La Cremona / Italian Concertos - The Italians are uninhibited composers, brilliant, vivacious, expressive, profound, noble in thought, slightly eccentric, free, dashing, brazen, overblown, at times negligent in tempo; but they are also lyrical, cajoling, tender, touching and inventive. They write more for connoisseurs than for music lovers.’ (Johann Georg Pisendel) The violin – that most versatile instrument which right up until the 1950s reigned supreme over European music, most notably in orchestras – was developed between 1500 and 1550 in workshops of luthiers around the three north Italian towns of Mantua, Brescia and Cremona. It was the outcome of solid craftsmanship and astute understanding of the physical possibilities.

The essential contribution that Milan-born Giovanni Battista Sammartini (c. 1700–1775) made to the history of music is universally recognized. He laid the foundations for the Classical symphony: he helped establish the standard composition of the orchestra and promoted independence and individual timbres in his part-writing, while Baroque customs (most notably the basso continuo) gradually gave way to sonata form. In terms of repertoire and recordings, however, Sammartini is still a relative rarity; if you set aside his symphonies and start investigating his chamber music and works for solo instruments, for example, it is soon apparent that many enthralling compositions remain silently filed away in libraries and archives, waiting patiently for the recognition they deserve.

The program on this record ventures into this very partially unexplored terrain, showcasing a selection of sonatas for cello and basso continuo: the collection of six from his Op. 4, published in Paris in 1742, and two sonatas of uncertain date, one in G major and the other in G minor. Although more modest than the symphonies, the cello sonatas display a similar penchant for succinct and elegant writing. Often simple in form, their brilliance stems from the inventiveness of the melody and rhythm and moments of particularly intense and expressive lyricism that are not reliant on excessive ornamentation.

However, it is important to note the confusing history behind the authorship of the cello sonatas on this album. Op. 4 is almost certainly by Sammartini; the ‘almost’ is advisable only for Sonata No. 6, which some scholars believe to be of doubtful authorship. The two sonatas in G major and G minor are less certain. Despite these caveats, the cello sonatas presented here remain an excellent example of the transition from the Baroque to the Classical period and particularly of a singularly elegant compositional style that expertly applies cello technique to imaginative and spontaneous invention. Partly for this reason, the performers on this recording have chosen to further enhance the individual character and freshness of each sonata by using different instruments for the basso continuo line, chosen freely but with strong historical foundations: as well as the more predictable harpsichord, they also make use of the archlute, theorbo, and baroque guitar, in addition to melodic bass passages entrusted to a second cello.

The Cello Sonatas presented here mark the transition between Baroque and Classicism, music full of charm, gracefulness, cantabile melodies and instrumental flourish. Played by the Italian ensemble Dolci Accenti, with Daniele Cernuto (Baroque cello), Calogero Sportato (Baroque guitar, theorbo, archlute), Cipriana Smarandescu (harpsichord) and Anna Grendene (Baroque cello).

World Première Recordings

Giovanni Battista Sammartini attained a leading role in Milan’s music scene in the 18th century, his career extending from the height of the Baroque era to the Classical worlds of Mozart and Haydn by his death in 1775. Appearing here in world premiere recordings, these works appear to belong to Sammartini’s early period, including a four-movement example that recollects archaic church sonata form. Full of fascinating stylistic quirks, these sonatas reflect the refined taste for nuance found in the Milanese musician’s finest chamber works, with an easy melodic flow that expresses a mood for stylistic change.

As a performer on the hautboy, Giuseppe Sammartini, 'Londinese', was undoubtedly the greatest that the world had ever known. He contrived to produce such a tone as approached the nearest to that of the human voice. His Concerti grossi and his later sets of Concertos have a breadth of invention and sureness of purpose second only the music of Handel. (General History of the Science and Practice of Music, 1776). This album presents neglected works by the lesser-known, younger brother of Giovanni Battista Sammartini, Giuseppe Sammartini.

Sammartini’s first concerti grossi, those of his Op. 2, are considered to be among the composer’s masterpieces. These intensely inspired pieces, composed with such vigorous spirit, sometimes hardly seem to fit the measured form of the concerto grosso. Sammartini’s themes enjoy a pliant lyricism, at times melancholic, at others passionate and vehement. The contrapuntal development is always masterful, both learned and extraordinarily subtle in nature, taking unexpected and thoroughly expressive turns, often through refined chromaticism and an original use of harmony. The continuous, inexhaustible variety of Sammartini’s thematic invention leaves no room for predictable developments; it constantly introduces new elements, with often truly beautiful results. I Musici, founded in 1951, is the oldest chamber ensemble still active today. Over the years, they have become world-renowned for their promotion of 18th century Italian music, most notably Vivaldi and his Four Seasons, which they first recorded in 1959, and which has sold over 25 million copies in various editions, the last of which was for Dynamic in 2012.

World Premiere Recording During his own lifetime, Sammartini was considered to be one of the most talented composers of his generation. John Hawkins wrote in 1776: "His singularities can only be ascribed to that boldness and self-possession which are ever the concomitants of genius." He ranked Sammartini's concertos and overtures at the same level as those of Arcangelo Corelli and Francesco Geminiani - and even held them in higher esteem than Georg Frideric Handel's. Yet, through an inexplicable twist of history, Sammartini has remained an unknown quantity for the general public. Les Muffatti have made a careful selection from among the plethora of Sammartini's masterworks in order to fully reflect their quality. They hope that this world-première recording of works in Sammartini's widely varying styles can do justice to this genius, and share the ensemble's enthusiasm for this unjustly underrated composer.