Virgilio RANZATO (1883-1937)
Paolo Mora (violin)
Milo Martani (piano)
rec. 2016, Oratorio dell’Assunta della Rocca Sanvitale di Sala Baganza
TACTUS TC881801 [68:11]
When scouring auction lists of 78s, you will frequently
come across the name of violinist Virgilio Ranzato whose Pathé, HMV,
Zonophone and Columbia discs generally go for next to nothing. He was
Venetian, studying in the city and then in Milan. His most eminent position
was as leader of the orchestra at La Scala, where he played under Toscanini,
and he clearly earned considerable respect if the number of his discs
is anything to go by – even though their historical value now
far outstrips their monetary worth. Around 1910 he moved toward composition
and his operettas formed the backbone of his professional career until
his death, several being amongst the most popular Italian productions
of their time.
This disc is devoted to the earlier period in his life when his compositions
supported his concert-giving life, that of an orchestral and chamber
player who also gave numerous recitals, spiced with some of his own
efforts. It was a commonplace at a time when soloists were largely expected
to write genre pieces; good for recordings, and good for the publication
of sheet music, which could be advertised at concerts (this is a much
under-explored niche subject in the area of commercial recording and
recital history).
It would be good to report that Tactus’ booklet traced the trajectory
of Ranzato’s biographical and musical life in an effective narrative
but in fact, rather dodgily translated into English, it’s all
over the place. It’s an extremely frustrating read, interleaving
snippets of life into details about the works - itself usefully presented
- in a way that manages to clog both the life and the art.
The music itself reflects contemporary enthusiasm for salon charmers,
sentimental serenades, insect studies, Spanish dances à la Sarasate,
Magyar muscle, twilight tristesse and coquetry. Compositions date from
1907 to around 1922 so covers the period when Ranzato had moved into
large-scale compositions but retained a fondness for morceaux pieces
such as these. We hear one of the set of Op.2, a Romance that shows
a conventional turn of mind but a warm and enveloping generosity of
expression. Four of the pieces in the disc were dedicated to eminent
violinists; the Danse Espagnole, full of vitality and Sarasatean
sunlight, bears a dedication to César Thomson, one of the reigning monarchs
of the Belgian school as does the spirited Serenade galante
whilst Teresina Tua, a pioneering exponent of the Italian school, received
a brace too: a rather beautifully spun Serenata Andalusa, full
of intimacy, and Farfalla intorno al lume, a butterfly study
that comes out sounding like a certain bumblebee. Not content with this,
in 1923 he also wrote a less hectic Dragonfly dance (Danza di libellule)
with an attractive drone and a slight Ragtime feel.
Ranzato certainly covered a lot of the lighter ground. He conceives
a showy gallop, launched by anticipatory pizzicati – plenty of
avid horse hoofs in the piano part - in Galopade and the early
cinema interested Ranzato sufficiently for him to write a score for
La Canzone del fuoco from which we hear some love music in
the form of a suavely laid-back waltz. Hymnal and cuckoo evocations
– a chance for scherzo virtuosity – rub musical shoulders
with the longest piece here, the seven-minute Capriccio ungherese,
which is terpsichorean if somewhat generic.
Paola Mora and Milo Martani make a good team, drawing out much of the
music’s flair. Mora is not the most technically watertight player
and he is sometimes fractionally under the note but whilst greater projection
and colour would do more for the recital, he and Martani’s ensemble
is secure. Ranzato recorded a number of the earlier pieces from 1909
onwards – at least ten by my reckoning - but there are a number
of world premiere recordings here and the curious will find the recital
well shaped and pretty well recorded.
Jonathan Woolf
Disc contents
Arlecchinata (1923) [1:28]
Aubade (1922) [2:58]
Berceuse, op.12 no.3 (1907) [2:47]
Capriccio ungherese (1922) [7:11]
Danse espagnole, op.12 no.1 (1907) [1:40]
Danza di libellule [3:49]
Farfalla intorno al lume, op.42 (Scherzo) (1920) [2:12]
Galopade (1908) [1:31]
Il cuculo, op.36 (Scherzo in A minor) [3:27]
Il tamburino arabo (Impressione for violin and piano) (1920) [2:48]
La canzone d'amore [2:51]
La preghiera della sera (1911) [4:07]
Meditation, op.13 (1907) [4:10]
Nell'ora dell'Ave Maria, op.44 [3:31]
Romanza senza parole, op.2 no.1 (1907) [3:55]
Serenade galante [2:52]
Serenata (1908) [2:41]
Serenata Andaluse, op.41 (1920) [5:34]
Serenata Coquette [3:29]
Serenata triste (1908) [3:40]
