Solo Works from the Swan-Song Period of the Viola da Gamba
J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 03/25/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The works on this attractive collection for viola da gamba come from the last era in which the instrument was still being played routinely in Europe. It is only in the last few decades, with the boom in early music and 'original instruments,' that the mellow tones of the viola da gamba have again been frequently heard in concert halls. Shaped like a cello but with a fretted neck, the gamba is held between the knees and bowed. Its tone is more like that of a lute than a cello. There is a vast body of literature for the instrument but most of it is from considerably earlier than these 18th century pieces. Sergei Istomin, the gambist here, has chosen works by Germans Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787), Johannes Schenk (1660-1712) and Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767), and arranged it palindromically: Abel, Schenk, Telemann, Schenk, Abel. Abel is represented by two groups of extracts from his '27 pieces for viola da gamba.' Particularly attractive to me (and with Ohrwurm melodies) are the two minuets in the first group and the Allegro-Aria from the second. Abel is best known to musicologists as Johann Christian Bach's partner in the series of hugely popular 'Bach-Abel Concerts' of London of the mid-1700s.Born in Amsterdam, Schenk spent most of his life in Düsseldorf. Two solo sonatas from his Op. 9, 'L'Echo du Danube,' are presented here. Rather mixed in style and light in effect, each sonata contains a slow Ouvertüre, various dance movements, and a concluding gigue. Telemann's sole work here, the Sonata in D major was first printed in Telemann's music magazine, Germany's first such, the so-called 'Der getreue Music-Meister.' Its mixed-style four movements comprise an English-sounding Andante, a Vivace that sounds for all the world like an Italian violin showpiece, a German Recitatif-Arioso, and a Vivace in French gamba style. Sergei Istomin is a gambist who studied in Russia, the United States (at Oberlin) and Canada. He was for a number of years a member of the renowned Québecois early-music group, Tafelmusik. He is now based in France. His technique, to my admittedly unschooled ears, sounds flawless. And his musicianship is nuanced and poetic. I am totally beguiled by both the sound and the manner of his playing. TT=75'27"Scott Morrison"
Superb!
P. Mcnulty | 12/14/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Superb CD! High recommendation - a must! Indispensable for everyone who loves the viola da gamba."
Track Listings (29) - Disc #1