John Holloway’s “violinist’s journey” through great works of the 17th
and 18th century, begun with his acclaimed New Series recordings of
Schmelzer, Biber and Muffat, reaches a new stage with his account of the
sonatas of Francesco Maria Veracini (1690-1768). The present recording -
introducing a new ensemble, as Dutch cellist Jaap ter Linden joins
British baroque violinist Holloway and Danish harpsichordist Lars Ulrik
Mortensen – offers fascinating insights into the work of a composer
whose musical achievements are still often undervalued, or overshadowed,
in contemporary accounts, by the idiosyncrasies of his personal life.
In his liner notes, Holloway says of Veracini: “With his combination of
brilliant technical and compositional innovation firmly rooted in the
best music of the previous generation, Veracini earns an honoured place
in the short list of truly great violinist-composers which includes
Biber and - from a much later generation – Ysaÿe .... and, of course,
Bach”.
That the Italian was one of the outstanding virtuosi of the 18th century
was clear enough to his contemporaries. There are numerous reports of
the clarity and forcefulness of his playing cutting through the sound of
an orchestra. Even the great violinist Giuseppe Tartini is said to have
been so overwhelmed by Veracini’s playing that he took time off from
public performance to hone his own skills.
Veracini was one of the first musicians of his time to prefer the
existence of a freelance soloist to a career as an employed court
musician. From 1714 on, he enjoyed his success in London as well as in
various other musical centers of Europe. He was a ‘star’ par excellence,
brilliant eccentric, with no doubts about his own abilities, frequently
asserting that there was only one God, and one Veracini!
Although he wrote secular and spiritual cantatas, concertos, oratorios
and operas, Veracini’s significance as a composer rests on his four
collections of violin sonatas, which, composed or published in 1716,
1721, 1744 and the late 1750s, span virtually his whole creative career.
For the present CD, John Holloway has chosen one characteristic example
of each – music that speaks for itself while allowing us to trace
Veracini’s development as an artist.
The twelve "Sonate a violino, o flauto solo" with their strict use of four-movement sequences follow the sonata da chiesa
form, but have no fugues. Yet the twelve sonatas published as Opus I in
Dresden in 1721 represent a significant step forward, coming closer to
the ambitiously contrapuntal German style. The first sonata on the present CD begins with a French overture in dotted rhythms, revealing
‘experimental’ traits in sound and technique.
But his grip on his craft was very firm. Some of his pieces, including the Sonate accademiche, were
orginally composed not for the general public but for learned societies
of music lovers. This was highly erudite music reminiscent of late
Bach, but formal concerns and a “wild and flighty” quality coexist in
the best of Veracini’s music.
“It is tempting to look for the bizarre in Veracini’s music and
over-emphasise it", John Holloway remarks. "I think this would be to
underestimate him. The quality of his music lies not only in the learned
counterpoint, or in the outstanding writing for the violin: there is
throughout a feeling for melody and harmony which display a remarkable
and very personal expressivity.” (ECM Records)
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