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CD reviews
Giovanni Battista FONTANA, Marco UCCELLINI: Sonatas for one to three violins
[I] Giovanni Battista FONTANA (1589 - 1630): "Complete Sonatas for Violin and Basso continuo"
Lux Terrae Baroque Ensemble
rec: 2021/22, Crescentino, Santuario Madonna del Palazzo; Vacciago, Parrocchia Sant'Antonio Abate
Brilliant Classics - 96541 (© 2023) (1.56'02")
Liner-notes: E/IT
Cover, track-list & booklet
Scores
Spotify
Sonata I in C;
Sonata II in D;
Sonata III in C;
Sonata IV in G;
Sonata V in C;
Sonata VI in D;
Sonata VII in D;
Sonata VIII in d minora;
Sonata IX in F;
Sonata X in e minor;
Sonata XI in Ga;
Sonata XII in F;
Sonata XIII in a minora;
Sonata XIV in a minora;
Sonata XV in C;
Sonata XVI in Cab;
Sonata XVII in Ga;
Sonata XVIII in a minor
Sources:
Sonate a 1 2. 3. per il violin, o cornetto, fagotto, chitarone, violoncino o simile altro istromento, 1641
Serena Leonardi, recorder;
Neyza Copa, Giovanni Rotaa, Neyen Finot, b, violin;
Issei Watanabe, viola da gamba;
Lamberto Curtoni, cello;
Estelle Thévenoz, dulcian;
Jacopo Sabina, theorbo, archlute;
Gabriele Marzella, harpsichord, organ
[II] Marco UCCELLINI (1603 - 1680): "Violin Sonatas from Opp. 3-5"
Noxwode
Dir: Conor Gricmanis
rec: August 26 - 31, 2021, London, Church of St Saviour, South Hampstead
First Hand Records - FHR125 (© 2022) 65'30")
Liner-notes: E
Cover, track-list & booklet
Scores
Spotify
Aria sopra La Bergamasca [1];
Sonata I in D 'La Musica' [3];
Sonata I in A 'La Vittoria trionfante' [2];
Sonata I in a minor 'La Poggia' [1];
Sonata II in g minor 'La Luciminia contenta' [2];
Sonata III in E 'La Ebrea maritata' [2];
Sonata IV in c minor 'La Hortensia virtuosa' [2];
Sonata IV in G 'La Trasformata'b [1];
Sonata IV in a minor 'La Bugia' [3];
Sonata V in c minor 'La Laura rilucente' [2];
Sonata XII in A; [2]
Sonata XVIII in Aa [2]
Sources:
[1] Sonate, arie et correnti a 2. et 3. per sonare con diversi instromenti, 1642;
[2] Sonate, correnti et arie da farsi con diversi stromenti sì da camera, come da chiesa, à uno, à due & à tre, 1645/R;
[3] Sonate over canzoni da farsi à violino solo, e basso continuo, 1649
Conor Gricmanis, Claire Edwardsa, violin;
Miriam Nohl, cello;
Josie Jobbins, violone;
Jonatan Bougt, theorbo, guitar
with: Bojan Čičić, violinb;
Timothy Roberts, harpsichord, organ
The decades around 1600 were a time of many and far-reaching changes in the style of composing and performing. In vocal music the text was given utmost priority; the music should serve the communication of the text and the affetti it wanted to express. Instrumental music became a field of much experimentation. First of all, whereas before instruments mostly played vocal music - either in support of voices or replacing them - composers started to write music which was specifically intended for instruments. Secondly, with time instrumental music became more idiomatic, meaning that the specific features of a particular instrument were explored. Thirdly, it became more virtuosic. Whereas in the renaissance composers were usually educated as singers or as players of plucked or keyboard instruments, several from the early decades of the 17th century learnt to play a melody instrument, for instance Giovanni Battista Fontana (violin) and Dario Castello (cornett).
Giovanni Battista Fontana was one of the first exponents of the seconda prattica in instrumental music. He was from Brescia, worked in Venice, Rome and Padua; in the latter town he died of the plague, which hit northern Italy in 1630/31. Little is known about his life; most of what we know is taken from the preface to his only collection of music that was printed, eleven years after his death. Although he was educated as a violinist - he had the nickname del Violino - his sonatas are not exclusively scored for one, two or three violins. The title of his only extant collection indicates that the choice is left to the performers: Sonate a 1. 2. 3. per il violino, o cornetto, fagotto, chitarone, violoncino o simile altro istromento. In order to make sure that they could be played on one of the alternative instruments, he avoided techniques that are typical of the violin, such as double stopping.
Fontana's collection includes eighteen sonatas. Six of them are for one treble instrument, and they are among the earliest solo sonatas published in Italy. They are often performed by recorder players, which is fully legitimate, although the recorder seems to have played a minor role in Italy at the time. It is telling that it is seldom explicitly mentioned in the titles of printed editions, such as that by Fontana. Three sonatas are scored for two and one for three treble instruments and basso continuo. The remaining sonatas are for one or two treble and one bass instrument. The latter can be played on any instrument, such as a sackbut, a dulcian or a string bass. In the recording by the Lux Terrae Baroque Ensemble, the dulcian participates in two sonatas. In the other sonatas with an obbligato bass instrument, a string bass is used, either a viola da gamba or a cello.
It seems that the choice of either of them was not deliberate, but rather the result of availability. The booklet is a bit sloppy in that it mentions two different dates of recording of the tracks 10-18, but it is clear that two recording sessions took place. The viola da gamba was used in the first (tracks 1-9), the cello in the second (10-18). This is rather unfortunate, as the cello - here a copy of an instrument from 1742 is played - did not exist at the time that Fontana's sonatas were published. The viola da gamba is the most logical choice, alongside the bass violin, also known as violone.
I already mentioned the apparently limited role of the recorder. It seems that in Italy it was seldom played alongside the violin; even in Vivaldi's oeuvre this combination is rather rare. One may wonder why; a possible explanation could be the difference in dynamic possibilities. From that angle the decision to include the recorder here in three sonatas - one for two treble instruments and two for two trebles and bass - is debatable.
Aside from these issues, it is nice that the entire collection is available in a single recording. It is the first I have encountered; the probably best-known recording, by the Ensemble Sonnerie (EMI, 1996, reissued by Virgin Classics, 2007), is very good, but not complete. A comparison shows that each sonata in this new recording takes more time than in Sonnerie's performance. That is due to the fact that some sections are taken at a slower tempo, which is sometimes a problem. For instance, the opening section of the Sonata II is too slow, which results in the coloratura's being rather unnatural. That said, the playing on this disc is excellent; the contrasts within each sonata - a hallmark of the stylus phantasticus - come off mostly rather well, and there are also enough dynamic contrasts, which is a prerequisite for a convincing interpretation of this kind of repertoire. Lovers of Italian music of the early baroque period will be happy with this recording.
Another brilliant violinist was Marco Uccellini. According to New Grove the year of his birth is not known; a booklet to a recording from about ten years ago says it was 1610, the booklet to the disc under review here has 1603. Uccellini studied in Assisi with Giovanni Battista Buonamente and then settled in Modena where in 1641 he became head of instrumental music at the Este court and in 1647 maestro di cappella at the Cathedral. From 1665 until his death he held the same position at the Farnese court in Parma. It is known that he composed operas and ballet music but that part of his oeuvre has been lost.
Eight collections of music have been preserved; only one of them includes vocal music: Psalms and a Litany for one to five voices and basso continuo, some with additional instruments. The other collections comprise instrumental music, two of which are specifically intended for violin(s). The ensemble Noxwode focuses on the Opp. 3, 4 and 5.
The Op. 4 is the thread of this recording. It is called Sonate, correnti et arie da farsi con diversi stromenti sì da camera, come da chiesa, à uno, à due & à tre, and consists of thirty sonatas, twenty correntes and fifteen arias. The fact that they can be performed with other instruments than violin(s), explains why the technique of double stopping is avoided. Like the sonatas by Fontana, they are specimens of the stylus phantasticus. Each sonata is a sequence of sections following each other attacca, and of contrasting metre and tempo. Nine of the sonatas and five arias have titles. These are mostly hard to explain. I don't know whether Jonathan Keats, in his liner-notes, does make an attempt to explain them; in my digital booklet the central part of the notes is missing. (I have checked several platforms which offer the booklet, and all have the same problem.) It is mostly not necessary to know what they refer to. La Vittoria trionfante is easy to recognize in the music, and La Poggia is derived from the verb poggiare, which means "to rest", and that is reflected by the character of the Sonata I from the Op. 3.
This collection has nearly the same title as the Op. 4: Sonate, arie et correnti a 2. et 3. per sonare con diversi instromenti. It includes nineteen sonatas, nine arias and fourteen correntes. From this set we hear two pieces, both for two violins and basso continuo, in addition to the solo sonata just mentioned. La Bergamasca was one of the most popular tunes used in music during the 17th century, and easily recognizable. (Who is the second violinist is not mentioned.)
The remaining two pieces are from the Op. 5, Sonate over canzoni da farsi à violino solo, e basso continuo. It comprises thirteen sonatas, the last of which is for two violins, and closes with a piece entitled Tromba sordina per sonare con violino solo. In the track-list, the Sonata IV has the title La Bugia. I wonder where it comes from, as the original print (available at the Petrucci Music Library) does not include any title.
Uccellini has played an important role in the development of violin technique, for instance in the use of effects like tremolo, often long slurs, and the inclusion of wide leaps. The range of the violin is extended to the 6th position. They are especially displayed in the solo pieces; the works for two and three violins (no specimen of the latter is not included here) are more modest. The brilliance of Uccelini comes perfectly off here. The booklet informs us that since many years the violinist Conor Gricmanis has been especially interested in this kind of repertoire. That is easy to understand, and his performances show that he has thoroughly studied it. They are not only technically immaculate, but he also fully explores its character. His playing is colourful, the many, often strong contrasts are perfectly realized, and he makes an effective use of dynamic shading. Gricmanis has found congenial partners in the members of his ensemble and some guests, among them his teacher Bojan Cicic. The only issue is, like in the previous recording, the use of an anachronistic cello.
This recording is Noxwode's debut, and it is one to treasure. I am looking forward to its next projects.
Johan van Veen (© 2024)
Relevant links:
Lux Terrae Baroque Ensemble
Noxwode