Marco Baldini: Maniera

It was February 2023 when the world got to know the Florence-based composer Marco Baldini a little better, thanks to Another Timbre and their first feature of Baldini's music, an inaugural album, Vesperi. His second offering, Maniera, captivatingly performed by Apartment House, comprises a collection of seven pieces for various combinations of string instruments. Interestingly, the name alludes to both Italian Mannerism of the 16th century—one of Baldini's favourite styles in fine arts, critiqued for its perceived lack of originality—and his own compositional maniera or approach, which he thinks might been seen as "easy" and old-fashioned, looking back rather than forward. But are his personal insecurities justified?

Overall, the mood of the album is notably lighter than that of Vesperi. It exudes a gleaming soundworld, though not devoid of occasional moments of tension. The main focus shifts away from the deep and resonant buzz of the low strings found in the previous CD. The opening piece "Selva" is rich in timbres and registers, сreating an alluring aura of ceremoniousness and concentration that permeates the album. Baldini, a fan of vertical harmony, aptly employs chorale-style chords that evolve at a constant rate or linger as one voice subtly enters or leaves. There is a certain elemental beauty in this monolithic presentation: chords blossom and dwindle, much like the daily rising and setting of the sun. The same sense of momentum underpins "Trio 2," which exists on the album in two versions: one for violin, viola, cello, and another for two violins and viola. The former is more subdued, while the latter is lighter and airier. "Quintetto" follows the same "blossom-dwindle" pattern, but is more cheerful and reminiscent of Indian ragas with their drones, which are another source of inspiration for the composer.

The shortest piece on the album, "Arpocrate," clocks in at just over four minutes, offering a delicate exploration of mid and high registers with more stillness than any of the previous compositions could afford. It is true that overall, Baldini's works rarely indulge in unnecessary prolongation: what others try to convey in an hour, he manages to express in less than ten minutes. It is the brevity of his pieces that lends these beautiful, fleeting moments an almost timeless feel, reminiscent of earlier polyphony. However, sometimes they do extend beyond the ten minute mark, as with "Plutone," where we find ourselves amid uniform chords resolutely marching forward. This time, the material derives from Monteverdi's "Sinfonia" from L'Orfeo and is reworked by the composer. This allows the listener to peek behind the curtains and confront the influence Baldini holds so dear—Monteverdi's revered harmonies of the past. Another, somewhat unexpected, influence from Baldini's usual list of late Renaissance and early Baroque composers, is Béla Bartók, whose String Quartet no. 5 served as a basis for Baldini's own "Otto." Yet, the composers creates the same evocative stillness and timelessness, radiating outward regardless of the original material.

So should Baldini be worried that his style does not reflect the most cutting-edge approaches of today? Probably not. In Maniera, he manages to conjure up vivid soundscapes that resonate in both familiar and odd terms, being old and new at the same time, as performed by the brilliant Apartment House. And it is exactly this relationship between the past and the present, wrestling against each other in a chordal confrontation, which is exciting to observe and soak up. Let's not forget T.S. Eliot's advice from his "Tradition and the Individual Talent": "the past should be altered by the present as much as the present is directed by the past."