Gasparo

Fascinated by the viola, which he chose at the age of eleven after learning the violin for six years, Amihai loves the sound of his instrument, which is so close to the human voice. He also likes the ambivalence of its timbre, midway between the violin and the cello, which in a sense reflects his own musical education in Israel, with its combination of Mediterranean influences and Russian and Germanic traditions. Initially a quartet musician and founding member of the famous Jerusalem Quartet, Amihai Grosz now pursues a solo career while holding the post of principal viola of the Berliner Philharmoniker.

Anna Isabella Leonarda was born on September 6, 1620, the daughter of Giannantonio Leonardi and his wife, Apollonia. The Leonardi were an old and prominent Novarese family whose members included important church and civic officials and knights palatine. Isabella's father, who held the title of count, was a doctor of laws.

The voice of countertenor Franz Vitzthum resounds with lightness and clarity: its almost ‘celestial’ quality appears completely free of all ballast. How appropriate therefore is this programme for Christophorus, in which the yearning for eternal life, when the shackles of mortal existence have been thrown off, was a central theme of the German Baroque period.

The present recording consists of 6 fantastic, beautiful, sometimes a little bizarre, rare violin sonatas from the early 18th century and includes 3 première recordings. This release is the first of a new FHR series in which samples of the musical riches (mostly not yet published or recorded) that lie in the Dresden Schrank II collection which FHR will bring to life through new recordings.