L’Arte del Violino in Italia
c. 1650-1700

CD I

Tarquinio Merula (1595-1665)
1 Sonata seconda a 2

Nicola Matteis (?-c.1707)
2 Passaggio a solo - Fuga a 2 corde - Ground

Agostino Guerrieri (fl. mid-17th century)
3 Sonata à 2, arpa e violino detta «La Lucina»

Carlo Mannelli del violino (1640-1697)
4 Sinfonia a violino solo

Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi Mealli (fl. 1660-69)
5 Sonata quarta «La Castella»

Marco Uccellini (c.1630-1680)
6 Sonata seconda detta «La Luciminia contenta»

Giovanni Buonaventura Viviani (1638-c.1692)
7 Sonata prima

Angelo Berardi (c.1636-1694)
8 Capriccio per camera (canzone sesta)

Tarquinio Merula
9 Sonata prima a 2, violino & basso per l’organo

Marco Uccellini
10 Sinfonia seconda a violino solo

Pietro Degli Antoni (1648-1720)
11 Sonata settima

Agostino Guerrieri
12 Sonata malinconica à solo

Giovanni Buonaventura Viviani
13 Symphonia cantabile

CD II

Marco Uccellini
1 Aria XI sopra il «Caporal Simon»*
2 Sonata XXVI a 3 sopra «La Prosperina»

Giuseppe Torelli (1658-1709)
3 «Perfidia» a due violini

Giuseppe Jacchini (1667-1727)
4 Sonata settima a 3

Giovanni Maria Bononcini (1642-1678)
5 Corrente «La Pegolotta»
6 Allemanda «La Guelfa»
7 Corrente «L’Incognita»

Giovanni Battista Vitali (1670-1747)
8 Sonata «La Guidoni»

Marco Uccellini
9 Aria XIII sopra «Questa bella sirena»

Giuseppe Colombi (1645-1694)
10 Scordatura à violino solo senza basso (Ciacona)

Giovanni Battista Vitali
11 Sonata da chiesa n. 12

Giuseppe Colombi
12 Variazioni a 2 sull’«Aria di Bergamasca»

Domenico Gabrielli (1659-1690)
13 Ricercare per violoncello solo

Maurizio Cazzati (1616-1678)
14 Sonata a 2 «La Gaetana»

Giovanni Maria Bononcini
15 Sonata da chiesa n. 10

Marco Uccellini
16 Sonata XXVII a 3
17 Aria XV sopra «La Scatola degli aghi»*

* with Adriana Egivi (voice), Sigrid Lee (voice) and Stefano Pilati (voice & percussion)

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About this CD

At the start of the 1990s the Perugian violinist Enrico Gatti made a number of important recordings chronicling the development of the Italian violin schools across the later 17th century, as composerviolinists (such as Pandolfi Mealli, Cazzati, Uccellini, Vitali and Torelli and many more) developed new musical forms and techniques designed to show off the instrument and its capabilities. Glossa is very happy to be bringing back into circulation now two of those releases focusing on a golden age for Italian instrumental music, signed by the production team of Sigrid Lee and Roberto Meo, and led by Gatti demonstrating his special qualities as a musician: a deep understanding of the repertory and the transformational capacities of the Baroque in music allied to an expressive, subtle yet virtuosic style of playing. Gatti’s refined approach to the interpretation of violin music remains a refreshing antidote to other more “high velocity” styles; this pair of recordings, entitled L’Arte del Violino in Italia, provides a rich anticipation for Gatti’s later recordings for Glossa of sonatas by Antonio Vivaldi.

Taking part in this captivating exploration are members of Gatti’s long-standing Ensemble Aurora, which here include marvellous players such as harpsichordist Guido Morini and harpist Mara Galassi. With this new release, which continues to breathe fresh life into 17th century repertoire for the violin, come two notable complementing essays on the subject written by Marc Vanscheeuwijck and Gatti himself.