Nicola Fiorenza

Concerto f-Moll

for alto recorder, solo violin, strings, and basso continuo
Edited by Valentina Bellanova and Ulrich Thieme
Reconstruction of the solo violin part by Franz Müller-Busch
Continuo realization by Eckhart Kuper

Full score and 6 parts

Not much is known about the life and work of the composer and violinist Nicola (also Nicolò) Fiorenza. Born around 1700, he was active in Naples, where he also died in 1764. As a violinist, he played in the royal orchestra, and from 1743 to 1762 he taught the string players at the Santa Maria di Loreto Conservatory. This important musical institution was led, among others, by Alessandro Scarlatti in 1689 and by Francesco Mancini from 1720 to 1735—to name just two other composers to whom the recorder owes a wealth of valuable repertoire.

About thirty of Fiorenza's compositions are preserved as manuscripts in the library of the San Pietro a Majella Conservatory in Naples. Among them are trio sonatas for two violins and bass, 15 concertos for various combinations of instruments, and nine symphonies. Four concertos, dated between 1726 and 1728, are written for flauto (meaning "recorder" according to the terminology of the time) and strings. Despite their stylistic proximity to Alessandro Scarlatti's flute concertos, they also exhibit distinctive features: a cantabile quality in the slow movements that is almost Venetian in its fluidity, and a tendency toward rhythmically well-defined, often almost bizarre figures in the fast movements.

In most Neapolitan flute concertos, such as those by A. Scarlatti, Mancini, or Barbella, the flute is accompanied only by two violins and a bass. In his concerto in F minor, published here for the first time, Fiorenza adds a solo violin and a violetta. The term "Violetta," which also appears in the works of Castello, Schütz, and others, was used for a medium-sized viola da gamba, but primarily for the viola, and in a broader sense referred to any string instrument capable of taking on the middle voice. This is also attested by German sources from Fiorenza's time (Mattheson 1713, Walther 1732).

The first movement astonishes with its abrupt shifts between poignant string motifs and the virtuoso figurations of the solo flute, which also dominates the fast movements. Its calm middle section, like the third movement, features expressive melodic lines from the solo instrument. It is not least the choice of expressive keys—which are often technically "uncomfortable"—that shapes the character of this concerto.

Since the part for the solo violin is missing or has not been preserved in movements 2-4, it was necessary to reconstruct or recompose it. This was accomplished largely by using melodic material that already appears in the parts for solo flute and first violin. However, some sections—particularly in the second movement—had to be newly composed without drawing on existing material. Further notes on the editorial approach can be found in the revision report.

Florence and Hanover, September 2011, Valentina Bellanova and Ulrich Thieme