Quartetto Vanvitelli - Agus: Sonate a violino solo e basso - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

In 1738 the acclaimed violinist and composer Michele Mascitti (1664-1760) published in Paris his ninth collection of sonatas. The seventy-four-year-old Neapolitan musician was at the end of his long and celebrated career, but not of his creative powers. Dedicated to the Crozat family, which was to be Mascitti's patron until the end of his life, the twelve sonatas for violin and bass op.9 are fine examples of the graceful blend of Italian and French styles that made this composer so popular in France. With the world premiere of eight sonatas from Mascitti's op. 9, the Quartetto Vanvitelli carries on the rediscovery of this music that Hubert Le Blanc likened 'to the warbling of the nightingale'. After the success of their interpretation of Mascitti's op.8, greeted as 'a jewel of interpretation that exalts with grace, elegance and, more importantly, finesse of touch, the individual stylistic experimentation of Mascitti' (A111), the ensemble Vanvitelli makes with this recording another decisive step towards the full appreciation of this remarkable and unjustly forgotten composer. Album Tracks 1. Sonata for Violin No. 1 in a Major, Op. 9/1-Larghetto 2. Sonata for Violin No. 1 in a Major, Op. 9/1-Allegro 3. Sonata for Violin No. 1 in a Major, Op. 9/1-Sarabanta. Largo 4. Sonata for Violin No. 1 in a Major, Op. 9/1-Allegro Moderato 5. Sonata for Violin No. 2 in G minor, Op. 9/2-Larghetto 6. Sonata for Violin No. 2 in G minor, Op. 9/2-Allemanda. Allegro 7. Sonata for Violin No. 2 in G minor, Op. 9/2-Largo 8. Sonata for Violin No. 2 in G minor, Op. 9/2-Allegro 9. Sonata for Violin No. 3 in F Major, Op. 9/3-Vivace 10. Sonata for Violin No. 3 in F Major, Op. 9/3-Adagio 11. Sonata for Violin No. 3 in F Major, Op. 9/3-Allegro Moderato 12. Sonata for Violin No. 3 in F Major, Op. 9/3-Larghetto Et Affettuoso 13. Sonata for Violin No. 3 in F Major, Op. 9/3

Of the many important anniversaries occurring in 2018, it is worth remembering the 350th death anniversary of the violin virtuoso Francesco Maria Veracini. What better occasion to rediscover Enrico Gatti's first reference recording for the tag Arcana? The fierce Florentine violinist played throughout Europe leaving indelible marks in towns such as Dresden, London, Frankfurt and Prague. His violin sonatas show a lively imagination and personal verve combined with a brilliant instrumental technique. This presents a selection from the two volumes of violin sonatas 2 chamber sonatas from Op. 1 (1721), a collection of 12, divided into 6 chamber sonatas containing Overtures or Preludes followed by suites of dances and 6 church sonatas in five movements, where the violin part notably more daring than in Corelli's austere style, and 2 from the Academic Sonatas op. 2 (1744), distinguished not only for the originality and excellence of the music, but also for the presence of dynamic signs and unusual performing indications, a frequent use of the long bowing typical of the Italian virtuosi, an abundant variety of bow strokes and idiomatic inventions of great effect. Album Tracks 1. Sonata Op. 1 No. 1 in G minor 2. Sonata Op. 2 No. 8 in E minor 3. Sonata Op. 1 No. 6 in E minor 4. Sonata Op. 2 No. 12 in D minor

Although the first violin virtuosos came mainly from Cremona, Brescia or Mantua, it was Venice that swiftly emerged as the principal centre for the development of instrumental music. Moreover, it was there that most collections of this music were printed all through the seventeenth century. It is curious to note that all these virtuosos obviously enjoyed sharing their success with their colleagues for, alongside works for one or two violins and continuo, almost all the composer-violinists gathered together on this disc conceived sonate, canzone or sinfonie for ensembles of three or four violins. In addition, these compositions often make use of bichoral or echo effects. All this was happening as part of the discovery of that nascent virtuosity so characteristic of the Baroque period, as a result of which instrumentalists devised many new effects, such as the use of double stopping, and drew attention to their artistry with virtuoso runs akin to the extravagant language of the toccata. Album Tracks 1. Sinfonia Decima Settima a Quatro Violini 2. Canzon II a 6 3. Sonata Quarta Per Sonar Con Due Corde 4. Sinfonia a 5 & a 3 Si Placet 5. Sonata a Quattro Violini E Doi Chitarroni 6. Sonata XXI Con Tre Violini 7. Sonata in Ecco Con Tre Violini 8. Canzon Prima Per Quattro Violini 9. Sonata Prima a Quattro Violini 10. Sonata 16 a Tre Violini 11. Sonata Decima Settima in Ecco 12. Capriccio Per Sonare Il Violino Con Tre Corde a Modo Di Lira 13. Sinfonia Decima Nona a Tre Violini 14. Canzon a 3,2 Violini E Violoncino