Claudio Giuliani - Molino: Complete Guitar Sonatas (2024) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Francesco Molino (1768–1847) was born into a family of violinists in Ivrea, near Turin. There, and for a time in Genoa as well, he made a career as a virtuoso violinist himself, until at the age of 50, he moved permanently to Paris.

Once in the French capital, Molino began a new phase of his musical career, which coincided with a significant increase in the number of works he published – almost all of which were dedicated to the guitar, both as a solo instrument and as part of chamber formations.

Molino made a significant impact on the Parisian musical world, as is demonstrated by the huge success of the first edition of his Nouvelle Méthode pour la Guitare, which had some 400 subscribers both in France and in other European countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland and Italy). Over the years Molino revised and added to the methos, and various editions of it were published in a number of languages, with a Spanish version even reaching Mexico and Havana.

The works presented in this recording were all published as ‘sonatas’ by Molino, who explicitly stated that they were intended for performance by solo guitar. He uses three main structural types for these sonatas.

The first has a romance as a first movement, followed by a rondo (Sonatas Op.1 No.1, Op.15 No.2 and Op.51). The second begins with a short maestoso introduction that is characterised by initial chords and octaves in succession, evoking the orchestral colour of certain operatic overtures. This movement ends with an interrupted cadence and is followed by a theme with variations, before a final rondo (Sonatas Op.1 No.2, Op.15 No.1 and No.3). The third type begins with an allegro first movement in sonata form (in bipartite 18th-century style, featuring two distinct themes with a tonic-dominant relationship) that is followed immediately by a final rondo (Sonatas Op.1 No.3, Op.6 No.1 and No.2).

All the sonatas reflect Molino’s evident mastery of the art of composition as well as a certain freedom in his approach to musical form. These elements, combined with a refined use of harmony and a deep understanding of the instrument, give the composer a highly personal stylistic language and make Molino one of the most interesting figures in the guitar repertoire of the 19th century.

Tracklist:
01. Molino- Sonata facile No. 1, Op. 1- I. Romanze. Andante
02. Molino- Sonata facile No. 1, Op. 1- II. Rondò. Allegretto
03. Molino- Sonata facile No. 2, Op. 1- I. Largo
04. Molino- Sonata facile No. 2, Op. 1- II. Tema con variazioni. Andante
05. Molino- Sonata facile No. 2, Op. 1- III. Rondò. Allegretto
06. Molino- Sonata facile No. 3, Op. 1- I. Allegro
07. Molino- Sonata facile No. 3, Op. 1- II. Rondò. Polacca
08. Molino- Sonata No. 1, Op. 6- I. Allegro
09. Molino- Sonata No. 1, Op. 6- II. Andante
10. Molino- Sonata No. 1, Op. 6- III. Rondo. Cantabile non tanto Allegro
11. Molino- Sonata No. 2, Op. 6- I. Allegro
12. Molino- Sonata No. 2, Op. 6- II. Rondò. Allegretto
13. Molino- Sonata No. 3, Op. 6- I. Allegretto
14. Molino- Sonata No. 3, Op. 6- II. Tema con variazioni. Andante
15. Molino- Sonata No. 1, Op. 15- I. Andante Sostenuto
16. Molino- Sonata No. 1, Op. 15- II. Tema con variazioni. Andante
17. Molino- Sonata No. 1, Op. 15- III. Rondò. Allegretto
18. Molino- Sonata No. 2, Op. 15- I. Romance. Andante
19. Molino- Sonata No. 2, Op. 15- II. Rondò. Allegretto
20. Molino- Sonata No. 3, Op. 15- I. Maestoso
21. Molino- Sonata No. 3, Op. 15- II. Andante con Variazioni
22. Molino- Sonata No. 3, Op. 15- III. Rondò. Allegretto
23. Molino- Grande sonate très brillante, Op. 51- I. Introduction. Maestoso molto - Adagio non Troppo
24. Molino- Grande sonate très brillante, Op. 51- II. Rondò. Allegretto Vivace


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