Toccata, fuga e tarantella (2019)

Carlotta Ferrari (b. 1975) — Toccata, fuga e tarantella (2019) for organ

"Toccata, fuga e tarantella" (2018) is cast in three main sections. The first is a brisk toccata featuring an ostinato (repeated pattern) briefly interrupted by a passage of slower rising and falling scales. The second section is a brief fugue, including a pedal solo. Reflecting her Italian heritage, Ferrari has written numerous tarantellas, and she draws upon this energetic form for the final section of this work. The tarantella is a southern Italian folk dance, the name of which has its root in the legend of dancing mania caused by a tarantula bite. The southern Italian theme is also reflected in the music’s harmonic materials: the entire piece is based upon the Neapolitan minor scale, operating in several transpositions at the same time to create the kind of mixed modality characteristic of Ferrari’s music.

Carlotta Ferrari (b. 1975) is an Italian composer. Educated at the Conservatory in Milan, she has composed in many genres, developing a personal language that is concerned with the blend of past and present. Her compositions have been performed frequently around the world. Ferrari’s music appears on several CD recordings, including seven all-Ferrari organ CDs: four recorded by Carson Cooman (2014/16/18) and three by Peter Clark (2015/16/18). She served as chair of music composition at Hebei Normal University in Shijiazhuang, China and is currently professor of music composition at the European School of Economics in Florence, Italy.