The theme of this fantasia had been in use since the early sixteenth century. The origin of the theme comes from the Italian phrase "lascia fare mi" which means "leave it to me." The phrase is converted into the solmization syllables la sol fa re mi, which spells out A G F D E, in the hexachord solmization system used in fourteenth through seventeenth centuries. Josquin Desprez wrote a mass, the Missa lascia fare mi, using this phrase as a cantus firmus. The practice of converting a verbal text to pitches as Josquin did in his mass was known as soggetto cavato. Josquin also wrote other masses with soggetto cavato themes as in the Missa Hercules dux ferrariae. This practice pioneered by Josquin drew enough interest from others that the practice was imitated by others who even used the same themes. For instance Jacquet di Mantova also wrote a Missa Lascia fare mi. The theme "lascia fare mi" appears as well in instrumental compositions by Rocco Rodio, Giovanni Cavaccio, and Girolamo Frescobaldi. Froberger studied with Frescobaldi for a few years in Rome, and may have been paying tribute to his teacher in writing a work using the same theme, or he may have been paying tribute to the antiquated tradition extending all the way back to Josquin. Froberger's Fantasia is in two sections, one in duple meter, the other in triple. He transposes the A G F D E theme down a fourth, a practice that was not foreign to the conventions of the period. He also uses a second theme, sol la re" which appears in counterpoint much like a double fugue.

© Andrus Madsen, All Music Guide