The Di Martinelli Manuscript: Violin Sonatas of the Late 17th Century

Album review

The so-called Di Martinelli Collection is preserved in the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium), and contains a total of sixty-five manuscripts and thirty-two prints, including a remarkable manuscript with thirty-two late 17th-century violin sonatas from which the works on the present recording are taken. Collected in the manuscript are challenging pieces of various origins, whereby three regional focal points can be ascertained: composers of Flemish-Netherlandish descent (Petersen, Goor), composers from South-German/Habsburg regions (Albicastro, Schmelzer, Pez, Wentzely, Finger and erroneously Biber) and several Italian composers (Cailò, Lonati, Capellini).

All of the musicians on the present recording studied at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and represent a new generation in the field of historical musical practice, a generation which combines high technical mastery with curiosity for the historical fundamentals and joy in experimentation. Eva Saladin, of Swiss-Dutch descent, is meanwhile one of the most renowned representatives of her generation on the baroque violin. The basso continuo team joing her for this project (Johannes Keller, Sebastian Wienand and Daniel Rosin) includes the use of two harpsichords, a practice that shows off fascinating possibilities in terms of sound and harmonic and figurative ellaboration. © Glossa