Piatti Capriccio sopra un tema della Niobe Op.22 l James Yoo Cello

Piatti Capriccio sopra un tema della Niobe Op.22
James Yoo, Cello

Alfredo Piatti performed the Capriccio Op.22 for cello solo on the aria, cavatina, “I tuoi
frequenti palpiti” from Niobe by Giovanni Pacini when he was twenty-one in Pesth on
August 8, 1843; it is the only existent capriccio per violoncello solo composed by Alfredo
Piatti apart from the famous Twelve Caprices of Op.25.
November 19, 1826 were a source of inspiration for many composers in creating
variations and fantasies. The cavatina “I tuor frequenti palpiti” was particularly
successful: in 1837 Liszt composed a Divertissement for piano solo on this cavatina, as
did Duvernoy, Dessauer, Huenten; Panofka used it in a Fantasia-Caprice brillante for
violin and piano, and F.A. Kummer composed his Fantasia Op.51 for cello and orchestra
on the same aria.
The way the Capriccio sulla Niobe is written is reminiscent of typical operatic writing:
there is an orchestral introduzione, then the entrance of the singer accompanied by the
orchestra in the aria, the cadenzas of the recitativi interspersed by the precise chords of
the orchestral tutti and a new, sad aria lenta that quivers with tremolo of the “violins”; a
coda with final stretta that then end the capriccio brilliantly.
The singular bow stroke in the last elaboration on the theme, with two staccato notes for
the bow (measure 154 on), is obtained with a calibrated bouncing on the strings, and
takes on more clarity and facility if more elastic gut strings are used.
Christian Bellisario