Venezia 1625 / Maurice Steger, et al - Harmonia Mundi - HAR 902024 - 794881910625

Venice, 1625: the city of the doges is one of the principal artistic centers of Europe. At the Cappella San Marco, a profoundly original style of instrumental music is in the process of discarding all reference to the tradition of vocal polyphony. The era of Baroque stravaganze has begun! Now, in the hands of Maurice Steger, a supreme master of the recorder, this ultra-virtuosic art acquires a new lease on life.

Reviews

Fantasy, fun and flamboyance: Maurice Steger

The brilliant Swiss recorder player Maurice Steger draws on his dazzling virtuosity, his zephyr-like timbre and his range of expression to vivify a corpus of music that has so far remained relatively unexplored. A full century before Vivaldi stole the show in Venice, the city enjoyed a golden High Renaissance thanks to the presence of Giovanni Gabrieli and other composers who exploited new potential in sonority, endowing the repertoire with choral and instrumental works of startling originality and richness. Steger has investigated the legacy of his cultural blossoming to devise a program with 1625 as its focal point. Here we are in post-Renaissance realms of the early Baroque, where ancient and modern styles continued to coexist, but fantasy, fun and flamboyance were very much to the fore. These are qualities that Steger exemplifies in his choice of pieces and in his delightful way of performing them. Nor is he alone. He is complemented by a group of first-rate exponents who add a kaleidoscope of colours etched in by chitarrone, theorbo, harp, dulcian, guitar and a range of other Baroque instruments that help illuminate and animate the vim and vigour of this music. This was a period in which the violin was coming into its own, and much of this music was written for it. But Steger takes his cue from the fact that instrumental forces were frequently unspecified or interchangeable to give a recital of unalloyed joy. Rating ***** (highest rating) Geoffrey Norris

Submitted on 05/21/09 by Marco Estefan

Fontana, Giovanni Battista : Sonata for solo violin No. 2 (Sonata seconda)

Performers: Éva Borhi (Violin); Maurice Steger (Recorder); Péter Barczi (Violin)
Running Time: 6 min. 35 sec.
Period Time: Baroque

Uccellini, Marco : Symphonia No. 20 ("La Virmingarda")

Performers: Éva Borhi (Violin); Thomas Boysen (Theorbo); Sabrina Frey (Recorder); Stefan Temmingh (Recorder); Mauro Valli (Cello); Maurice Steger (Recorder); Naoki Kitaya (Harpsichord); Naoki Kitaya (Organ); Hille Perl (Bass Viola da gamba); Christian Beuse (Dulcian); Péter Barczi (Violin); Sergio Ciomei (Organ); Sergio Ciomei (Harpsichord); Lee Santana (Chitarrone)
Running Time: 2 min. 5 sec.

Uccellini, Marco : Sonata sopra La Prosperina, for 3 violins & continuo, Op. 4/26

Performers: Éva Borhi (Violin); Thomas Boysen (Theorbo); Sabrina Frey (Recorder); Stefan Temmingh (Recorder); Mauro Valli (Cello); Maurice Steger (Recorder); Naoki Kitaya (Organ); Naoki Kitaya (Harpsichord); Hille Perl (Bass Viola da gamba); Christian Beuse (Dulcian); Péter Barczi (Violin); Sergio Ciomei (Organ); Sergio Ciomei (Harpsichord); Lee Santana (Chitarrone)
Running Time: 4 min. 13 sec.
Period Time: Baroque
Written: 1645

Uccellini, Marco : Aria sopra la Bergamasca, for 2 violins & continuo

Performers: Éva Borhi (Violin); Thomas Boysen (Theorbo); Sabrina Frey (Recorder); Stefan Temmingh (Recorder); Mauro Valli (Cello); Maurice Steger (Recorder); Naoki Kitaya (Harpsichord); Naoki Kitaya (Organ); Hille Perl (Bass Viola da gamba); Christian Beuse (Dulcian); Péter Barczi (Violin); Sergio Ciomei (Organ); Sergio Ciomei (Harpsichord); Lee Santana (Chitarrone)
Running Time: 3 min. 32 sec.

Fontana, Giovanni Battista : Sonata for solo violin No. 3

Performers: Éva Borhi (Violin); Maurice Steger (Recorder); Péter Barczi (Violin)
Running Time: 4 min. 56 sec.
Period Time: Baroque

Storace, Bernardo : Selva di varie composizioni d'intavolatura per cimbalo ed organo

Performers: Maurice Steger (Recorder); Naoki Kitaya (Harpsichord); Sergio Ciomei (Harpsichord)
Running Time: 1 min. 29 sec.

Merula, Tarquinio : Ciacona, for 2 violins & basso continuo (Canzone overo sonate concertate)

Performers: Éva Borhi (Violin); Thomas Boysen (Theorbo); Sabrina Frey (Recorder); Stefan Temmingh (Recorder); Mauro Valli (Cello); Maurice Steger (Recorder); Naoki Kitaya (Organ); Naoki Kitaya (Harpsichord); Hille Perl (Bass Viola da gamba); Christian Beuse (Dulcian); Péter Barczi (Violin); Sergio Ciomei (Organ); Sergio Ciomei (Harpsichord); Lee Santana (Chitarrone)
Running Time: 2 min. 42 sec.
Period Time: Renaissance

Fontana, Giovanni Battista : Sonata for solo violin No. 4

Performers: Éva Borhi (Violin); Maurice Steger (Recorder); Péter Barczi (Violin)
Running Time: 4 min. 51 sec.
Period Time: Baroque

Uccellini, Marco : Symphonia No. 14 ("La Foschina")

Performers: Éva Borhi (Violin); Thomas Boysen (Theorbo); Sabrina Frey (Recorder); Stefan Temmingh (Recorder); Mauro Valli (Cello); Maurice Steger (Recorder); Naoki Kitaya (Harpsichord); Naoki Kitaya (Organ); Hille Perl (Bass Viola da gamba); Christian Beuse (Dulcian); Péter Barczi (Violin); Sergio Ciomei (Organ); Sergio Ciomei (Harpsichord); Lee Santana (Chitarrone)
Running Time: 2 min. 50 sec.

Rossi, Salomone : Sinfonia No. 9 in eco, for 3 voices

Performers: Éva Borhi (Violin); Thomas Boysen (Theorbo); Sabrina Frey (Recorder); Stefan Temmingh (Recorder); Mauro Valli (Cello); Maurice Steger (Recorder); Naoki Kitaya (Harpsichord); Naoki Kitaya (Organ); Hille Perl (Bass Viola da gamba); Christian Beuse (Dulcian); Péter Barczi (Violin); Sergio Ciomei (Harpsichord); Sergio Ciomei (Organ); Lee Santana (Chitarrone)
Running Time: 1 min. 51 sec.

Castello, Dario : Sonata for solo instrument & continuo No. 2 (Sonata Concertate II/2)

Performers: Éva Borhi (Violin); Thomas Boysen (Theorbo); Sabrina Frey (Recorder); Stefan Temmingh (Recorder); Mauro Valli (Cello); Maurice Steger (Recorder); Naoki Kitaya (Organ); Naoki Kitaya (Harpsichord); Hille Perl (Bass Viola da gamba); Christian Beuse (Dulcian); Péter Barczi (Violin); Sergio Ciomei (Organ); Sergio Ciomei (Harpsichord); Lee Santana (Chitarrone)
Running Time: 5 min. 54 sec.
Period Time: Renaissance
Written: 1629

Uccellini, Marco : Symphonia No. 17 ("La Stucharda")

Performers: Éva Borhi (Violin); Thomas Boysen (Theorbo); Sabrina Frey (Recorder); Stefan Temmingh (Recorder); Mauro Valli (Cello); Maurice Steger (Recorder); Naoki Kitaya (Organ); Naoki Kitaya (Harpsichord); Hille Perl (Bass Viola da gamba); Christian Beuse (Dulcian); Péter Barczi (Violin); Sergio Ciomei (Harpsichord); Sergio Ciomei (Organ); Lee Santana (Chitarrone)
Running Time: 1 min. 3 sec.

Merula, Tarquinio : Canzone for 2 violins, violone & continuo No. 17 ("La Monteverde")

Performers: Éva Borhi (Violin); Thomas Boysen (Theorbo); Sabrina Frey (Recorder); Stefan Temmingh (Recorder); Mauro Valli (Cello); Maurice Steger (Recorder); Naoki Kitaya (Harpsichord); Naoki Kitaya (Organ); Hille Perl (Bass Viola da gamba); Christian Beuse (Dulcian); Péter Barczi (Violin); Sergio Ciomei (Organ); Sergio Ciomei (Harpsichord); Lee Santana (Chitarrone)
Running Time: 3 min. 26 sec.
Period Time: Renaissance

Merula, Tarquinio : La Pighetta Giovanni Paolo, for 2 violins, violone & continuo

Performers: Éva Borhi (Violin); Thomas Boysen (Theorbo); Sabrina Frey (Recorder); Stefan Temmingh (Recorder); Mauro Valli (Cello); Maurice Steger (Recorder); Naoki Kitaya (Organ); Naoki Kitaya (Harpsichord); Hille Perl (Bass Viola da gamba); Christian Beuse (Dulcian); Péter Barczi (Violin); Sergio Ciomei (Organ); Sergio Ciomei (Harpsichord); Lee Santana (Chitarrone)
Running Time: 5 min. 55 sec.
Period Time: Renaissance

Piccinini, Alessandro : Toccata No. 2, for lute (from Intavolatura di Liuto)

Performers: Maurice Steger (Recorder); Lee Santana (Chitarrone)
Running Time: 2 min. 17 sec.
Period Time: Baroque

Fontana, Giovanni Battista : Sonata for solo violin No. 6

Performers: Éva Borhi (Violin); Maurice Steger (Recorder); Péter Barczi (Violin)
Running Time: 6 min. 24 sec.
Period Time: Baroque

Merula, Tarquinio : Canzone for 2 violins & violone ("La Strada")

Performers: Éva Borhi (Violin); Thomas Boysen (Theorbo); Sabrina Frey (Recorder); Stefan Temmingh (Recorder); Mauro Valli (Cello); Maurice Steger (Recorder); Naoki Kitaya (Harpsichord); Naoki Kitaya (Organ); Hille Perl (Bass Viola da gamba); Christian Beuse (Dulcian); Péter Barczi (Violin); Sergio Ciomei (Harpsichord); Sergio Ciomei (Organ); Lee Santana (Chitarrone)
Running Time: 3 min. 14 sec.
Period Time: Renaissance

Uccellini, Marco : Sonata for violin & continuo "La Luciminia contenta" (from Op. 4)

Performers: Éva Borhi (Violin); Maurice Steger (Recorder); Péter Barczi (Violin)
Running Time: 4 min. 3 sec.
Period Time: Baroque
Written: 1645