Vivaldi Sonata

Antonio Vivaldi was a great violinist, as was his father, Giovanni Battista Vivaldi. It is no coincidence that Antonio Vivaldi’s first publication op. 1 in 1705 was a collection of sonatas for two violins and basso continuo. He dedicated most of his instrumental output to the violin, writing sonatas for one or two violins and concerti for up to four solo violins further writing compositions where the violin appears as a second main character alongside other instruments or voice.

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Antonio Vivaldi composed several sonatas for cello and continuo. A set of six cello sonatas, written between 1720 and 1730, was published in Paris in 1740. He wrote at least four other cello sonatas, with two manuscripts kept in Naples, another in Wiesentheid, and one known to be lost.

Vivaldi, Tartini & Leclair - The Four Seasons, The Devil's Trill, Tambourin Sonata - James Ehnes (2015) {ONYX Classics 4134}
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© 2015 ONYX Classics | ONYX 4134
Classical / Baroque / Violin

Violinist James Ehnes has firmly established himself as a master of the modern repertoire and to a lesser extent, the Romantic, so his album of Antonio Vivaldi's perennial violin concertos, The Four Seasons, Giuseppe Tartini's "Devil's Trill" Sonata, and Jean-Marie Leclair's "Tambourin" Sonata is an unexpected detour into the Baroque. The fame and popularity of these pieces guarantees Ehnes an audience, and he, like everyone else, shouldn't be criticized for recording them, though his choice of the modern Sydney Symphony Orchestra for the Vivaldi, and Fritz Kreisler's arrangement of the Tartini for violin and piano, suggests that he isn't really trying to compete with most contemporary recordings, least of all the various period-style releases.

Vivaldi’s Sonatas for two violins, anco senza basso se piace (also without bass if preferred), represent one of the innumerable peaks of his compositional prowess. They are structured in three movements, each of which develops in a bipartite manner, making evident reference to concerto form, with only the internal bipartite structure alluding to sonata form. This distinguishes Vivaldi’s approach to the duo without bass from that of some of his European colleagues, namely Telemann (Sonates sans basse, 1727) and Leclair (Sonates à deux violons sans basse Op.3, 1730).

We are so used to the absolute stylistic assurance of Vivaldi's music, that coming face-to-face with his tentative apprentice-piece is something of a shock. In his 12 Op. 1 Trio Sonatas, first published in 1705, the young Vivaldi shows himself to be an unashamed neo-Corellian. There would be scant interest in these works today if they were merely slavish imitations. But of course they're not. Vivaldi takes Corelli's forms and vocabulary and moves them on a stage.

This release ’Pellegrina’s Delight’ is a joy from start to finish and a testament to Vivaldi’s undoubted genius. It is good to have this wonderful disc of Vivaldi works imaginatively themed around the oboe and a most welcome change too from yet another version of the ubiquitous ‘Four Seasons‘!