Renaissance recorders after Ganassi
Sylvestro Ganassi (1492-mid. 16th century) was an Italian recorder- and viola da gamba virtuoso. It was him who wrote the famous treatise ‘Opera intitulata Fontegara’ (Venice, 1535) where he explains extendedly the art of musical ornamentatation. Also he gives fingering charts for the recorder, the book can be regarded as the first proper method for recorder playing as well as a good overview of 16th-century musical performance practice.
Ganassi probably wasn’t a recorder maker himself but the late recorder maker Fred Morgan discovered an alto recorder in G, in Vienna, that plays exactly with the fingerings from Ganassi’s book Fontegara. Frans Brüggen played Morgan’s copy and ever since this has been a popular renaissance instrument for players and makers alike, not in the least because of its very wide range of 2,5 octaves!
Obviously this instrument ‘after Ganassi’ is very suitable for playing 16th-century music (Bassano, Virgiliano, Ortiz), 17th-century music (canzonas and sonatas by Castello, Fontana, Uccellini). However, because of the powerful sound and the wide range of the instrument, contemporary music can be played very nicely on the Ganassi’s as well (f.e. Eggert, Moser and Tsoupaki).
I make Ganassi recorders, altos as well as sopranos, in various woods and various pitches, see price list.
