Recommended by Phil Richards from Readings Carlton

ARTISTS

Daniel Hope, violin
Lorenza Borrani, second solo violin / Lucy Gould, violin / Stewart Eaton, viola / William Conway, cello / Enno Senft, double bass (Soloists from the Chamber Orchestra of Europe) / Jonathan Cohen, cello / Kristian Bezuidenhout, harpsichord & organ / Stefan Maass, Stephan Rath, lute & guitar & theorbo / Hans-Kristian Kjos Sørensen, percussion

TRACK LISTING

ANDREA FALCONIERI (1585/6–1656)
[1] Ciaccona

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL (1685–1759)
[2] Sarabanda HWV 437
arr.: Olivier Fourés

DIEGO ORTIZ (c1510–1570)
[3] Ricercata segunda

ANDREA FALCONIERI (1585/6–1656)
[4] La suave Melodia

BIAGIO MARINI (1594–1663)
[5] Passacalio à 3 & à 4
(from Per ogni sorte d'stromento, op. 22)

NICOLA MATTEIS (+ after 1713)
[6] Diverse bizzarrie sopra la Vecchia Sarabanda o pur Ciaccona

JOHANN PACHELBEL (1653–1706)
Canon and Gigue
for there Violins and Basso continuo
[7] Canon
[8] Gigue

GEORG PHILIPP TELEMANN (1681–1767)
Concerto for Violino Concertato, Strings and Basso continuo
A minor · a-moll · en la mineur
[9] 1. Adagio
[10] 2. Allegro
[11] 3. Presto

JOHANN PAUL VON WESTHOFF (1656–1705)
[12] Imitazione delle campane (from Sonate a Violino Solo, Sonata III)

NICOLA MATTEIS
[13] Ground after the Scotch Humour
(from Ayrs for the Violin, Book 4, Suite in F major)

FRANCESCO GEMINIANI (1687–1762)
Concerto grosso no. 5
G minor · g-moll · en la mineur
arr. of Arcangelo Corelli’s Sonata for Violin and Basso continuo, op. 5 no. 5
[14] 1. Adagio
[15] 2. Vivace
[16] 3. Adagio
[17] 4. Allegro

ANTONIO VALENTE (fl. 1565–1580)
[18] Gagliarda Napoletana

ANDREA FALCONIERI
[19] Passacalle à 3

JEAN-MARIE LECLAIR (1697–1764)
[20] Tambourin

ANON.
[21] Greensleeves to a Ground
arr.: Olivier Fourés

JOHANN PAUL VON WESTHOFF
[22] La guerra così nominato di sua maesta (from Sonata in A major “La Guerra”)
[23] Imitazione del liuto (from Sonate a Violino solo, Sonata II)

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685–1750)
[24] Air (from Overture BWV 1068)

Air sets out to trace a baroque journey. It is the story of four unique composers, three of whom were virtuoso violinists - Falconiero, Matteis and Geminiani from Italy, and Westhoff from Germany. They wandered throughout Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries in search of musical inspiration and cross-pollination, and their music and art of performance intrigued and delighted kings, contemporaries and audiences alike.

This album shows how diverse the music of the baroque era was. Air blends the simplest and at times most primitive forms of dance music with the most sophisticated and revolutionary compositions of the day, culminating in a work by Bach - the great master, whose title is Hope’s inspiration for this collection, that also includes hits like Pachelbels’s Canon or Handel’s Sarabande.