Procaccini is an Italian composer and teacher. She spent her career directing the Conservatory of Foggia (in Southern Italy) and teaching composition at the Accademia di Santa Cecila in Rome. She has written a multitude of works, both instrumental and vocal, ranging from pieces for children to full symphonic works, even including some theatrical and cartoon music. Her compositions are highly regarded and have won national and international prizes. She has also given masterclasses at a variety of music festivals across Europe. She speaks of her own compositional style, saying:

“Among contemporary composers I may be the one who is most determined to conserve links with the past generation whilst still being set upon the constant acquisitions of the new. Tradition, modernity, respect for formal classical values, the search for new sounds: these are constants in my idiom which strives to maintain a balance between the different factors. Some critics have seen in my works a stylistic coherency that is remarkable in the context of contemporary music, characterised (at least up to few decades ago) as it is by a proliferation of various avant-garde experiences that in time have often proved sterile. Indeed my work as composer is not conditioned by avant-garde research into new creative processes, for I have constructed a complete and congenial expressive language of my own. The reasons for my artistic attitude lie in respect for values which may be considered inseparable from the very idea of music. More precisely: Music as structure: the elaboration of structural elements in a construction which is comprehensible to the listener, having as its basic value completeness rather than complexity. Rejection of those modes of composition in which the concept of form is driven to its extreme limits such that the very idea of comprehensibility is prejudiced, either destroyed or rendered so complex as to be difficult to perceive in the score of the composition. Music as an essential language of expression must be music which involves the emotional processes of the listener (communication with whom is of the utmost importance). My music is therefore conceived in line with the more classical aesthetic ideals and is characterised by incisive timbre, clarity of patterns, a fluency that is alien to cultural trends, linked to melodic lyricism that opens out in ample lines. These elements bring to my music quite a high level of emotive tension which both facilitates and encourages comprehension.”

This style of writing, both contemporary and traditional, is heard in this sextet. The first movement features active melodic lines passed between instruments with an underlying rhythmic energy that creates momentum. The second movement features a more angular melody that is presented by two instruments that begin together, then separate and become off-set, and finally separate entirely, ending with a solo voice. The accompaniment works as a block, with each voice having the same rhythm throughout. The final movement is a whirlwind, full of flying intervals throughout each part. Many of these intervals and melodic figures are very contemporary sounding, though Procaccini’s values of “completeness rather than complexity” and “encourag[ing] comprehension” shine through.

Notes by Madeleine Folkerts