Performers
Pablo Zapico, archlute
Daniel Zapico, theorbo
Programme
The Filippo Dalla Casa Collection
Antonino Reggio (1725–1780)
Sonata I in C Major (Hr 130)
Andantino / Minuet
Filippo Dalla Casa (1737–after 1811)
[Allegro]
**********
Filippo Dalla Casa
[Andante]
Grave (arrangement for theorbo)
Antonino Reggio
Sonata XV in G Major (Hr 144)
Andantino
**********
Antonino Reggio
Sonata VIII in D minor (Hr 137)
Allegro
Tommaso Martelli (?-1706) / Filippo Dalla Casa
Aria del Martelli
Filippo Dalla Casa
[Allegro]
**********
Antonino Reggio
Sonata XXI in A minor (Hr 150)
Larghetto / Minuet (arrangement for theorbo)
**********
Filippo Dalla Casa
Grave
Anonymous / Filippo Dalla Casa
Sinfonia à Solo di Archlute
Largo / Allegro / Largo / Allegro
Programme Notes
The theorbo and archlute, two instruments that flourished during the Baroque period, quickly lost popularity after 1750 and virtually disappeared. This programme includes, for the first time in modern history, sonatas by the Bolognese Filippo Dalla Casa and the Sicilian Antonino Reggio. Both lutenists are currently considered the authors of the last two known sources of music for the archlute.
Filippo Dalla Casa was born in 1737 and died shortly after 1811. A professional painter and amateur player of the archlute and theorbo, his entire musical oeuvre is preserved in his two-part manuscript Suonate di Celebri Auttori (Bologna, 1759–60). This compilation reflects the music he enjoyed listening to and performing. Following the release of our album The Filippo Dalla Casa Collection in March 2020 (for the Winter & Winter label), it was believed that the archlute repertoire ended with Dalla Casa. Now, however, Antonino Reggio’s unpublished sonatas postpone the endpoint of archlute music by another ten years. According to musicologist Anthony Hart, an expert on the life and work of the Sicilian priest, the manuscript containing these sonatas could date from around 1770, though it bears no official date.
Most of what we know about Antonino Reggio’s life, born in Sicily in 1725 and passing in Rome in 1780, comes from annotations in his own manuscripts. Unfortunately, there are no surviving manuscripts from the period between 1750 and 1767. It appears that he composed nothing during these years, likely due to his demanding work as a messenger for the apostolic nunciature. Reggio resided in Rome and travelled to Lisbon via Spain every fortnight. It is probable that he served as a messenger for both the Spanish and Portuguese courts, as it would have been logical for the Vatican to appoint a single envoy for both nunciatures. He devoted his life to study, spending much of his time in solitude, enjoying reading and his private music. However, due to the scant information about his life, it is unknown whether he carried his instruments or manuscripts on his travels across the Iberian Peninsula. For now, we can only speculate whether his sonatas might have traversed this region. The study of this enigmatic composer’s life has only just begun.
The Sinfonia à Solo di Arciliuto is unsigned and currently remains anonymous. It originates from item 450, sold at an auction by Karl & Faber on 6 December 1956 in Munich. This lot was part of the Graf Harrach Collection in Rohrau, Austria, and its buyer was the English lutenist and musicologist Robert Spencer (1932–1997). Until recently, the piece existed only in digital format in the possession of Arthur J. Ness (b. 1936, Chicago), a specialist in plucked-string instruments. The original was scanned by Spencer before he attempted to sell it. After his death, the original document’s whereabouts remained unknown until it was located within the Robert Spencer Collection, donated by his family to the Royal Academy of Music Library in London, where it is now available under GB-Lam MS799. The most compelling stylistic placement for this Sinfonia is to consider it a work within Filippo Dalla Casa’s musical framework, as I identified a reference to its fourth movement – without accompaniment– in his manuscript collection. A fortunate musical discovery. Though the copy is not exact, it is recognisably similar, which led to its inclusion in this programme as the world’s first recording.
Both lutenists’ music is firmly rooted in Classicism and features simple harmonies, melodic chromaticisms and abundant fluidity and lyricism. These sonatas were composed for personal enjoyment, intended to fulfil and satisfy the composer’s own musical taste.
Pablo Zapico
Biographies
Pablo Zapico — Archlute
Born in Langreo (Asturias, Spain), Pablo Zapico specialized early in historically informed performance. He studied plucked strings at ESMuC (Barcelona) with Xavier Díaz-Latorre, graduating with highest honors in 2006, and earned a master’s degree in Musicology and Early Music from the University of Barcelona in 2012.
With his brothers Aarón and Daniel, he co-founded Forma Antiqva, considered one of today’s leading Baroque ensembles. As a soloist and continuo player, he collaborates with groups such as Ensemble Artaserse, Cappella Mediterranea, Harmonie Universelle, Accademia del Piacere and Concerto 1700, working under conductors including William Christie, Philippe Jaroussky, Andrea Marcon, Enrico Onofri and Leonardo García Alarcón.
He has appeared at major festivals across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, with tours reaching more than twenty countries from Japan and Singapore to Mexico, Brazil and Australia. His discography includes over forty recordings for Arsis, Alpha, Vanitas, and Winter & Winter. With his brothers he received three ICMA nominations and won awards from GEMA and the MIN Awards.
Zapico teaches internationally, having given masterclasses in Australia, France, Singapore, Turkey, Peru, Chile, Panama and Spain. He is currently professor at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid. He also contributes to the Sociedad de la Vihuela and the Lute Society of America, and is preparing his Complete Basso Continuo Method, already followed online by hundreds worldwide.
Recognitions include the Gold Medal of the European Forum Cum Laude (2019) and the BBVA Foundation’s Leonardo Grant (2021) for his project on unpublished tonadillas linked to “La Caramba.”
Daniel Zapico — Theorbo
Born in Langreo (Asturias, Spain), Daniel Zapico specialized early in early music and the theorbo. He studied at the Conservatorio Profesional de Música in Langreo and later graduated with highest honors from the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya under Xavier Díaz-Latorre. He also earned a master’s degree in Musicology, Music Education and Early Music Performance at the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona with a project on Robert de Visée, unanimously praised by the exam board.
His recent solo album Au monde, featuring his own transcriptions of French Baroque music for theorbo, received outstanding international acclaim: Diapason d’Or, ffff from Télérama, and 5-star reviews in Pizzicato, Melómano and Ritmo, with nominations for the ICMA and MIN Awards.
As a founding member of Forma Antiqva, Zapico has performed worldwide for over two decades, gaining recognition from both audiences and critics. The ensemble received GEMA’s awards for Best Baroque Group and Best Recording Production (2018) and the MIN Award for Best Classical Album (Concerto Zapico Vol. 2).
He also collaborates regularly with La Ritirata and Ricercar Consort, appearing at major festivals including Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival, La Folle Journée (Nantes, Ekaterinburg, Tokyo) and others. His partnership with Nina Laisné produced Romances inciertos and the solo project Arca ostinata (2021), staged at leading French venues such as the Centre Pompidou and Arsenal Metz.
Zapico has performed with Cappella Mediterranea, Il Pomo d’Oro, L’Arpeggiata, Holland Baroque, and conductors including Riccardo Muti, Christina Pluhar and Maxim Emelyanychev. His distinctions include Asturiano del Mes and the Gold Medal of the Foro Europeo Cum Laude.