No. 7

Goldberg

The Sontori di Treviso, in company with Carmignola's violin, aroused enthusiasm in their Vivaldi, In this follow-up to a previous entitled «Balli, Capricci e Stravaganze», two intuitions are seen to be confirmed: firstly that their magic did not lie only on Carmignola, secondly that they are able, equally happily, to tackle another less familiar repertoire, that of Venice at the beginning of the 17th century. There is no unnecessary exhibitionism or exaggerated dramatics here: the Sonatori prefer faultless cohesion, rich sonorities, on astounding virtuosity that is always apt; and they can distil both a legato of pure honey and crystaline staccatos. There is constant attention to the subtleties of the scores, with a succession of unexpected and precise scenes and an impressive art of rhetoric.

Throughout the programme (excellently expounded in the printed note) surprises abound. From the start, the velvet sonorities (the chitarrone...) in a canzone by Rovetta; the astonishing and subtle alliance of the timbres of two violins and a viol in another canzone by the same composer; the antiphonal construction of a triosonata by Fontana; the imitative brass fanfare of a sonata by Castello; the admirable echo of another sonata for three violins by Marini... Quotation should be made of all the pieces, which reveal a goldsmith's precision in bowing and which link contrastw with flexibility rather than emphasising the breaks. Each ornament thus takes its place naturally and logically. The Sonatori do not show off, they speak quite simply, but a language of perfect rhetoric.