Search - Attilio Ariosti, Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, Johann Caspar Ganspeck :: Viola d'amore

In Love With the Viola d'Amore!

Giordano Bruno | Wherever I am, I am. | 11/27/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Being all charged up by the virtuosity on the viola d'amore of Fabio Biondi on his CD of Vivaldi concerti for that unusual instrument, I searched amazon for other performances of similar quality. The best I found, by far, was this disk by Affetti Musicali, a performance so artful and elegant that I'm buying extra copies for solstice gifts.



The viola d'amore is a fretted viol with six strings, tuned so that double and triple stops are 'easily' managed, allowing the soloist to perform harmonically and even contrapuntally. The instrument also has sympathetic resonating strings, adding to its complex timbre. Vivaldi apparently played it very well, and his sonatas for it are the pinnacle of the repertory. However, the later violin virtuoso Heinrich von Biber must have played the instrument spectacularly also, since his Partita VII for two violas d'amore is one of his finest compositions. That partita is the largest and most astonishing piece on the current disk, played gorgeously by Marianne Ronez and Ludwig Hampe. Like most of Biber's chamber works, it suggests "improvisation" upon a ground bass, and I suppose that Biber himself might well have improvised in just such a style. The written score is the closest any Baroque composer had to a "recording" technology. Listen to this partita on well separated speakers or on quality headphones, and you'll hear the echo of antiphonal compositions, works for two choirs, by earlier composers like Gabrieli and Monteverdi. With a little imagination, you might also hear foreshadowings of the antiphonal improvisations of modern jazz musicians like Dexter Gordon and Wardell Gray.



The remaining five compositions on this CD are also outstanding and original. They include two more duets for violas, and three vocal compositions featuring viola d'amore with soprano Monika Mauch, who has the perfect 'white' voice to match the dark timbre of the instruments. The songs "un ruisselet bien clair" and "Maria schoenste Blumen zirt" have a folk-like charm that would be worthy of Mozart or Schubert.



This is NOT a novelty! This is great music! Highest recommendation."

Mariane Ronez knows her stuff!

A. Argeris | California | 05/10/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Being a fan of the viola d'amore, I am very taken by this CD. Marian Ronez really plays well a wide variety of Baroque pieces, from German religious songs(Maria Schonste Bluemen Zirt; delicate, ethereal,lovely) to Ignaz von Biber's Partia for Two Violas d'amore, a stock piece in the repertory. The technical aspects of the CD are immaculate and there is great verve in playing this most difficult of stringed instruments (outclassed only by the sarangi!), especially on track 6, which is the high-light of this album. Its energy, spirit and enthusiasm are something which can lift my spirits when I am down. In short, Marian Ronez is capable of an all-out energy, as well as a delicate touch on the more tender material. I hope she records on the viola d'amore again."