Elisa

Daughter of the famous tenor García, himself a favourite of Gioachino Rossini, Pauline Viardot was originally destined to become a pianist (and was at one time tutored by Liszt) before the deaths of her father and singersister saw her re‐trained as a mezzo‐soprano by her mother. In 1839 she made her operatic debut in London, subsequently achieving renown on the concert and operatic stages of Great Britain, Germany and Russia in particular. Among her admirers in St Petersburg was the young Ivan Turgenev, later to become the best‐known author of his country in Europe and North America.

The revival of Spanish music of the Baroque period continues moving forward into the Classical era with this premiere recording of sonatas for "violin y bajo" – violin and bass – by Juan de Ledesma. The sonatas were rediscovered only in the late 1980s, and they're very elegantly presented here in a package adorned by a reproduction of a marvelous French fan of the period. There isn't anything of earthshaking importance among the five sonatas on the disc, but they're attractive pieces with some challenges for the violinist, and both players of the instruments and those with collections of Spanish music will find the release of interest. The booklet notes by violinist Blai Justo (in English, French, and German, with Spanish and Catalan additionally available online) point to Corelli's influence, but also note the presence of the galant style of the period, and it is the latter sound, with its atmosphere of charm and its relaxed procession of contrasting two-measure phrases, that predominates. The players do well to avoid a harpsichord accompaniment, using either a combination of cello and guitar or one or the other instrument alone.