Gamba Sonatas

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BACH / HANDEL / SCARLATTI
Gamba Sonatas
Steven Isserlis (cello), Richard Egarr (harpsichord) with Robin Michael (cello)

[ Hyperion / CD ]

Release Date: Saturday 25 July 2015

This item is currently out of stock. It may take 6 or more weeks to obtain from when you place your order as this is a specialist product.

Bach wrote three wonderful sonatas for the viola da gamba (an early, slightly smaller relative of the modern cello). Lovingly recorded by Steven Isserlis and Richard Egarr, they are here joined by works by Handel and Scarlatti in a programme of haunting tranquillity.

"This isn't one for the dyed-in-the-wool authenticist…fortunately, dessicated 'authenticity' has been supplanted by imaginatively experimenting performers supported by scholarly evidence…in the Handel slow movements Isserlis indulges stylistically in spontaneous-sounding elaboration of the line, while the thrilling final allegro of the Scarlatti Sonata is wonderfully fluent." BBC Music Magazine, October 2015

"Isserlis judges the scale of his performances to a nicety." Financial Times, 11th September 2015

"Isserlis plays them on the gamba's modern cousin, the cello, and the microphone loves his playing, picking up all the nuances and scampering asides from his soft-spoken instrument which can sometimes get lost in big concert halls. Egarr on harpsichord matches Isserlis's eloquence and rambunctious energy all the way." The Guardian, 17th September 2015 *****

"None of these pieces was written for cello and harpsichord, and at no stage does that matter one bit...Isserlis makes no attempt to make his cello imitate the wispy resonance of the gamba, instead claiming the music for his instrument with vigorously articulated lines, robust technical athleticism and ravishing cantabile." Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2015

Tracks:

Bach, J S:
Viola da Gamba Sonatas Nos. 1-3, BWV1027-1029
Chorale Prelude BWV639 'Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ'

Handel:
Sonata in G minor HWV364b

Scarlatti, D:
Keyboard Sonata K90 in D minor