Scales according to Italians

Anthony LaBella: Post-recital photo from July 20th at St. Jacobi Kirche in Brooklyn, NY (Lutheran). At right is Rev. Dr. Gary Mills, pastor. Dr. Mills, who also holds a masters degree in organ performance, kindly assisted.

How did Italian late Renaissance and early Baroque organ composers play scales? Certainly not using modern fingering, like 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5. They applied a system today known as Paired Fingering. In various European Baroque organ schools it was different from country to country.

In Italy it basically meant, that accented notes on the beat should be played with the "good" fingers 2 and 4 in each hand. This way the scale could look like 2-3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4 (r.h. ascending or l. h. descending) or 4-3-2-3-2-3-2-3-2 (r.h. descending or l. h ascending).

Such a piece is for today's sight-reading: Intonazione del Primo Tono (p. 3) by the Venetian organist and composer Andrea Gabrieli (1532-1585) from the collection of various Italian, German, Dutch and English authors of the day "Liber Fratrum Cruciferorum Leodiensium" (1617 or before).

Intonations were used to introduce the mode prior to the choral composition. The piece in the first tone basically consists of the mode of D (Dorian) with the excursions to the mode of a (3-2-2), F (3-3-4), and d (3-5-1). As usual, there is a plagal extension at the end (line 6).

Play this piece with paired fingering as described above using articulate legato touch. Notice how the alternation of "good" and "bad" fingers create gentle accents on the stronger notes. Keep your fingers in contact with the keys at all times and play on the edge of the keys.