Gambist

It is perhaps a truism that virtually all so-called great composers had a special preference for the viola as da braccio (on the arm, i.e. the modern instrument) or da gamba , a versatile instrument of the viol family that was a particular focus of Baroque composers. Indeed, the Sixth Brandenburg features pairs of both instruments, da braccio and da gamba, and what would the passions be without the solo work Bach includes for each? This may have been due to the fact that one of his employers, Duke Leopold of Saxony-Anhalt-Cöthen, liked to play it, but more likely Bach liked the instrument’s versatility and distinctive timbre.

Ditrich Stöeffken (c.1600-1673), war ein deutscher Gambist und Komponist. Über seine frühen Lebensjahre existieren keine Quellen. Durch die Auswirkungen des Dreißigjährigen Krieges, der zur Verkleinerung oder Schließung vieler Hofkapellen führte, war er gezwungen, an verschiedenen europäischen Höfen Anstellungen zu suchen. 1622 spielte er unter der Leitung William Brades in einem Gambenconsort am dänischen Königshof Christians IV. Wahrscheinlich zog er mit Brade zusammen an den herzoglichen Hof Friedrichs III. Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf.

Jordi Savall & Montserrat Figueras - Tarquinio Merula - Su La Cetra Amorosa, Arie E Capricci (2008) {Alia Vox AVSA 9862 rec 1992}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 282 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 131 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 88 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1992, 2008 Alia Vox | AVSA 9862
Classical / Baroque / Chamber Music / Vocal Music

This album, originally recorded in 1992, was remastered in 2008 and issued as part of the Heritage series of Jordi Savall's Alia Vox label in a nifty combination of reissue and improvement. The album certainly qualifies as one of the greatest hits of Savall (whose role here is as gambist, with a small ensemble of northern European players ) and his wife, soprano Montserrat Figueras, who is the star of the show. Figueras' vocals are as usual a central attraction, with their incredible combination of suppleness, accuracy over a wide range, expression, and Iberian gutsiness. But the program here, though somewhat removed from the Iberian core of the Figueras/Savall repertory, is equally compelling.

In Antonio Vandini: Complete Works, cellist Elinor Frey and Passacaille Records present the six sonatas and one concerto of one of the most noteworthy and fascinating Italian cellist-composers of the 18th century. Antonio Vandini's works span from 1717 in Venice (just a few years before he taught at the La Pieta school alongside the legendary Vivaldi) to about the 1750's when his last sonatas were written (probably as he toured the world with his musical partner, the famous violinist, Giuseppe Tartini). Captivated by Vandini's ability to draw out some of the finest qualities of the cello by expertly blending both lyricism and virtuosity, Frey, cellist-musicologist Marc Vanscheeuwijck, and gambist Patxi Montero together explored Vandini's particular playing techniques.

Could Bach’s Suites be most representative of his French identity? Composed in Germany around 1720 at the Court of Köthen, like the Brandenburg Concertos, for a Francophile and gambist, they find in Myriam Rignol’s vision and vibrant embodiment an unmistakable French flavour, transcended by the viola da gamba! When an exceptional talent meets the instrument that makes Bach resound in Versailles, lending it the rhythm of the dances so dear to Louis, in a polyphony like no other, Johann Sebastian dazzles in the Palace of the Sun King…