Bolognini - 5 Pieces for Solo Cello (First Edition)

The Argentine-born Ennio Bolognini (1893-1979) was a Renaissance man. In addition to being a cellist, he was a composer, boxer, and pilot. Many of Bolognini's compositions have a Spanish flavor, containing flamenco-style strumming, something Bolognini excelled at. Four of the five works in our edition feature this technique. This volume serves as the first edition of all five works.

The first work in the volume is called "Segoviana," an homage to the famous guitarist Andres Segovia, composed in 1919 in Buenos Aires. As with many of Bolognini's manuscripts, there are several copies that differ from each other. Out of interest in this unknown work, we offer two versions to show the composition process. The Bolognini Collection at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro contains at least two other incomplete versions of "Segoviana." The piece starts with a slow introduction built around a circle of fifths in E minor. The "Fandango" section is in ABA form, with a "Love Song" as the B section.

The second work in our edition is the "Serenata del eco" (Echo Serenade). The Bolognini Collection houses just one complete copy of the work, copied in 1925 by Don Ferrera, a violinist and colleague of the composer. There are also incomplete sketches of the work under the subtitles “Serenata Gitana” and “Gitana Andaluza.” This piece features an echo technique (terraced dynamics) in the lyric sections. Other techniques include ricochet/gettato and guitar-like strumming. "Serenata del eco" is included on the album "Magic Sounds of Bolognini," released by International Records in 1958. The recording has some differences from the manuscript score. It was not Bolognini's goal to encapsulate the perfect rendition/version of the piece. We would like to encourage cellists to use the recording as a source and feel free to change the musical text by using the material from the recording.

The third piece in our volume is the "Serenata del Gaucho," composed in 1926.  Encyclopedia Britannica defines "gaucho" as a "nomadic and colourful horseman and cowhand of the Argentine and Uruguayan Pampas (grasslands), who flourished from the mid-18th to the mid-19th century and has remained a folk hero similar to the cowboy in western North America." This work comes down in three manuscripts and a recording on the above-mentioned album. We chose to engrave the manuscript that is the closest to the recording; however, all sources contain significant differences. Once again, the performer may use the recording as a source to alter the printed text. The pizzicato sections in "Serenata del Gaucho" have some similarities to "Fiesta baska."

The fourth piece in the volume is the "Adagio and Allegro" with a subtitle "Preludio & Fuga." It is 
difficult to understand why the word "Fuga" is found in the manuscript since the Allegro is not fugal in any way. The manuscript was "dictated to I. Mitsumoto," presumably a student or another colleague. The Adagio is primarily a cadenza with somewhat of a Bachian sound, especially from the solo-violin sonatas. The Allegro is mostly arpeggio-based, with a return of the Adagio theme at the end.

The final piece in our volume is the “Fiesta baska” (also known as “Fiesta basca” and “Basque”), with the subtitle “llamada montañesa.” There is one complete fair copy and several sketches with various stages of completion. We used the fair copy as the primary source, but made some corrections of questionable passages using the sketches. Since the recording is available on the LP mentioned above, the performer may use it as a source to alter the printed text.

We would like to express our gratitude to Stacey Krim and the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro for providing the sources for this publication. All of the sources are housed at the Ennio Bolognini Musical Scores and Personal Papers, CC0013, Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.