Praeconium solitudinis
Enrico Gatti (violin)
rec. 2019, Castello Malatestiano, Longiano, Italy
Reviewed as a stereo 16/44 download with pdf booklet from NovAntiqua
NovAntiqua NA81 [104]
Recently two discs with music for solo violin – without any accompaniment – have been released, played by Rachel Podger and Isabelle Faust respectively. The set of discs under review also comprises music for unaccompanied violin, but is something special. It is the result of a concept that has developed in the course of the career of Enrico Gatti, one of the pioneers of baroque violin playing in Italy. The choice of music is very personal, and closely connected to philosophy and literature, as is shown by the accompanying booklet, which includes quotations of philosophers and authors from different times, in their original language and in translations.
The disc comes with a title in Latin, which means “Herald of solitude”. On his website Gatti writes: “This strange project speaks about the journey of an artist: of the need to isolate oneself in order to remain in direct contact with the ideals that have been chosen and that it is not always possible to live in the midst of the world’s tumult, of the search for beauty. There is an area in the brain that could be defined as “poetic memory” and which records everything that has fascinated us, that has moved us, everything that brings us closer to beauty. I felt the need to release my senses.
I believe that there are not only the five physical senses (touch, sight, smell, taste and hearing): we are also endowed with five spiritual senses, which are emotion, imagination, intuition, consciousness and inspiration. Life goes far beyond the physical dimension. Through all these senses, the path that describes a life from various points of view has been outlined.
Loneliness is neither isolation nor estrangement: it can instead be a search for different and superior forms of communication. I don’t mean it as a rejection of the world but rather as a willingness to change it.”
It seems to me that this quotation is necessary to understanding what this project is about. One of the composers in the programme is Giuseppe Tartini. It is known that he often was inspired by literature when he composed his sonatas. I see many similarities between his attitude and Gatti’s, and the relevance of the literary inspirations. In the case of Tartini, it is clear that the connection between literature and music was very personal, and hard for anyone else to grasp. He certainly did not illustrate the quotations in his music. The same may well be the case here. I am sure that Gatti saw connections between the quotations in the booklet and the music, but they may well escape most listeners. That at least goes for me, taking into account that I have no antenna for literature whatsoever.
One could listen to this recording as it comes. There is just one little catch: a number of tracks open with soundscape, such as birdsong and the sound of water or a thunderstorm, which is then repeated after the music. Fortunately the music is clearly separated from it, but I wonder how many are willing to listen to some soundscape every time they return to this recording.
There is every reason to do so. That is due to the choice of pieces. Some of them are very familiar, such as the extracts from Bach’s music for violin solo and the Passacaglia which closes Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber’s Mystery sonatas. However, most pieces are not that well-known, or at least not in the way they are played here. Gatti has selected several pieces by Bach that are intended for keyboard, which he then has arranged for violin. The same is the case with the pieces by Silvius Leopold Weiss, which are all written for lute, and which Gatti has transcribed for the violin. They work very well that way, offering a different perspective. This seems to me an interesting option for other violinists. From a historical point of view there is no objection to this practice whatsoever.
Particularly interesting are the original pieces by Thomas Baltzar, Nicola Matteis and Henry Purcell. Baltzar was of Germany origin, and caused quite a stir when he performed in England in a style never heard before. Some time later, the Neapolitan-born Nicola Matteis settled in England, and he went even further. The sequence of pieces included here gives a good idea of his style and his own way of playing. Purcell is not known for his music for solo violin; he seems not to have played the instrument himself. His prelude included here gives some idea of how Baltzar and Matteis had influenced violin playing in England.
Then we have Tartini. He composed many sonatas for violin and basso continuo as well as a large number of solo concertos. However, a collection of so-called piccole sonate takes a special place in his oeuvre. They were never published, and basically intended for Tartini’s own performances. These may be his most personal pieces, especially as they are written for violin without accompaniment. He added a basso continuo part out of convention, but preferred a performance by a single violin. The performance of one of these sonatas by Gatti shows that he was right; their brilliance and unique character comes to the fore best when the player is just on his own.
As I wrote: Gatti may well feel strongly connected to Tartini, as his approach in this project is very similar to Tartini’s. His performance of the latter’s sonata is superb. That goes for the entire recording. Gatti was one of the pioneers of the baroque violin, and has lost nothing of his technical skills and stylistic insight. Anyone who likes the (baroque) violin will greatly enjoy these outstanding and incisive performances. The project’s concept may not appeal to everyone, but the quality of the music and the performances should overcome any reservations.
Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
Availability: NovAntiqua Records
Contents
Thomas Baltzar (c1631-1663)
A Prelude for the Violin by Sen.r Balshar a Germaine
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Prelude in D minor (BWV 926) (arr. Enrico Gatti)
Giovanni Bassano (1558-1617)
Ricercata Prima
Johann Sebastian Bach
Sonata No. 3 in C (BWV 1005): largo
Thomas Baltzar
Praeludium – Allemande – Courante – Sarabande
Johann Sebastian Bach
Partita No. 1 in B flat (BWV 825): sarabande (arr. Enrico Gatti)
Nicola Matteis (c1640/50-1714)
Passaggio rotto – Positione di voce – Andamento veloce – Fantasia
Carolus Hacquart (c1640-1701?)
Sarabande
Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1644-1704)
Mystery Sonatas: passacaglia
Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770)
Sonata in A (B.A1 / GT 2.A01)
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Prelude in G minor (ZN 733)
Silvius Leopold Weiss (1687-1750)
Tombeau sur la mort de M.ur Comte d’Logy arrivée 1721 (WeissSW 20 / Sm 210) (arr Enrico Gatti)
Johann Sebastian Bach
Sonata No. 2 in A minor (BWV 1003): andante
Silvius Leopold Weiss
Sonata in D (WeissSW18 / Sm 107): sarabande (arr. Enrico Gatti)
Johann Schop (c1590-1667)
Praeludium
Johann Sebastian Bach
Partita in A minor (BWV 1013): allemande (arr. Enrico Gatti)
Thomas Baltzar
Prelude by Sign.r Baltzar
