Bariolla: Ricercate for Organ

Little is known about the life of Ottavio Bariolla, not even his birth and death dates. He was active in Milan of the 16th century and was a respected and notable organist and composer. In 1619 Paolo Morigi writes in La Nobiltà di Milano: 'The great Ottavio Bariolla, organist at the highly renowned church of La Madonna di San Celso, is still worthy of praise; he not only plays sweetly and proficiently, but is also praised by intelligent people for his compositions.'

This new recording presents Bariolla's 12 Ricercares for organ, published in Milan in 1585. Bariolla was one of the first composers in the period when the ricercar was at its prime to break away from monothematic composition, preferring to use multiple themes in his Ricercate and thereby paving the way for his successors, notably Giovanni Maria Trabaci, the best-known composer of the Neapolitan school, and Girolamo Frescobaldi. All the compositions show a clear desire for originality, both in the choice of themes and in the texture of the music, which often achieves an astonishing density when various themes and their variations are employed simultaneously.

Silva Manfrè studied organ and organ composition at the Conservatory of Music in Verona (Italy) and at the University of Music and Performing Arts of Vienna (Austria) and Musicology at the Universities of Pavia and Vienna. Among her main interests are lesser known or rarely performed compositions of the Renaissance and the Baroque. She plays on the organ of the Palatine Basilica of Santa Barbara that was built by Graziadio Antegnati in 1565 according to the indications of Girolamo Cavazzoni, the specifications of which are included in the booklet.