The Italian composers of the Baroque, led by Antonio Vivaldi, often honored the small instruments of the lute family in their rich compositional oeuvres. At...

The Italian composers of the Baroque, led by Antonio Vivaldi, often honored the small instruments of the lute family in their rich compositional oeuvres. At the time these instruments with a fourth-third tuning were known by names, for example, as the leuto, leutino, mandola, or mandolla. Today the small lute is uniformly termed the “Baroque mandolin” and more rarely the “soprano lute.” The number of composers who wrote attractive works for the mandolin documents the fact that it was then a much-played instrument that musical audiences liked to hear. Accordingly, this new recording brings together concertos, trios, and sonatas by Carlo Arrigoni, Johann Adolf Hasse, Ranieri Capponi, and – of course – Vivaldi. What is particularly surprising here is the so very homogeneous sound of the dialogue between the Baroque mandolin and the Baroque violin – since they are two very different instruments in the field of tonal production. The tonal beauty of both solo parts, with one duo partner supporting the other with accompanying broken chords, produces a captivating effect in the second movement of Vivaldi’s Concerto RV 548. The magic of the fascinating tonal idiom of the mandolin and violin duo makes us wish that this rediscovered version will find many delighted listeners. Anna Torge, our soloist on the Baroque mandolin (six courses), has made a name for herself as one of the leading virtuosos on this instrument.