Tartini: The Devil's Sonata

Tartini: The Devil's Sonata
Andrew Manze
Harmonia Mundi USA 907213

Contents:

    La Sonata del Diavolo in g minor (B-g5)
  1. (Largo)
  2. Allegro
  3. Andante - Allegro - Adagio

  4. L'arte del arco variations on Corelli's Op. 5/10 (B-F11)
  5. Theme and variation I
  6. Variations 2 & 4
  7. Variations 9, 15 & 12
  8. Variations 10 & 20
  9. Variation 29
  10. Variation 30
  11. Variation 33
  12. Variation 34
  13. Variation 23
  14. Variation 38

  15. Sonata in A minor (B-a3)
  16. Cantabile
  17. Allegro
  18. (Andante)
  19. Giga
  20. Aria
  21. Variation I
  22. Variation II
  23. Variation III
  24. Variation IV
  25. Variation V

  26. "Pastorale" for violin in scordatura (B-A16)
  27. Grave
  28. Allegro
  29. Largo - Presto - Andante

Instrument: violin by Joseph Gagliano (Naples, 1783); bow by Gerhard Landwehr (Heemstede, 1987)

Playing time: 69'

Recording date: May 1997 (Nicasio, CA)

Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770) was born in Piran (Slovenia), and spent most of his life as concertmaster in Padua. He was one of the late Baroque's great violin virtuosos, but also interested in various Renaissance pursuits such as mathematics & astronomy. Apparently he was unconcerned with self-marketing, and many of his "programs" have only been reconstructed from private correspondence in the twentieth century.

The present program is played without continuo, based upon private remarks by Tartini which suggested he only included a bass part because it was conventional. For the opening Sonata, where the written bass does include something of interest (as it does not for the others), Manze has decided to supply some of the chords from the violin at judicious moments.

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Todd M. McComb