Trio sonatas very well played
Ross Kennett | Narooma, NSW Australia | 02/26/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The excellent review by Alan Lehan says most of what needs saying, so I will be brief.
The trio sonata was a popular musical form from the latter 17th century to the mid 18th, and most baroque composers wrote a dozen or so. The form was very flexible, calling for two violins,( or violin and flute, two flutes, violin and oboe, two oboes etc ), cello or viola da gamba or bassoon, and harpsichord or chamber organ. The Palladian Ensemble employ recorder and violin, viola da gamba and, rather than harpsichord, a lute. The use of a lute has been very successful, it opens the music and adds a nice lushness.
The two sonatas by Handel from opus 2 are well known for their elegance and wit, I think the trio sonata reached its peak with his opus 5. The sonatas by Telemann are no strangers, while I am not familiar with those by LeClair and Quantz. All are very well played, I find this CD more satisfying than their "Choice Collection ". However when I compare the Handel with a performance for 2 violins, cello and harpsichord/organ, (London baroque)I find the violin version more full of life and joy, so I am being a little generous with a 5 star rating."