Boccherini, Luigi

International Music Score Library Project [IMSLP] entry: Luigi Boccherini

Luigi Boccherini [1743-1805] was an Italian/Spanish composer and cellist. He was a prolific composer, especially of chamber music.

Piece	MP3	Midi	Genre
Quintet -- Musica notturna delle strade di Madrid		MIDI	classical
	This Night Music of the Streets of Madrid is number 324 in Gerard's catalogue, and is also listed as Op. 39 no. 6. It is a quintet for two violins, viola and two cellos, Boccherini's favourite line-up. It has four major movements, two of them with introductions. MP3s for the movements are also given separately. Several places in the score are marked imitando la chitarra ["imitating a guitar"], or campanella ["little bell"], tamburo ["drum"], fagotta ["bassoon"]; so there is a project for anyone interested, viz. to edit the Midi version to have the appropriate instrumentation.
1. Le campane de l'Ave Maria, Il tamburo dei Soldati, Minuetto dei Ciechi
	The Ave Maria bell, the soldiers' drum, and the minuet of the blind [beggars].
2. Rosario
	The Rosary. A slow piece not in strict time, alternating with a short fast section. The rosary bell is heard.
3. Passa Calle
	The Passa Calle or Passacaglia. Not a passacaglia as usually understood in music, but from the original meaning of `pass along the street', singing as you go. This is the tune featured, arranged for violin and cello duet, in the film Master and Commander. There is what sounds like a wrong note at about 1:51; but internal evidence is mixed, and I decided to leave it as written.
4. Il tamburo and Ritirata
	A drum beat is followed by the `retreat' [patrol and curfew] of the Madrid night watch. A suitably military finale.
	Sequenced in 2011 and 2021, mainly from the IMSLP version of Gustav Lenzewski sen., but also checked against the IMSLP scanned version. There is a second such version, probably more authentic, with an extended `Retreat' and variations.

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Andy Walker, anw [at] cuboid4.me.uk [remove digit to construct address]