Tomaso ALBINONI (1671 - 1751)
Trattenimenti Armonici Op.
6
Sonata in g minor, op. 6,2 [9:39]
Sonata in G, op. 6,9 [10:06]
Sonata in d minor, op. 6,4 [10:04]
Sonata in F, op. 6,5 [8:32]
Sonata in e minor, op. 6,8 [8:27]
Sonata in B flat, op. 6,3 [8:59]
Sonata in B flat, op. 6,12 [9:22]
Sonata in C, op. 6,1 [8:36]
Sonata in c minor, op. 6,10 [7:52]
Sonata in A, op. 6,11 [7:55]
Sonata in a minor, op. 6,6 [8:18]
Sonata in D, op, 6,7 [8:52]
Zero Emission Baroque Orchestra (Giorgio Tosi (violin), Marlise Goidanich
(cello), Carlo Centemeri (organ))
rec. March and May 2013, Santuario di San Bernardino, Caravaggio, Bergamo,
Italy. DDD
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 94852 [56:00 + 52:08]
Tomaso Albinoni was a composer who was different from most of his
colleagues in presenting himself as a dilettante. That
didn't prevent him from being highly appreciated, not only in Italy
but also abroad. His music has been found in many locations across Europe.
There are various pirated editions of his works and collections with sonatas
claimed to be from his pen. Their authenticity is highly questionable but
their quantity bears further witness to his status.
The largest part of his output comprises vocal music, in particular
operas. He composed more than eighty of these most of which are lost. Today
his vocal works are hardly ever performed. His instrumental music fares much
better: the catalogue lists many recordings of his chamber music and
concertos.
The present disc includes the twelve sonatas for violin and bc op. 6. These
were printed in Amsterdam around 1712, under the title Trattenimenti armonici.
This title, "harmonic entertainments" in English, expresses exactly
the purpose for which these sonatas were written. They were for the entertainment
of the performers who themselves were probably musical dilettantes
and like Albinoni himself, from the higher echelons of society. The technical
requirements are considerable which indicates that amateurs of those days
were quite skilful.
All the sonatas are in four movements, following the model of the
Corellian sonata da chiesa. This has inspired the performers to
choose an organ for the realization of the basso continuo part.
This is certainly a legitimate option, but the organ is not specifically
connected to the sonata da chiesa. This term should not be
interpreted as an indication that these sonatas were meant to be played in
church. The use of an organ in every sonata is somewhat one-sided. After a
while I longed for a different sound, such as that of the harpsichord or a
plucked instrument. In some movements the basso continuo part is
played by the cello alone, and that is certainly an interesting option. It
was common practice in Albinoni's days but is seldom adopted in our
time.
The three interpreters deliver acceptable performances, according to the
rules of historical performance practice. However, I am not that
enthusiastic. I have already referred to the lack of variety in the scoring
of the basso continuo. I also find Giorgio Tosi's tone a bit thin
and his range of expression rather narrow. Not long ago I reviewed a disc
with five sonatas by Albinoni, including three from this opus, played by the
French violinist Guillaume Rebinguet-Sudre (review). I wrote: "The dynamic shading and
his bow vibrato on long notes and the accentuation of good notes are
instrumental in securing a compelling interpretation." That is exactly
what I largely missed here. There is a lack of dynamic accenting and in
general of differentiation. The contrasts in tempo between the slow and the
fast movements is also too limited. By and large Rebinguet-Sudre takes more
time in the slow movements. He also needs more time in the fast movements,
but that is not because his tempi are slower but because he observes all the
repeats. That seems to be not the case here, which is surprising considering
the space left on both discs.
On balance, these are competent performances, but not really compelling. I
would advise against listening to this set at a single stretch but I
probably wouldn't find that problematic in performances like those by
Rebinguet-Sudre. The present disc makes good listening if consumed a little
at a time.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanveen
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