Cangiasi’s pieces tend to be rather playful; several are based on popular tunes.
Little is known about Giovanni Antonio Cangiasi, except that he was born in Milan, and was a member of the Franciscan order: in 1590 he was organist at the cathedral in Vercelli, and in 1602 was working at San Francesco in Milan. By 1614 he was organist at Castelnuovo di Scrivia, a small town between Milan and Genoa.
Cangiasi had at least eight collections of music published, of which five have survived. His Scherzi forastieri, from which the present pieces are taken, was published in Milan in 1614; and is his only instrumental publication. It is dedicated to the people of Castelnuova di Scrivia: there are pieces dedicated to the town itself, to the town council, to the provost of the cathedral, to the youth of the town, and others. The word “forastieri” (“foreign”) would appear to be a reference to the fact that Cangiasi was an outsider in Scrivia (the dedication expresses the composer’s thanks for the way in which he was welcomed on his arrival). Although the pieces are all labelled “canzoni”, the “scherzi” in the title of the collection does seem to have some meaning, because the pieces are mostly very playful, often eccentric, and sometimes even bizarre.
