Giovanni Battista Fasolo, O.F.M.Conv (

Asti Asti ( , , ; pms, Ast ) is a ''comune'' of 74,348 inhabitants (1-1-2021) located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deemed t ...

, ca. 1598

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

after 1664), was a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

friar, organist and composer. In his middle years Fasolo was primarily known for his 1645 organ annual, which, like ''L'organo suonarino'' of

Adriano Banchieri Adriano Banchieri (Bologna, 3 September 1568 – Bologna, 1634) was an Italian composer, music theorist, organist and poet of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He founded the Accademia dei Floridi in Bologna. Biography He wa ...

, from the generation before him, was intended for use in small parish churches, and are much simpler than those used in Venice. In 1659 Fasolo became ''maestro di cappella'' to the Archbishop of

Monreale Monreale (; ; Sicilian: ''Murriali'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, in Sicily, southern Italy. It is located on the slope of Monte Caputo, overlooking the very fertile valley called ''"La Conca d'oro"'' (the Golde ...

. Until recently many of G.B. Fasolo's secular works were attributed to other composers, particularly the Venetian

Francesco Manelli Francesco Manelli (Mannelli) ( 1595 – 1667) was a Roman Baroque composer, particularly of opera, and a theorbo player. He is most well known for his collaboration with fellow Roman composer Benedetto Ferrari in bringing commercial opera to Ve ...

, the composer of the first commercial operas in music history, or to a third unknown composer known as "Il Fasolo?". However following the work of Francesco Luisi, Mariangela Donà, and Claudio Bacciagaluppi the attribution of the major works under the heading "Il Fasolo?" to G.B. Fasolo is now reasonably secure, and listed under his own entry, by Eleanor Selfridge-Field, in the current ''

New Grove ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theor ...

.''

Extant works

*Op. 3 "Misticanza di Vigna alla Bergamasca; il Canto della Barchetta et altre cantate et ariette per Voce et Chitarra." Robletti Rome, 1627. Sole surviving copy was in the possession of Dr. Oscar Chilesotti in 1886. A facsimile of a single song "I bei guardi" from this collection is included in an article by Chilesotti- "Notes sur les tablatures de luth et de guitare" originally published in "Encyclopedie de la musique" ; edited by Albert Lavignac (1925). Part 1, vol. 2 : Italie - Allemagne, p. 636-684. This is particularly interesting because figures have been added to the guitar alfabeto symbols to indicate how the accompaniment should be strummed. *''Il carro di Madama Lucia''. Rome, 1628 (*attributed). *Aria - ''Se desiate, o bella'', 1629 (*attributed). *Op. 6 Second Book of Motets for 2-3 voices, with a mass for 3 voices, Naples, 1635. *Op. 8 ''Annuale che contiene tutto quello, che deve far un Organista per risponder al Choro tutto l'Anno''; for organ, Venice, 1645. (263 pages of organ music!) *''Magnificat, Beatus vir'', a 5. ca. 1645.(*attributed) *Op. 9 ''Arie spirituali morali, e indifferenti'', 2-3 vv, with dialogues 3vv and two arias for solo voice. Palermo, 1659.

Recordings

*Aria Cangia, cangia tue voglie. Aria from Op. 3 La barchetta passaggiera. Rome, 1627. Recorded by

Beniamino Gigli Beniamino Gigli ( , ; 20 March 1890 – 30 November 1957) was an Italian opera singer (lyric tenor). He is widely regarded as one of the greatest tenors of his generation. Early life Gigli was born in Recanati, in the Marche, the son of a shoem ...

London, 1947. *''Il Fásolo?''

Le Poème Harmonique Le Poème Harmonique is a musical ensemble founded in 1998 by Vincent Dumestre to recreate and promote early music, in particular that of the 17th century. Using rare instruments such as the theorbo, the lirone, the tiorbino and the arpa tripla, ...

, dir. Vincent Dumestre Alpha-23 (CD) 2004In the booklet notes to this recording, Jean-François Lattarico, Université de la Sorbonne, leaves open the possibility that there may be a third composer, "Il Fásolo?" ("the bean") not to be identified with either F. Manelli or G.B. Fasolo

References

Scores

* ''Giovanni Battista Fasolo. Annuale. Op. 8. Venedig 1645. Versetten. Ricercaten. Canzonen und Fugen durch das ganze Kirchenjahr für Orgel''. Edited by Rudolf Walter. Heidelberg : Willy Müller-Süddeutscher Musikverlag, 965, 77

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fasolo, Giovanni Battista Italian Baroque composers 1590s births 1660s deaths People from Asti Italian Friars Minor Italian male classical composers 17th-century Italian composers 17th-century male musicians