español | français Medieval Renaissance Baroque Clasicism Opera  5 STARS All periods MEDIEVAL RENAISSANCE BAROQUE CLASICISM OPERA TRIO SONATAS, OP. 1 TOMASO ALBINONI Parnassi Musici cpo 999 770-2 2000 - 78:13 min. If one tends to associate Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni (1671-1751), the Venetian-born contemporary of Vivaldi with the infamous and spurious Adagio, or at least a handful of his authentic oboe concertos, it is worth noting that he also wrote some 55 operas and nine opuses worth of instrumental pieces. Among these are the twelve Trio Sonatas, op. 1, dedicated in 1704 to Corelli's great patron, Cardinal Ottoboni, very Corellian in their style and all in the four-movement sonata da chiesa mold. J.S. Bach used three themes from movements found here in several keyboard fugues; Albinoni's originals are all of top-flight quality, not least for the composer's contrapuntal skills. In all ways, these are splendid performances, beautifully articulated, sensitive as to dynamic contrasts, carefully guaged rhythmically (the hemiola accents are always ideally brought out), often with imaginative realizations of the continuo line and nicely added lead-in improvisations. The players catch the gravity of the slow movements especially well, often with a Corellian sweetness, and they know how to build tension in rising sequences. One good example of their excellent contrapuntal interplay can be found in the second movement of the sixth Trio Sonata. The reproduction of the instruments, fairly high in level, is bright but wonderfully clear in a natural acoustic. IGOR KIPNIS ABOUT US | CONTRIBUTE   web map - home page - cover Legal warning Copyright 2003, Goldberg. info@goldberg-magazine.com