Folia Graeca

With this recording, the Purcell Quartet reach the mid-point in their six-part series of chamber music based on La Jolla, and although this CD is devoted to Geminiani, the only work on that tune is, in fact, his concerto grosso arrangement of Corelli's variations for violin (Op. 5 No. 12). In addition, they have chosen the G minor Concerto grosso (distinguished by Geminiani's remarkable concertino viola part, played to good effect by Alan George), two of Geminiani's original solo sonatas (giving Catherine Mackintosh and Elizabeth Wallfisch moments in which to shine) and trio arrangements of two of his violin sonatas.

This disc was an instant classic from the time it was issued in 1988, the Purcell Quartet's C.P.E. Bach: La Folia and other works. The disc features four chamber pieces and one harpsichord solo that, taken together, span all but the first and last decades of his output and contains some of the most pioneering and experimental-sounding music Bach created. The Trio Sonata in C minor "Sanguineus and Melancholicus" (1749) pits the Greek notions of the sanguine and melancholy against one another in a twisted musical dialogue, foreshadowing psychological form, a development that didn't take hold until the advent of Beethoven. Bach's late 12 Variations on La Folia (1776) are blustery and brilliant and played with a sense of urgency by the Purcell Quartet's leader, harpsichordist Robert Woolley.

Jordi Savall - La Folia, 1490-1701 (1998) {Alia Vox AV9805}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 315 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 128 Mb
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© 1998 Alia Vox | AV 9805
Classical / Renaissance / Baroque / Chamber Music

After years of playing the various Folias by Diego Ortiz, Antonio de Cabezón, Antonio Martín y Coll, Arcangelo Corelli and Marin Marais, it became clear to us that there were certain links between the origin and evolution of the important art of musical improvisation and variation and the viola da gamba, or bass viol, itself. In fact, it is no mere coincidence that, throughout the 16th century, and in places as different as France (Adrian Le Roy, 1551), Italy (Vicenzo Ruffo, 1564) and Germany (Matthäus Waissel, 1573), we find references in the various manuscripts and printed documents to the term “gamba”, used as a synonym for “Folia”.