Composer: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Johann Christian Bach
Performer: Guido Balestracci, Paolo Corsi, Stéphanie Houillon
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Arcana
Catalogue: A543
Release: 2023
Size: 2.61 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Bach CPE: Viola da gamba Sonata in C major, Wq.136, H.558
01. I. Andante
02. II. Allegretto
03. III. Arioso
Bach JC: Sonata for Keyboard and Viola da Gamba in G Major, Warb B 4b
04. I. Allegro
05. II. Rondeaux
Bach CPE: Viola da gamba Sonata in D MAJOR Wq137 H559
06. I. Adagio ma non tanto
07. II. Allegro di molto
08. III. Arioso
Bach JC: Sonata for Keyboard and Viola da Gamba in F Major, Warb B 6b
09. I. Allegro
10. II. Rondeaux. Tempo di Menuetto
Bach CPE: Trio Sonata in G minor for viola da gamba and keyboard, Wq.88, H.510
11. I. Allegro moderato
12. II. Larghetto
13. III. Allegro assai
Bach JC: Sonata for Keyboard and Viola da Gamba in B flat major, Warb B 2b
14. I. Allegro
15. II. [Allegro assai]
Bach JC: Sonata for Keyboard and Viola da Gamba in F major, Warb B 15b
16. I. Allegretto
17. II. Pastorale. [Allegretto]
This album is a story of family and friendship. Positioned between homage to a father figure and modernity, the viola da gamba sonatas of Carl Philipp Emanuel and Johann Christian Bach are a revealing element in the history of the Bach family and its ties of friendship with two families of virtuoso instrumentalists, the Abels and the Hesses, who had already inspired the work of Johann Sebastian.
Carl Philipp Emanuel was active in Berlin, encouraged by the presence of the violist Ludwig Christian Hesse and the enthusiasm of his patron Frederick the Great (“When I am not reading, I am writing, and when I am not writing, I am playing the viol” wrote his nephew, the future Friedrich Wilhelm II). The friendship between Carl Friedrich Abel and Johann Christian gave rise to the latter’s sonatas in London.
This Arcana release is not only a continuation of Guido Balestracci’s recording of J.S. Bach’s viola da gamba sonatas that was awarded a CHOC by Le Monde de la Musique, but is also a celebration of one of the greatest families in the history of music. Guido Balestracci, together here with keyboard player Paolo Corsi, presents another instalment of his long-term project with the l’Amoroso ensemble: the re-evaluation of the viola da gamba and the other members of its family, with a special focus on the lesser-known post-baroque repertoire. His programmes of music for viol by Schaffrath, Haydn’s Divertimenti for baryton, and a Schubertiade based on the arpeggione all bear witness to this.