Neithard Bethke

Canzona Veneziana op. 56/9

This organ piece contains the contrapuntal combination of two songs: an old Tuscan folk song (Dormi mia bella) and the madrigal 'Matona, mia cara', which had been used before by Orlando di Lasso for a full-blown choral composition. The two formed the basis for an improvisation with the required maximum length of five minutes that I played to conclude a concert at St Mark's Basilica in Venice in May 1976. After the concert, I elaborated the brief preparatory sketches into this little dedicatory composition which requires careful registration in order not to spoil its song-like character.