Silvestro di Ganassi dal Fontego, also given as Sylvestro di Ganassi dal Fontego, Silvestro Ganasi dal Fontego, and Silvestro dal Fontego (1 January 1492 – 1565) was a Venetian musician and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

of two important treatises on

instrumental technique Musical technique is the ability of instrumental and vocal musicians to exert optimal control of their instruments or vocal cords in order to produce the precise musical effects they desire. Improving one's technique generally entails practicin ...

. His first treatise covers recorder playing: ''Opera intitulata Fontegara'' (Venice, 1535). His second (in two volumes) is about the

viola da gamba The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitc ...

: ''Regola Rubertina'' (Venice, 1542) and ''Lettione Seconda'' (Venice, 1543). They cover both technicalities of playing and the subtleties of expression. There is also guidance on

ornamentation An ornament is something used for decoration. Ornament may also refer to: Decoration *Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts *Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals that appear to serve on ...

—''passaggi''. The revival of interest in historically aware musical performance has resulted in renewed interest in Ganassi's writings. His treatises are now available in modern editions.

Viol technique

Ganassi's ''Regola Rubertina'' is among the earliest sources of advice to the

viol The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitc ...

player on how to hold the bow. In Chapter III, Ganassi says:

You know that the bow is to be held with three fingers, that is to say the thumb, the index and middle fingers. The thumb and middle finger ensure, in holding the bow, that it does not fall, and the index finger serves to strengthen and stabilize it, keeping it on the strings and exerting more or less pressure according to the need.

The illustration from ''Regola Rubertina'' (lower right, opposite) appears to show this hold. Some interpretations of this passage conclude that the bow is to be held without touching the hair, whereas in later bow-holds the fingers tension the hair in order to allow louder or accented playing without the stick of the bow hitting the string. In a later passage, however, Ganassi makes it clear that the hair may be tensioned with the fingers in at least some circumstances, for example when playing chords to accompany a song:

I can say that if you wished to play a piece which is in four or five parts while singing the fifth, you would need to use a longer bow than is customarily used. This is because the hairs on a longer bow would be less stretched, allowing one to draw the bow with less pressure on the strings while playing a chord. Then you could use the fingers to stretch the hairs when playing fewer strings or a single string.

References

Discography

* 2000: ''Wordplay - Madrigals and chansons in virtuosic instrumental settings from 16th century Italy'', Musica Antiqua of London directed by Philip Thorby * 2001: ''Harmonice Musices Odhecaton A'', Les Flamboyants (Michael Form) * 2008: ''Sylvestro Ganassi: Io amai sempre'', Pierre Boragno & Marianne Muller & Massimo Moscardo & François Saint-Yves, Outhere * 2011: ''Glosas: Embellished Renaissance Music'', More Hispano (Vicente Parrilla), Carpe Diem * 2015: ''Discorsi delle comete'', Ensemble Daimonion * 2016: ''Philippe Verdelot, Silvestro Ganassi : Madrigali Diminuiti'', Doulce Mémoire (Denis Raisin Dadre), Ricercar * 2018: ''Co’l dolce suono'', Ensemble arcimboldo (Thilo Hirsch) * 2018: ''La Fontegara'', Le Concert Brisé (

William Dongois William Dongois is a French brass player with a focus on the cornett. Life and career Dongois was born in Langres (Champagne-Ardenne). After studying the trumpet at the conservatory in Reims and the Conservatoire de Paris, he worked as a teach ...

), Ricercar * 2019: ''Florid early baroque songs and polyphony'', ensemble Cantate Violini

Sources

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ganassi, Sylvestro 1492 births 16th-century deaths Year of death missing Place of death missing Italian musicians Italian music theorists

Viol technique

References

Discography

Sources

Further reading

External links