Giacomo Matteo Ignazio Cirri is a currently obscure Italian composer born
in Forli in 1711.  He lived in his native town most of his life and died
there in 1787.  His brother, Giovanni Battista, built up a fine career in
England as a composer and cellist.  The brothers each have listings in the
Schwann Opus Catalog, although the entries are slim.

Most of Cirri's works were of vocal music, but he did have two instrumental
body of works published:  his Opus 2 Sonatas for Harpsichord & Violin and
his Opus 1 Sonatas for Organ.  There are twelve organ sonatas and they are
all presented on a Discantica disc issued in 1997; the catalog number is 26
and total time is 60:24.  The sonatas range in length from three to almost
seven minutes.

Two performers do the honors on the Discantica recording:  Andrea Macinanti
and Francesco Tasini.  The liner notes indicate that Macinanti's mastery of
yoga and karate has provided him a spiritual harmony with music; that's a
premise to ponder.  Macinanti and Tasini perform on two of the three organs
in the Forli Cathedral.

Cirri's organ sonatas each have two sections.  The first sections are
relatively slow and solemn, the second are exuberant, extrovert, and more
angular in nature than the first sections.  Prior to delving into these
works in earnest, I did listen to the disc a couple of times in my vehicle.
The sonatas were very enjoyable with melodies and rhythms I found highly
attractive.  Performances appeared excellent, and the recorded sound was
superb with a little noticeable pedal action.  However, more concentrated
listening often tells a little different story.

Sonata No.  1 (Andantino-Allegretto) has a first section which is one
of the most vital in the set and a second section which has a frolicing
atmosphere.  Both sections are highly life-affirming and delightful
listening experiences.

Sonata No.  8 (Andante-Allegro) is another stunner with a glorious first
section of ceremony and second section of pleasurable lift and poetry.

Now to my less than favorable perceptions:

Generally, the sonatas' first sections contain the greater musical
inspiration.  Most of the second sections have routine melodic themes and
a level of repetition too frequent.  This issue of repetition tends to run
throughout the sonatas.  Not only is there quite a bit of it within each
one, I also notice signs of it among the sonatas as well.  The funny thing
about repetition is that it can actually enhance the music if what's being
repeated is of great musical value and has more to tell us.  That happens
infrequently in Cirri's organ sonatas.  Instead, we hear much repetition
of themes which can't supply more than one instance of pleasure.

Don's Conclusions:  Although the performances and sound are excellent,
I believe that Cirri only had sufficient musical material for perhaps
six sonatas.  As it is, most of the sonatas tend to run into one another
concerning themes and emotional diversity.  I can't recommend the recording
at full price.  If a used copy is available or a strong discount applied,
you might find the disc interesting as you travel the musical side-roads.
Personally, I think it would have been better to take the best of these
Opus 1 organ sonatas and couple them with a few Opus 2 harpsichord/violin
works, but I wasn't asked.  Overall, Cirri seems worth the obscure
reputation he now possesses; the more I listen, the less pleasure I derive.

Don Satz