A Study of Performance Issues And an Edition of Alessandro Grandi's Six Books of Concertato Motets

Alessandro Grandi (1586-1630) is a relatively unknown, yet significant figure in the development of seventeenth-century Italian sacred music. The dissemination of Grandi’s works, the number of reprints of his motets, and his inclusion in anthologies provide sufficient evidence that the substantial output of this composer is worthy of the public domain. If Grandi is to be performed, the creation of a reliable edition is essential.
This submission is comprised of a scholarly edition of Grandi’s six books of concertato motets; a selection of ten motets with fully realised continuo parts which are intended to exemplify my research and enable others to apply these techniques to similar motets; an audio recording of a recital given in order to demonstrate the findings of my research; an accompanying study of related performance issues, including ornamentation, pitch, temperament, transposition, continuo style, figured bass, and instrumentation; and a historiographical study of the dissemination of the small-scale concertato motet across Europe, which has ultimately guided my choice of source material.
Mine is the first complete edition of Grandi’s six books of concertato motets. During the course of my study, the American Institute of Musicology, led by Steven Saunders and Jeffrey Kurtzman, has also begun work on another complete edition, of which two volumes have been published to date. While my main priority continues to be the provision of a scholarly edition, I have also supplemented this by including examples of my unique continuo realisations, as practised and tested in performance. The following chapters are intended to accompany the edition, and provide a directive, from which the findings of my research may be applied to future performances. This research endeavours to bring the works of Grandi to the forefront of historical performance practice, so that performers worldwide may access these obscure gems of the early seventeenth century.