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Da Gamba - Bach / Van der Velden, L'Armonia Sonora
Ramee

Da Gamba - Bach / Van der Velden, L'Armonia Sonora

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Details

Composer
BACH, J.S.
Artist
Van Der Velden, L'Armonia Sonora
Format
CD
Label
Ramee
Released
Sep 01, 2009
Catalog #
RAM0801
UPC
4250128508018

About

Almost all of the works published during Bach's lifetime have been preserved, and the majority of his religious compositions survive in manuscript form. It is the instrumental work – both chamber and orchestral music – that has suffered greater damage and loss. This can partly be explained by the comparatively little trouble taken with this music soon after Bach's death in 1750: his son Carl Philipp Emanuel reorganised the surviving autograph manuscripts, and bundled the instrumental works together in the a category containing a quantity of other instrumental pieces, of various types, and for various instruments. The fact that reestablishment of the original musical text has mostly had to rely on secondary sources (often copies made by Bach's pupils) inevitably brings the authenticity of the works into question. Without using the term »plagiarism« – the concept of »author's rights« was entirely foreign at that time, and the practice of reusing other composers' musical material without mention of its provenance common during the Baroque. The relatively recent »rediscovery« of Vivaldi showed that Bach transcribed a number of the Italian's works, turning them into concertos for harpsichord or organ. Well-founded inquiry has led some musicologists to question authorship even of the celebrated Toccata and Fugue in D minor... Beyond the problem of the autograph manuscripts, there is another aspect of the German master's chamber music that complicates our understanding of his original intentions: the numerous cases of the same work appearing in several different versions, the result of the frequent reuse of material and its adaptation to varying circumstances throughout Bach's career. In this case, the first of the three sonatas for viola da gamba and obbligato harpsichord also exists in a version for traverso, violin and continuo (BWV 1039); the second also appears for violin and continuo (the manuscript is kept in the Berlin Staatsbibliothek, Mus MS Bach P 532); and the third sonata could have served as a draft for the third Brandenburg concerto. The trio sonata BWV 1038 for flute, violin and continuo shares its bass-line with the sonatas for violin BWV 1021 and 1022, and the sinfonia from the cantata BWV 76 for oboe d'amore, viola da gamba and continuo would be adapted some ten years later, becoming the first movement of the fourth organ sonata BWV 528. The musicological problems of attribution and authenticity – without disputing the quality of the composition – paradoxically allows much room for manoeuvre when interpreting Bach's chamber music. Musicians in the 21st century have the opportunity to attempt a reconstruction of the original versions of certain pieces of which only copies or arrangements have survived. Moreover, they can exercise a certain freedom, and use their own judgment when arriving at an instrumentation. This is the notion that the members of L'Armonia Sonora have endeavoured to convey in this recording: the instrumentation of virtually every piece has been reconsidered, with the aim of achieving a unity of approach, but without changing any of Bach's musical text, or claiming that theirs is necessarily the best choice.

MIENEKE VAN DER VELDEN studied with Wieland Kuijken in The Hague and completed her studies in 1988 with the Performer's Diploma. She is one of Northern Europe's most sought-after gambists, and, in conjunction with a wide-ranging career in chamber music, appears regularly as a soloist with various well-known orchestras including the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra (Ton Koopman), Concerto Vocale (René Jacobs), Collegium Vocale (Philippe Herreweghe), Netherlands Bach Society, and Cantus Cölln (Konrad Junghänel). In her solo recitals she collaborates with Glen Wilson (harpsichord) and Fred Jacobs (theorbo). She has been engaged by the Dutch Early Music Network, Het Grachtenfestival, the Bach Festival, the Utrecht Early Music Festival and the Festival of Flanders as well as by many other concert organisations throughout Europe. Her repertoire extends from French solo repertoire (Marais, Forqueray, Couperin), solo arias from the St. Matthew and St. John's Passions, and other cantatas by J. S. Bach, viola da gamba sonatas and violoncello solo suites by J. S. Bach, and 17th-century English repertoire including lyra-viol music, to contemporary pieces by Robert Heppener and others.

L'ARMONIA SONORA was founded by Mieneke van der Velden several years ago in order to perform cantatas with a variety of vocal soloists. The ensemble consists entirely of musicians recognised within the early music world both in the Netherlands and internationally, and who teach at various Dutch and international conservatoria. The make-up of the ensemble often answers the performance needs of a particular cantata – or even a specific aria – and the programming flexibility thus offered allows for some very varied concerts. In this way, the ensemble can consist of a continuo group only, or be extended by the addition of strings and winds. L'Armonia Sonora works with many well-known soloists, such as bass Peter Kooij, counter-tenor Derek-Lee Ragin and counter-tenor Robin Blaze. In 2006 the ensemble recorded its debut-CD De profundis clamavi with Peter Kooij, receiving an overwhelmingly positive critical reception (5 Diapasons, BBC Music Choice).

François Fernandez, Violin
Ricardo Rodriguez Miranda, Viola da gamba
Leo van Doeselaar, Organ
Siebe Henstra, Harpsichord

Tracklist 19 tracks

  1. 1 I. Largo 03:48
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Largo
    Duration
    03:48
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Mieneke van der Velden
    Ensemble
    L' Armonia Sonora
  2. 2 II. Vivace 01:00
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Vivace
    Duration
    01:00
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Mieneke van der Velden
    Ensemble
    L' Armonia Sonora
  3. 3 III. Adagio 02:09
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Adagio
    Duration
    02:09
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Mieneke van der Velden
    Ensemble
    L' Armonia Sonora
  4. 4 IV. Presto 01:30
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Presto
    Duration
    01:30
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Mieneke van der Velden
    Ensemble
    L' Armonia Sonora
  5. 5 Sinfonia in E Minor: Adagio 00:41
    Track
    5
    Title
    Sinfonia in E Minor: Adagio
    Duration
    00:41
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Mieneke van der Velden, Leo van Doeselaar
  6. 6 Sinfonia in E Minor: Vivace 02:23
    Track
    6
    Title
    Sinfonia in E Minor: Vivace
    Duration
    02:23
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Mieneke van der Velden, Leo van Doeselaar
  7. 7 I. Vivace 06:00
    Track
    7
    Title
    I. Vivace
    Duration
    06:00
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Mieneke van der Velden, Siebe Henstra
  8. 8 II. Adagio 05:55
    Track
    8
    Title
    II. Adagio
    Duration
    05:55
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Mieneke van der Velden, Siebe Henstra
  9. 9 III. Allegro 04:06
    Track
    9
    Title
    III. Allegro
    Duration
    04:06
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Mieneke van der Velden, Siebe Henstra
  10. 10 Fantasia in G Minor, BWV 917, "Fantasia duobus subjectis" 02:34
    Track
    10
    Title
    Fantasia in G Minor, BWV 917, "Fantasia duobus subjectis"
    Duration
    02:34
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Siebe Henstra
  11. 11 I. Adagio 02:21
    Track
    11
    Title
    I. Adagio
    Duration
    02:21
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Mieneke van der Velden, Leo van Doeselaar
  12. 12 II. Allegro 04:21
    Track
    12
    Title
    II. Allegro
    Duration
    04:21
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Mieneke van der Velden, Leo van Doeselaar
  13. 13 III. Andante 05:15
    Track
    13
    Title
    III. Andante
    Duration
    05:15
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Mieneke van der Velden, Leo van Doeselaar
  14. 14 IV. Allegro 04:51
    Track
    14
    Title
    IV. Allegro
    Duration
    04:51
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Mieneke van der Velden, Leo van Doeselaar
  15. 15 3-Part Inventions (Sinfonias), BWV 787–801: Sinfonia No. 3 in D Major, BWV 789 01:22
    Track
    15
    Title
    3-Part Inventions (Sinfonias), BWV 787–801: Sinfonia No. 3 in D Major, BWV 789
    Duration
    01:22
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Leo van Doeselaar
  16. 16 I. Adagio 04:10
    Track
    16
    Title
    I. Adagio
    Duration
    04:10
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Mieneke van der Velden
    Ensemble
    L' Armonia Sonora
  17. 17 II. Allegro ma non tanto 03:50
    Track
    17
    Title
    II. Allegro ma non tanto
    Duration
    03:50
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Mieneke van der Velden
    Ensemble
    L' Armonia Sonora
  18. 18 III. Andante 02:30
    Track
    18
    Title
    III. Andante
    Duration
    02:30
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Mieneke van der Velden
    Ensemble
    L' Armonia Sonora
  19. 19 IV. Allegro moderato 03:15
    Track
    19
    Title
    IV. Allegro moderato
    Duration
    03:15
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Mieneke van der Velden
    Ensemble
    L' Armonia Sonora