Ferdinando Gasparo Turrini: Sonata No.1 in C minor

Composer: Ferdinando Gasparo Turrini (1749-1812)
Harpsichordist: Michele Barchi

Ferdinando Gasparo Turrini da Salò, also known as "Blind Bertoni" or "Little Bertoni", because he had been a pupil of his uncle Ferdinando Bertoni, was born in 1749 in Salò in Northern Italy. He began his career as Harpsichordist for a Venetian theatre. Tragically, he lost his eyesight at the early age of 23 in 1772, after which he was taken on as organist for the church of Saint Justine in Padua. He remained there until in the invasion of Padua by Napoleon's Armies in 1800, when he moved to Brescia, where he died in 1812 (Barbero, 1997, p. 5). Although he is not well-known today, Turrini was highly regarded in his time and often received immense praise from critics and contemporaries alike:

“A blind man came to shed light on our darkness”, thus said his contemporaries of Ferdinando Turrini (1745-1829). Blind and crippled on one hand he nevertheless played the keyboard beautifully: "One can only admire his boundless creativity, feeling, spirit and graceful articulation” (Brilliant Classics, 2019, para. 6).

The painting in this video is The Rehearsal by Cleto Luzzi (1884-1952)

References
Barbero, M., E. (1997). Ferdinando Gasparo Turrini - Sei Sonate per Cembalo - Ero Maria Barbero [CD]. Milan, Italy: AGORA; 1997. 1 CD: Sound, Booklet.

Brilliant Classics. (2019). Turrini: 12 Sonatas for Harpsichord. Retrieved from: https://www.brilliantclassics.com/articles/t/turrini-12-sonatas-for-harpsichord