Sardelli: 6 Sonate a Tre Stefano Bruni, Giovanni Battista Scarpa & Paola Talamini

• Federico Maria Sardelli (b. 1963): Sonata I in B-Flat Major:
• 1 Sonata I in B-Flat Major: I. Allegro 03:01
• 2 Sonata I in B-Flat Major: II. Larghetto 03:49
• 3 Sonata I in B-Flat Major: III. Allegro molto 02:00
• Sonata II in D Minor:
• 4 Sonata II in D Minor: I. Largo 04:11
• 5 Sonata II in D Minor: II. Allegro 03:14
• 6 Sonata II in D Minor: III. Andante 03:09
• 7 Sonata II in D Minor: IV. Allegro molto 02:19
• Sonata III in E Major:
• 8 Sonata III in E Major: I. Allegro ma d'un mezzo tempo 03:36
• 9 Sonata III in E Major: II. Adagio 04:57
• 10 Sonata III in E Major: III. Allegro e spiritoso 01:26
• Sonata IV in A Minor:
• 11 Sonata IV in A Minor: I. Andante 02:56
• 12 Sonata IV in A Minor: II. Allegro 02:29
• 13 Sonata IV in A Minor: III. Andante 03:32
• 14 Sonata IV in A Minor: IV. Allegro 02:58
• Sonata V in C Major:
• 15 Sonata V in C Major: I. Andante 04:55
• 16 Sonata V in C Major: II. Allegro 02:39
• 17 Sonata V in C Major: III. Largo e cantabile 04:07
• 18 Sonata V in C Major: IV. Allegro 01:47
• Sonata VI in G Major:
• 19 Sonata VI in G Major: I. Allegro 03:29
• 20 Sonata VI in G Major: II. Largo 02:02
• 21 Sonata VI in G Major: III. Allegro 03:34
• Total Runtime 01:06:10

Info for Sardelli: 6 Sonate a Tre

The ‘living Baroque’ idiom of Federico Maria Sardelli has been extensively documented on Brilliant Classics, with albums of concertos (BC94749), cantatas (BC95068) and harpsichord music (BC95488) that have advanced the reputation of this modern composer and scholar and won international attention, with 5-star reviews in Diapason and elsewhere.

Now Sardelli turns his imagination to the genre of the trio sonata that exemplified chamber music-making in the Baroque era. The collection of six presented here divides into two sub-genres, of the church sonatas (Nos. 2, 4, 5) and chamber sonata (Nos. 1, 3, 6) which would have been heard in a domestic, albeit aristocratically appointed, context. Sardelli makes passing and subtle allusions to poignant melancholy (in the Larghetto of the First Sonata), to an infernalrhythmic impulse (the second movement of the Fifth), to more profound meditations on mortality (such as the Adagio without bass of the Third), and even to declarations of love (the opening of the Sixth) – though the subject of Sardelli’s affection is surely Vivaldi himself.

According to the composer, this is not Baroque pastiche. Rather, as a noted scholar of Vivaldi, he seeks to recreate such music in his own image with music of the present which ‘regains its own original language and adheres to its own original criteria, expressing vibrant new ideas that are in keeping with its identity.’ It would be quite possible to think that the trio sonatas here had been written with a goose quill in 17th-century Venice, but they are by no means dry exercises in imitation. Rather they are full of an authentically Venetian vibrancy and colour from any age, sparkling with a variety of knowing brilliance that belongs to the temperamental character of the city.

The performances here are given by musicians who have long worked with Sardelli in his Modo Antiquo ensemble which has made highly praised recordings of ‘real’ Vivaldi as well as Sardelli.

Following on the success of his instrumental music (5 star in Diapason) and Sacred Music this new recording presents “Sonate a tre”, Trio Sonatas for two violins, cello and a continuo of cello and organ, composed in Baroques style by present day composer and conductor Federico Maria Sardelli.

Sardelli is one of the foremost conductors of Baroque music, his pioneering performances with his group Modo Antiquo have received glowing reviews in the international press. As a composer he has been inspired by the great Baroque masters, notably Vivaldi, and his compositions in this style seem to have been penned with a goose quill in 18th century Venice. His works are no dry exercises on the basis of the rules of the day, but are vibrant, alive, bursting with energy, passion and brilliance.

Stefano Bruni, violin
Giovanni Battista Scarpa, violin
Paola Talamini, organ
Lorenzo Parravicini, cello
Bettina Hoffmann, cello

Stefano Bruni
achieved a diploma in violin at the Venice Conservatoire, and then continued under Enzo Porta and Daniele Pascoletti. He specialized in baroque violin with Stefano Montanari. He has played with the Offerta Musicale, Orchestra da Camera di Venezia, the Orchestra Regionale Filarmonia Veneta and the Teatro La Fenice orchestra. He has been a member of the Modo Antiquo orchestra since 2011, playing with the ensemble in many prominent international festivals. He has recorded with Brilliant, Naïve and Sony. He teaches Music at MIUR. Giovanni Battista Scarpa studied under Michele Lot and Enzo Porta, then specialized with Renato Zanettovich, Daniele Pascoletti and Cinzia Barbagelata. He has played with the Offerta Musicale, Orchestra da Camera di Venezia, and the Orchestra J. Futura, also as soloist, as well as with the Orchestra Filarmonica del Teatro La Fenice. He and Stefano Bruno have together worked on and performed rare music for violin duo. With saxophonist Emma Nicòl Pigato he also performs original works and transcriptions of baroque and classical compositions. He teaches violin at the Liceo Musicale Marco Polo in Venice.

Lorenzo Parravicini
studied the cello with Adriano Vendramelli, Marin Cazacu and Radu Aldulescu, as well as attending courses on musical phenomenology held by Christa Bützbenger. He has worked with numerous Italian orchestras, including the Offerta Musicale, performing throughout Europe as part of the chamber ensemble and as a soloist. He is a member of the La frottola ensemble specialized in medieval and renaissance works. He has taught cello in various schools and at the Liceo Musicale in Venice.

Bettina Hoffmann
plays the viola da gamba and cello, and is also a musicologist. As a soloist she performs with Modo Antiquo in prominent festivals and theatres throughout Europe. He many recordings include CDs devoted to Marais, Ortiz, Ganassi, Schenck and Gabrielli. Her two CDs with Modo Antiquo were nominated for Grammy Awards. She is author of the Catalogo di musica per viola da gamba and the book La viola da gamba that has been published in Italian, German and English. She has also written numerous articles and curated various critical editions. She teaches at the Vicenza Conservatoire and at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole. Bettina also founded the Giornata Italiana della Viola da Gamba, for which she was awarded a medal by prior Italian President Giorgio Napolitano.

Paola Talamini
has been the principal organist at the Basilica della Salute in Venice since 1999. She took a diploma in piano, organ and organ composition, then specialist degrees in organ and harpsichord, in Gregorian chant at the Pontificio Istituto Ambrosiano di Musica Sacra, as well as a European diploma in early performance practice and a further diploma in liturgical music at the Pontifica Università Lateranense. She has taught sacred vocal music at the Seminario Patriarcale in Venice and music at the Istituto Cavanis in Venice. Alongside her busy concert schedule, she also continues her research work, publishing with Edizioni Carrara, Schotti, Il Levante, Libreria Editrice, Marcianum Press and Ut Orpheus.

Booklet for Sardelli: 6 Sonate a Tre