JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750 )

Sonatas for viola da gamba

Sonata I, BWV 1027
01 Adagio
02 Allegro, ma non tanto
03 Andante
04 Allegro moderato

05 Preludio
(improvised)
06 Komm, süßes Kreuz
(Recitativo & Aria, Matthäus-Passion, BWV 244)

Sonata II, BWV 1028
07 Adagio
08 Allegro
09 Andante
10 Allegro

11 Es ist vollbracht
(Aria, Johannes-Passion, BWV 245)

Sonata III, BWV 1029
12 Vivace
13 Adagio
14 Allegro

—

About this CD

Fifteen years on from his earlier recording of Bach’s three Sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord (on Harmonia Mundi, alongside Rinaldo Alessandrini), Paolo Pandolfo is now returning to this repertory with a thoroughly-rethought approach, the fruit of active and concentrated years of consideration, study and research into the inherent possibilities of his instrument. Given the basic differing natures of these two instruments, the performance of these works very often turns – in Pandolfo’s words – into a “musical argument”, rather than what is demanded by the music’s essential nature: a “musical conversation” in which the score achieves “transparency and eloquence”.

For this exercise in interpretative discourse Paolo Pandolfo has found a suitably-engaged musical mind in harpsichordist Markus Hünninger, a friend for many years and a teacher, like Pandolfo, at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. The resulting disc has a very personal flavour to it, reiterating the uncompromising sense of quality in all that the Roman gamba player does. Following on from his essential recordings of music by Forqueray, Hume, Marais, Sainte Colombe and Abel, he is now rounding off on Glossa his own particular vision of Bach, which he commenced in 2000 with the recording of the now-legendary Six Suites.

To complete the disc there are two vocal arias with obbligato viola da gamba drawn from two of Bach’s Passions, in which Pandolfo is joined by two leading early music singers of recent times, the countertenor Michael Chance and the bass Harry van der Kamp.