Benedetto MARCELLO (1686-1739)
Sonata III in sol maggiore [7:02]
Sonata V in re minore [8:32]
Sonata VII in la minore [11:01]
Minuetto in Do maggiore [1:39]
Sonata X in do minore [17:14]
Sonata IX in La maggiore [8:18]
Minuetto in Do maggiore [1:39]
Andrea Bacchetti (piano)
rec. April 2010, Fazioli Concet Hall, Sacile
RCA/SONY MUSIC 88697814662 [55:26] 
Andrea Bacchetti is something of a pioneer of Italian keyboard music which
is somewhat still off the beaten track when it comes to piano repertoire.
His Galuppi and Cherubini discs were both very good indeed (see review),
and they are now joined by an equally classy recital of sonatas by Benedetto
Marcello, a composer better known through a few concertos and his cello sonatas.
Marcello was a Venetian and a younger contemporary of Vivaldi, and as with
numerous other composers from that period and locality has fallen somewhat
under the shadow of his illustrious and famous colleague. The booklet notes
are both printed, and extended further on pdf files included on this enhanced
CD which has a few extra built-in ROM features, not all of which I could access
on my antique laptop. They make the point that, long forgotten, “the manuscripts
for these sonatas reflect the atmosphere of another Venice, severe and ascetic,
seen through the eyes of a composer who could look beyond appearances, providing
in his music the strength of a moving spirituality.” The pdf notes delve further
into the historical context and fascinating manuscripts from which these recordings,
some of which are world premičres, are derived.
The opening Sonata III is strange with its repeated notes in the first
movements, and almost naive in the octave bass, oh-so simple theme and parallel
progressions in the following Andante. Don’t be deceived however. There
are gorgeously stately slow movements, and those which convey more sophisticated
popular entertainment value; the energetic final Allegro of the Sonata
V being just one case in point. More striking are the dissonances which
knock the Sonata VII off track in its second Adagio section.
There are moments where the music is so sparing that it seems almost not to
be there at all, such as with the Cantabile e Largo, and Bacchetti
sensibly restricts his embellishments in these two-part moments of serenity
to observing those of a conventional type: just a few cadential trills and
the occasional turn, allowing the expressive notes their full value as they
stand. Marcello knows a ‘hook’ when he has one, and the final Minuetto
of this sonata has a distinctive arpeggio motive which fixes the piece
in the mind like a paperclip on the page of a diary.
There’s drama too, and the opening of the Sonata X is like an opera
overture, with insistent repeated notes shutting up the noisy audience and
dragging their attention to the action about to commence on stage. The Largo
which follows is the longest movement in the whole programme at over seven
minutes, challenging Vivaldi and indeed Pergolesi for expressive power expressed
with a minimum of means. There are even moments where an ageing Liszt is also
called to mind, such are the searching properties in some of the progressions
here.
We mustn’t get too far away from what’s actually heard on this CD, but there
are little echoes and associations all over the place, such as in Sonata
X, with its Scarlatti-like Presto third movement. This is music
which is honest to itself – sometimes challenging us in its very simplicity
and directness. There are moments where a movement might be little more than
a sequence of sequences, such as in the finale of Sonata X, and yet
the ear remains fascinated. This of course has much to do with our guide in
this music, and Andrea Bacchetti is a very sympathetic performer, exquisitely
making each movement into something special, but doing this by allowing the
notes to speak for themselves rather than seeking to find hidden meanings
or make things too profound. Bacchetti’s playing is disarming in its directness,
but the more you listen the greater the discoveries to be found in subtleties
of shading, colour and phrasing, helped by a superbly prepared Fazioli instrument
placed in a pleasantly spacious acoustic. The engineers may have helped things
along a little as far as this goes, but I for one don’t care. This is a very
fine disc of some rare music, and I’m delighted to have it for company for
those all too rare fine moments when very little is needed, and nothing else
will do.
Dominy Clements
Fine and rare.