The Ganassi enigma

A film by Aurélien Poidevin about the research project led by William Dongois, 2018.

Written by Silvestro Ganassi and published in Venice in 1535, the Fontegara is the first work devoted solely to the art of diminution.

A musician to the Doge, a humanist and painter, and a virtuoso instrumentalist, Ganassi wrote a synthesis of rare breadth in terms of the quality of his descriptions of instrumental playing and his evocation of a highly complex system of proportions and rhythms that is still little used today. Several doctoral theses are currently being written on the subject, but none of them deals with the practical aspects of the treatise or the aesthetics that flow from it.

The EMH's project, which includes study days, colloquia and practical seminars, has consisted in methodically projecting Silvestro Ganassi's proposals onto all the repertoires he has encountered. The outcome of these experiments is a disc released on 9 November 2018 by Ricercare: GANASSI, LA FONTEGARA (RIC 395).

Acknowledgements: Giuseppe Dei Rossi, Antonio Tozzi, Claudio Cornelio, Riccardo Magi. L'intera équipe della HEM di Ginevra intende presentare i suoi più sinceri ringraziamenti per la collaborazione fornita da Giuseppe Dei Rossi, Antonio Tozzi, Claudio Cornelio e Riccardo Magi.