Trio Sonnerie - Dietrich Buxtehude: Trio Sonatas (1987)

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Trio Sonnerie - Dietrich Buxtehude: Trio Sonatas (1987)

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Trio Sonnerie have chosen five of the 14 sonatas by Buxtehude from the 1690s to demonstrate their considerable fluency and rapport. These are witty and elegant works, finely crafted and requiring the skills of virtuoso players. Monica Huggett and Sarah Cunningham capture their essence with happily chosen and neatly articulated tempos—the vivace movements are effortlessly played—and beautifully transparent textures. Mitzi Meyerson provides a stylish and secure accompaniment, particularly in the G major Largo and the B flat major Vivace (which is, in fact, a chaconne).

While Buxtehude's sonatas are written for three instruments, more often than not there are only two independent parts. In the quick movements the viol is as much an ornamenting adjunct to the continuo as a concertante instrument in imitation with the violin. In the Vivace and Allegro of the B flat Sonata and the first Allegros of the D minor and major sonatas the imitation between parts is stunningly executed. The slow movements are predominantly homophonic, decorated with suspensions and chromatic inflections. The success of the Trio's ornamentation in the Largo of the G major Sonata and the rhetorical interplay in the Lento of the G minor is indicative of their collective musicianship.

The recording balance would generally seem to favour the violin at the expense of the viol (which perhaps would be brighter and less subdued on a CD). Huggett is at her best in the variation movements which show off her imagination as well as her formidable technical resources. Though a less flamboyant player, Cunningham provides a perfect foil; the demands of this fast-moving music mean that the characteristic viol attack is sometimes sacrificed as if the viol were compelled to aspire to the state of a cello. This recording will surely spark off a Buxtehude revival.'

Review by Gramophone

Dietrich Buxtehude (c. 1637 - 1707): Trio Sonatas Op. 1, Nos. 2, 4 and 6; Op. 2 Nos. 2 and 3. Performed by Trio Sonnerie [Monica Huggett, baroque violin; Sarah Cunningham, viola da gamba; Mitzi Meyerson, harpsichord]. Recorded at St. John's Church, Hackney, London [no date given]. First released in 1987, re-released in 1997 as ASV CD CAU 110. Total time: 47'00".

I wouldn't have thought it very likely: Dietrich Buxtehude, the grand old man of German organ playing around 1700 (yes, the one the young Bach went off to hear at Lübeck) also produced some of the most delightful and daring chamber music of the 17th century. The only way I think I can give an impression of this is by quoting verbatim from Sarah Cunningham's notes. Let's take her description of the Sonata Op. 1; no. 6 in D minor. "It begins innocently enough, with violin and gamba ascending and descending sweetly in thirds in the short opening Grave, followed by an aggressive Allegro fugue based on octave leaps and sequences. But the next rhapsodic slow section, in B flat, is a transition to another world, a whole series of whirling or galloping figures over completely static harmony, interspersed with dreamy though dissonant Adagios. in the midst of all this the harpsichord comes forward with a curious song-like theme, with rhetorical comments by the strings; even the lively 6/8 Poco presto lapses for a few bars in the middle into a mournful Purcellian Poco adagio, before finishing with a final chromatic few bars of Lento. Though the effects are surprising, the architecture is carefully planned."

The performers here (unfortunately there is no information given in the booklet about their instruments) are experts for this kind of music and play not only with virtuoso ability but also with a blind understanding of each other, the violin and the gamba holding musical conversations that held me spellbound. The harpsichord, played by Buxtehude expert Mitzi Meyerson, is rather more in the background, but also contributes to the sheer enjoyment of this disc, the only drop of wormwood being its short playing time of merely 47 minutes. If you like baroque chamber music or German baroque, then obtain this by all means!

Review by Brexit_Gegner_aus_England, Amazon.com

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Trio Sonnerie - Dietrich Buxtehude: Trio Sonatas (1987)

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Trio Sonnerie - Dietrich Buxtehude: Trio Sonatas (1987)

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Trio Sonnerie - Dietrich Buxtehude: Trio Sonatas (1987)

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