Ricercari da cantare a quattro voci

In dealing with the diminution of the 20 Ricercari contained in the Libro terzo, I decided, out of respect for Merulo’s original, to keep throughout the voices as they appear, thus deliberately refraining from the possible and momentary suspension of a line that could have given space to the coloratura of another voice. Furthermore, I did not strictly adhere to the tablature ‘rules’ set out by Diruta and exemplified in the numerous printed versions of the time, limiting myself to indicating the distribution of the parts between the two hands in a non-rigorous way, always to avoid invalidating a clear reading of the movement of the voices.

The action of diminution is not limited to the replacement of long notes with passages of short notes respectively corresponding in duration, but also includes a rhetorical game between the parts, through syncopes, rests before an entry, changes of register, slurs and diversified repercussions and other expedients, in order to achieve an underlying movement and the arpeggio effects typical of the organ, modelled on many passages recognizable in the two books of Toccate by Merulo. (Francesco Tasini)