ABSTRACT
Girolamo Frescobaldi is considered the initiator of a new manner of playing with affetti cantabili, or seconda pratica, at the keyboard. He was praised and emulated by excellent musicians – including Johann Sebastian Bach – for his mastery of the art of counterpoint. Present-day performers tend to prefer playing Frescobaldi’s toccatas and canzonas, especially from his Fiori musicali and two books of toccatas, because they are seen as lively pieces in which the rhapsodic composer meets the virtuosity of the performer; in other words, it is easier to express their affects. One reason for the partial oblivion of Frescobaldi’s contrapuntal pieces might, therefore, be their apparent lack of appeal due to their seemingly sober and “antiquated” character. Nevertheless, as the author argues in this chapter, Frescobaldi’s counterpoint in one such work, the Fantasia IX, is far from being predictable and emotionless.
