basso alla francese (no date); Raccolta di artificiose composizioni (1789).

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Frontespizio della Messa in Elafà (MS autografo B. 181, 2)

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Fine dell’ultimo versetto del Kyrie e primo versetto del Gloria della Messa in Elafà (MS autografo B. 181, 2)