Ludovico Roncalli (1654 – 1713)

Ludovico Roncalli, or simply Count Ludovico, was an Italian nobleman and guitar enthusiast. His book, Capricci armonici sopra la chitarra spagnola, published in 1692, was one of the last collection of Italian 5-course guitar music. Capricci armonici contains nine suites, clearly grouped and organized by key. Roncalli begins each suite with a preludio and alemanda, and then includes several more typical 17C dance forms (Gavottes, Gigues, Sarabandes, etc). You can check out the contents of Roncalli’s book here.

In the early twentieth century, a Roncalli passacaglia captured the imagination of Ottorino Respighi. Respighi included a free transcription of the work in his Antiche Danze ed Arie per Liuto (Ancient Airs and Dances for the Lute), a piece for pianoforte.

(the second piece in this video)

Sheet Music by Ludovico Roncalli

Nothing out there for free, unfortunately. A lot of Roncalli’s music has been published, however. Some is included in the Treasures of the Baroque book compiled by David Grimes (contents).

Notable Concert Works by Ludovico Roncalli

Passacalle in g minor – This is a cool video. John Williams talks about Roncalli a bit and then plays the piece. This is the same piece that Respighi borrowed.