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CD reviews
Tomaso ALBINONI (1671 - 1751): Trio sonatas & Antonio VIVALDI (1678 - 1741): Violin sonatas
[I] Tomaso ALBINONI: "Sonate a tre Op. 1 No. 4, 5, 6, 7" - Antonio VIVALDI: "Violin Sonatas RV 12, RV 26, RV 17A"
Insieme Strumentale di Roma
Dir: Giorgio Sasso
rec: August 2019, Rome, Chiesa di S. Lorenzo in Panisperna
Da Vinci Classics - C00572 (© 2022) (63'17")
Liner-notes: E
Cover, track-list & liner-notes
Scores Albinoni
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Tomaso ALBINONI:
Sonata à 3 in g minor, op. 1,4;
Sonata à 3 in C, op. 1,5;
Sonata à 3 in a minor, op. 1,6;
Sonata à 3 in G, op. 1,7;
Antonio VIVALDIa:
Sonata in d minor (RV 12);
Sonata in e minor (RV 17a);
Sonata in g minor (RV 26)
Sources:
Tomaso Albinoni, Suonate a tre, doi violini, e violoncello col basso per l'organo, op. 1, 1694
Giorgio Sasso (soloa, Teresa Ceccato, violin;
Adriano Ancarani, Diego Roncalli, cello;
Luca Cola, double bass;
Marco Silvi, harpsichord
[II] Tomaso ALBINONI: 12 Sonate a tre Op. III
L'Armonia delle Cetre
Dir: Matteo Saccà
rec: August 2022, Florence, Chiesa di Santa Felicita (Sala Capitolare)
Da Vinci Classics - C00582 (© 2022) (1.52'18")
Liner-notes: E
Cover, track-list & liner-notes
Scores Albinoni
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Sonata I in C, op. 3,1;
Sonata II in e minor, op. 3,2;
Sonata III in G, op. 3,3;
Sonata IV in A, op. 3,4;
Sonata V in d minor, op. 3,5;
Sonata VI in F, op. 3,6;
Sonata VII in D, op. 3,7;
Sonata VIII in c minor, op. 3,8;
Sonata IX in g minor, op. 3,9;
Sonata X in E, op. 3,10;
Sonata XI in a minor, op. 3,11;
Sonata XII in B flat, op. 3,12
Matteo Saccà, Rossella Pugliano, violin;
Valeria Brunelli, cello;
Léo Brunet, theorbo;
Giacomo Benedetti, harpsichord;
Cecilia Iannandrea, organ
History is not always fair. Today Tomaso Albinoni is largely overshadowed by his contemporary and fellow Venetian Antonio Vivaldi. In his time, he was a highly respected composer. When Johann Georg Pisendel stayed in Venice, he met both composers, and both offered him some of their sonatas. Johann Sebastian Bach was well acquainted with Albinoni's music. Three of his fugues for harpsichord take their subject from sonatas included in Albinoni's Op. 1. He also worked out the basso continuo part of one of the concertos from the Op. 2, and corrected the continuo realization of a sonata from the Op. 6 by one of his pupils.
It is not so easy to explain why Albinoni's music is not given that much attention. One of the reasons may be that a part of his oeuvre has been lost. That concerns especially his vocal music, among them many operas. On the other hand, his concertos with parts for oboe(s) are relatively well-known. He was the first Italian composer who wrote for this instrument which had been developed in France. He was also Vivaldi's predecessor in the field of the concerto. From what has been written above one has to conclude that Bach knew this genre well before he became acquainted with Vivaldi's contribution to it.
The two recordings that are the subject of this review focus on Albinoni's trio sonatas. It is telling that the second production is the very first recording of the Op. 3 on period instruments. If this collection had been of Vivaldi's pen, it would have been available in several recordings.
Italian composers often published first a collection of trio sonatas. That was a way to show one's command of counterpoint, but it was also commercially interesting, as such pieces were intended for amateurs in the first place. Not that Albinoni needed to care about the commercial success of his compositions: he was of noble origin and called himself a dilettante. This was also the reason why he did not need to be in the service of a church, a court or a private person. He could afford to be his own man, and that gave him also artistic freedom.
The Suonate a tre, op. 1, which were dedicated to Pietro Ottoboni in Rome, a well-known patron of composers, such as Corelli, were published in 1694, when Albinoni was just 23 years of age. At that same year his first opera, Zenobia, was performed to great success. It opened the way to a career as an opera composer. The work-list in New Grove starts with a long list of operas, but is preceded by the annotation "music lost unless otherwise stated". That indicates that only a small part of his output in this genre has been preserved.
Giorgio Sasso selected four sonatas from the Op. 1. All of them are in four movements in the order slow - fast - slow - fast. Notable is that all the slow movements are marked grave. The second movements are fugues, in Corellian fashion. His influence is evident in these works. As far as their character is concerned, they show quite some variety. Notable are the fanfare figures in the second movement of the Sonata No. 4 in g minor and the marked dissonances in the second grave of the Sonata No. 7 in G. The grave movements are quite expressive.
Sasso decided to alternate Albinoni's trio sonatas with sonatas for violin and basso continuo by Vivaldi. As obvious this combination is, I would have preferred more of Albinoni's trio sonatas. Be that as it may, one cannot go wrong with Vivaldi's sonatas, as they are fine specimens of his brilliance as a violinist. Two of the pieces are taken from the so-called 'Manchester sonatas'; the title derives from the British city where they are preserved. The Sonata in d minor (RV 12) is also known in a copy by Pisendel, who was a glowing admirer of Italian music in general, and the oeuvre of Vivaldi and Albinoni in particular. The opening movement is identical with the second movement of the concerto RV 582. The Sonata in e minor has been preserved in two different versions. The one in the 'Manchester sonatas' is RV 17a; its third movement is identical with the second movement of the violin concerto RV 314. Both sonatas are of the da chiesa type: a preludio is followed by three dances.
The Sonata in g minor (RV 26) is different: it consists of five movements and follows Corelli's model of the sonata da chiesa. Notable is here especially the use of double stopping in the first allegro and the harmonic progressions in the opening adagio; the latter has the traces of a solo part in a concerto.
In 1701 Albinoni published his Balletti a tre, op. 3 in Venice. This collection was dedicated to Ferdinand, Grand Prince of Tuscany from 1670 to 1713. The title is remarkable, and seems to have been an idea of the publisher. In character, they are trio sonatas which follow the model the Corellian sonata da camera. Most of them are in four movements: they open with a preludio in slow tempo (largo), which is followed by three dances in fast tempo (allegro, presto). Notable is that in these sonatas the sarabandes are not slow, but fast. Four sonatas come in three movements; they open with an allemande with the tempo indication largo. The slow movements are again full of expression, partly due to Albinoni's use of harmony.
It is notable that some copies of the partbooks of this collection require the performance of the basso continuo on the organ, according to the liner-notes. I wonder how exactly this is indicated; the very fact that the organ is mentioned does not exclude the harpsichord. It is suggested that the organ refers to ecclesiastical use. However, the organ could also be used in secular surroundings, and the harpsichord in church. The title page of the Op. 1 sonatas even specifically refers to the organ, but in the performance only a harpsichord is used, and that is entirely legitimate. In the recording of the Op. 3 both instruments are involved.
These two releases are most welcome and are important additions to the Albinoni discography. Once again, they prove that he was a very good composer, and it is not hard to understand that his instrumental music circulated in manuscript and in print across Europe. One would wish that his music would be more often played in concerts. The performances by both ensembles are excellent. The tempi are right, and there is a good differentiation in dynamics, which emphasizes the dance-like character of most movements. The expressive features of the slow movements comes off to good effect, and the harmonic peculiarities are not lost on the performers. The difference between the two recordings is mainly the sound: Sasso and his colleagues produce a somewhat sharper and more penetrating sound. However, that could also be due to the recording. It does not really matter: both recordings deserve an unequivocal recommendation.
Johan van Veen (© 2025)