À Tre – 18th Century Cello Trios
Tiefsait
rec. 2023, Cigole, Italy
Reviewed as a download
Da Vinci Classics C00943 [60]

For about a century, from the mid-17th to the mid-18th century, the trio sonata was one of the main forms of instrumental music, aimed at amateurs. Many collections of such works were published with Italian titles, as Sonate à tre, to which the title of the present disc refers. Trio sonatas were mostly scored for two violins and basso continuo, but in the course of the first half of the 18th century other combinations came also in vogue, such as two wind instruments (transverse flutes, oboes) or a wind and a string instrument (flute/oboe and violin). Trios for three cellos were rather uncommon. The programme that the ensemble Tiefsaits recorded, is therefore quite original, although most pieces are not trios for cellos in the strictest sense of the word.

The main figure in the programme is Giuseppe Clemente (originally: Joseph Marie Clément Ferdinand) dall’Abaco. He was born in Brussels, where his father, the slightly better-known Evaristo Felice, worked at the time. The latter sent his son to Venice for his musical education. After his return, he was a member of the electoral chapel in Bonn from 1729. Apparently he was allowed to travel across Europe as a cello virtuoso; he made appearances in this capacity in London and Vienna. In 1753 he settled in Verona. Most of his compositions turn around his own instrument. He left eleven Caprices for cello solo, 35 sonatas for cello and basso continuo, three duos for two cellos and two trios for three cellos. The latter are included here, opening and closing the programme.

These two works are written in the galant idiom, typical of which is the closing menuet of the Trio in B flat, which consists of four movements. The cellos are treated in different ways; they are each other’s equals in the opening moderato, but in the ensuing adagio the second cello plays a solo role, accompanied by the two other cellos. The Trio in G resembles the traditional baroque trio sonata in that two cellos are playing the role of the violins, and the third cello that of the basso continuo. This trio has three movements, and especially the closing comodo is technically challenging for the two ‘solo’ cellos; in the penultimate bar the first cello goes as high as g”.

Whereas these trios were intended either for specially skilled amateurs or professionals, the Caprices for solo cello were undoubtedly written for personal use, probably to be played during Dall’Abaco’s performances across Europe. According to New Grove, “‘Capriccio’ does not signify a specific musical technique or structure, but rather a general disposition towards the exceptional, the whimsical, the fantastic and the apparently arbitrary.” It quotes an author of the late 17th century, who wrote: “Capriccios are pieces of music, poetry or painting wherein the force of imagination has better success than observation of the rules of art.” Dall’Abaco has left eleven such pieces, and they answer to these descriptions. Bruno Cocset, in the liner-noted to his recording of the complete set of Caprices (Agogique, 2013), states: “They are amazingly free and varied in style, sometimes bold, sometimes melancholy, alternating dances with melodies or narrative prose, and with a natural, unpretentious virtuosity showing technical prowess and innovation”. The three Caprices included here confirm this statement. The Caprice No. 1 is dark, due to the key of C minor, whereas No. 2 is rather restless. It is especially No. 4 which reminds me of Bach’s cello suites. One could easily take it for the prelude of one of these suites. What all these pieces have in common is that they root in the practice of improvisation, something they have in common with other forms, like the fantasia and the toccata.

The second composer in the programme was also a professional cellist. Jean Barrière was from Bordeaux and worked in Paris in 1730 as Musicien ordinaire de notre Académie Royale de Musique. In 1733 he was granted a privilege to publish sonatas and other instrumental works. In 1736 he went to Rome to study the cello but it seems very likely that he already composed for the cello before that. His first two books with six sonatas each were printed in Paris in 1733 and 1735 respectively; these were followed in 1739 and 1740 by the third and fourth book. These collections show an increase in technical complexity and the last two books attest to a growing influence of the Italian style. “The cello sonatas include a variety of technical problems – passages in double 3rds, arpeggiated chords and multiple stops, and brilliant virtuoso passages extending into the upper range”, Mary Cyr writes in New Grove.

The Sonata in D minor included here is taken from the third book; it is the only sonata in the collection for two cellos and bass. Obviously, the third cello is playing the basso continuo here. Today it is common practice to realise the basso continuo with a chordal instrument, either a keyboard or a plucked instrument. However, in the Baroque era it could also be performed with a string bass alone. Viktor Töpelmann, in his liner-notes, points out an unusual feature of this sonata. “The upper part is notated in the g-clef, which might imply a violin or a pardessus de viole, yet it was also customary to read the g-clef an octave down and to play these parts on the cello.” On this recording, the first cello part is played on a French cello with five strings and an additional e-string for the upper voice. Barrière had started his career on the viola da gamba, and that may explain why the opening movement is reminiscent of French viol music. The third movement is an example of the ‘mixed taste’, which was so popular in France in Barrière’s time: the Italian form of the siciliano is combined with the French fashion of the rondeau.

Benedetto Marcello is the third composer in the programme, and the only one who did not play the cello. He was born in a versatile family, his father being both a violinist and a politician – a senator of the Venetian government – while his mother was an artist and poet. Like his father, he wasn’t a man of just one profession; apart from being a musician he was active as a lawyer, administrator, philologist and writer. In musical matters this made him a dilettante: someone who did not compose or perform for a living. Although he did not play the cello himself, he published a set of six sonatas for cello and basso continuo (Op. 1, Amsterdam, c1732) and six sonatas for two cellos and basso continuo (Op. 2, Amsterdam, c1734). This can be explained by the growing popularity of the cello among amateurs across Europe, as Töpelmann describes in his liner-notes. However, as composers were pragmatic, and wanted their works to be sold, Marcello suggested two viole da gamba as alternatives. The opening movement is the most traditional, as it is dominated by imitative counterpoint. The last two movements have a surprise in store: the third ends on a half close which leads to a presto, which omits the basso continuo and consists of just one line for the first cello; the second cello plays canonic imitations of fragments of that part.

This disc is the first of the ensemble Tiefsaits, whose members are three young German cellists: Anna Reisener, Alma Stolte and Mirjam-Luise Münzel. The name of the ensemble is derived from the German words “tiefe Saiten”, meaning “low strings”. I am always keen to listen to debut discs, which reveal not only much about the quality of the performers, but also of their approach to music. I am happy about the way this ensemble presents itself: technically, these performance are very impressive, but that goes almost without saying, as without technical prowess one can’t perform the music that was chosen for this disc. More important is the stylistic insights they reveal in this programme and the choice of pieces. They have not turned to the more common stuff, but put together a programme which is a substantial addition to the discography of 18th-century music for the cello. The two sonatas by Dall’Abaco are especially important pieces, and deserve to be better known; they are among the highlights of this disc, but that does not mean that the remaining items are less important. This combination of three cellos may be uncommon, but I am sure that there is enough repertoire for Tiefsaits to perform, especially if also pieces for one and two cellos are included.

I have greatly enjoyed this disc, and the ensemble’s debut could hardly have been any better. I am sure that we are going to hear much more about these ladies, who deserve a place on the main stages of the music world.

Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
https://bsky.app/profile/musicadeidonum.bsky.social

Buying this recording via a link below generates revenue for MWI, which helps the site remain free.

Contents
Giuseppe Clemente dall’Abaco (1710-1805)
Trio No. 1 in B flat (ABV 54)
Caprice No. 4 in D minor
Jean-Baptiste Barrière (1707-1747)
Sonata à tre in D minor (Livre III, No. 2)
Giuseppe Clemente dall’Abaco
Caprice No. 1 in C minor
Benedetto Marcello (1686-1739)
Sonata à tre in C minor, op. 2,2
Giuseppe Clemente dall’Abaco
Caprice No. 2 in G minor
Trio No. 2 in G (ABV 55)