Giuseppe Martucci – Pagine sparse

Giuseppe Martucci’s opus 68 is a highly significant work: a cycle of six songs for voice and piano, it fills - together with La canzone dei ricordi, a slightly earlier work - an obvious gap in Italian musical production of the time.
Composed in 1888, Pagine Sparse (Scattered Pages) belongs to the composer’s so-called “Bolognese period.” (Martucci became the director of the city’s conservatoire in 1886, remaining there for many years, until 1902). While a detailed comparative analysis of the two cycles is beyond the scope of this edition, we might highlight the fact that, in contrast to La canzone dei ricordi, Pagine Sparse is a work of more limited dimensions - which is certainly no obstacle to its quality, let alone its effectiveness.