While this first recording of 32 of Costanzo Festa’s 125 variations on the popular cantus firmus melody La Spagna is expertly performed and sounds terrific, this definitely is a disc that will appeal primarily to specialists and other devotees of 16th-century instrumental music. Listeners who appreciate such things will be fascinated with Festa’s imaginative and highly skilled treatment of the 37-note “theme”, which he preserves intact throughout each of his contrapunti, which employ varying numbers of parts, from three to 11. The latter, Contrapunto 125, which is “the last variation of the manuscript”, is grand and richly harmonious and Paul Van Nevel’s choice of instruments fully exploits these attributes. Another, the four-voice Contrapunto 88, assigns each part a different note-value, from double-whole-notes (the cantus firmus) to quarter-notes. The effect is truly unusual–a rather chaotic 54 seconds, or as Van Nevel accurately describes, it creates “a decidedly bizarre sound picture”.
Director Van Nevel assigns two different sets of ensembles–one “whole” and one “broken” consort–to alternate variations (most of which last less than two minutes), so our ears are treated to a welcome mix of mellow and reedy winds, cornets and sackbuts, and viols. Although the notes say otherwise, there’s also a surprise (and stunning) addition of voices (singing, that is) in the five-part Contrapunto 104.
Although this unique masterpiece–it’s the largest-scale work of its type from the Renaissance–was never published, references to its existence and misrepresentations of its contents appeared throughout the centuries since it was composed. And while comparisons of Festa’s work with Bach’s Musical Offering or Goldberg Variations may be something of a stretch on almost any level, there’s no doubt as to the impressive fertility of ideas and facility of execution evidenced in this well-chosen and skillfully ordered program. Van Nevel’s notes are expert and succinct, giving us just enough information to place the music in context–and the excellent performances do the rest. Incidentally, I listened to this hybrid SACD on a standard CD player, and although it was a little “edgy” in the treble at higher volume, the fullness of the sound and natural, vibrant quality to the instrumental timbres won me over.
