Composer: Johann Joseph Vilsmayr
Performer: Peter Sheppard Skærved
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Divine Art
Catalogue: ATH23210
Release: 2021
Size: 2.68 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Violin Partita No. 1 in A Major
01. I. Prelude. Adagio
02. II. Aria. Allegro
03. III. Saraband. Adagio
04. IV. Gavotte. Allegro
05. V. Menuett
06. VI. Aria. Adagio – Allegro
07. VII. Menuett
08. VIII. Aria. Allegro
09. IX. Menuett
10. X. Gigue. Presto
Violin Partita No. 2 in B-Flat Major
11. I. Prelude. Adagio
12. II. Aria. Allegro
13. III. Saraband. Adagio
14. IV. Fantasia. Allegro
15. V. Menuett
16. VI. Aria
17. VII. Menuett
18. VIII. Gavotte. Allegro
19. IX. Passpied
20. X. Ciaccona
Violin Partita No. 3 in C Minor
21. I. Prelude. Adagio
22. II. Courrant. Allegro
23. III. Aria
24. IV. Menuett
25. V. Aria. Allegro
26. VI. Canario. Presto
27. VII. Aria lamentevole. Adagio
28. VIII. Menuett. Allegro
29. IX. Gigue. Presto
Violin Partita No. 4 in D Major
30. I. Prelude. Adagio
31. II. Aria
32. III. Menuett
33. IV. Brunada
34. V. Saraband. Adagio
35. VI. Aria. Allegro
36. VII. Menuett
37. VIII. Canario
38. IX. Passacaglia
Violin Partita No. 5 in G Minor
39. I. Prelude. Harpeggio
40. II. Gavotte. Allegro
41. III. Saraband. Adagio
42. IV. Rigodon. Allegro
43. V. Gigue. Allegro
44. VI. Menuett
45. VII. Boure
46. VIII. Retirada. Allegro
Violin Partita No. 6 in A Major
47. I. Prelude. Allegro
48. II. Saraband. Adagio
49. III. Aria. Allegro
50. IV. Menuett
51. V. Aria. Allegro
52. VI. Menuett
53. VII. Aria. Allegro
54. VIII. Gigue. Allegro
55. IX. Eccho
56. X. Aria variata. Allegro
As well as being internationally recognised as a leading interpreter of music new and old, Peter Sheppard Skærved is the only violinist to have performed on the personal violins of Viotti, Paganini, Joachim, Kreisler and Ole Bull. In this new series, he plays music on these and many more instruments, many of which only he has access to.
Probably the best known work of J.J. Vilsmaÿr, his set of six partitas (or partias) of 1715 are perfect and relatively early examples of the baroque dance suite, and have found more popularity than many other contemporary works for the solo violin.
Peter plays a superb instrument labelled ‘Amati Brothers’ but in fact made by Girolamo (his brother had died by 1610) with the help of his son and successor Niccolò; it was probably one of the last violins on which Girolamo worked as he died in 1630.
1629 was the year in which the Great Plague swept through Italy; Nicolò found himself a lucky survivor and inheritor of the great Amati tradition. The spectacular instrument has a spruce front and single-piece maple back, with scroll and ribs in the early Cremona fashion. Skærved says that its extraordinary qualities (he has played it since 2013) have profoundly influenced his love for the violin and his understanding of what it can do. The violin is held in the collection of the Royal Academy of Music in London.