JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750 ) - Sonatas for viola
da gamba
Sonata I, BWV 1027 01
Adagio 02 Allegro, ma non tanto 03 Andante 04 Allegro
moderato 05 Preludio (improvised) 06 Komm, süßes Kreuz
(Recitativo & Aria, Matthäus-Passion, BWV 244)
Sonata II, BWV 1028
07 Adagio 08 Allegro 09 Andante 10 Allegro 11 Es ist
vollbracht (Aria, Johannes-Passion, BWV 245)
Sonata III, BWV 1029
12 Vivace 13 Adagio 14 Allegro
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About this CD
Fifteen years on from
his earlier recording of Bach’s three Sonatas for viola
da gamba and harpsichord (on Harmonia Mundi, alongside
Rinaldo Alessandrini),
Paolo Pandolfo
is now returning to this repertory with a
thoroughly-rethought approach, the fruit of active and
concentrated years of consideration, study and research
into the inherent possibilities of his instrument. Given
the basic differing natures of these two instruments,
the performance of these works very often turns – in
Pandolfo’s words – into a “musical argument”, rather
than what is demanded by the music’s essential nature: a
“musical conversation” in which the score achieves
“transparency and eloquence”.
For this exercise in
interpretative discourse Paolo Pandolfo has found a
suitably-engaged musical mind in harpsichordist Markus
Hünninger, a friend for many years and a teacher, like
Pandolfo, at the
Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.
The resulting disc has a very personal flavour to it,
reiterating the uncompromising sense of quality in all
that the Roman gamba player does. Following on from his
essential recordings of music by Forqueray, Hume, Marais,
Sainte Colombe and Abel, he is now rounding off on
Glossa his own particular vision of Bach, which he
commenced in 2000 with the recording of the
now-legendary Six Suites.
To complete the disc there are two vocal arias with
obbligato viola da gamba drawn from two of Bach’s
Passions, in which Pandolfo is joined by two leading
early music singers of recent times, the countertenor
Michael Chance and the bass
Harry van der Kamp.