Antonio

Vivaldi

Violin Sonata RV 829. The first modern recording of this remarkable sonata, discovered by our violinist a few years ago and presented here alongside other works from Sanguinazzo’s collection. Listening to this sonata in this programme is, in a sense, hearing it back in its own home.

Nicolò

Sanguinazzo

AKA Olocin Ozzaniugnas. Without him, none of these works would have survived to reach us.

Sanguinazzo was also a composer, and one can easily imagine that in his Italian home the works of great masters were heard alongside his own creations. His compositions, however, are rather unusual. We will record some of them, including his Suonata Spagnola, which features a delightfully entertaining Follia whose bass line was almost certainly written by Sanguinazzo’s teacher… who must, without any doubt, have been an excellent master indeed!

Giuseppe Antonio Vincenzo

Aldrovandini

Sanguinazzo copied Vivaldi’s Sonata RV 829 at the end of a volume containing sonatas by other composers. While copying it, he made a mistake and had to erase part of the music already written on the page. The sonata underneath was by Aldrovandini. He never managed to remove the name completely, however, and for many years several scholars attributed the work to Aldrovandini.

Vivaldi has now gained a new work, but Aldrovandini has lost one from his catalogue. To make amends, we have recorded his Sonata in C major—the very one that can still be glimpsed, half-erased, beneath Vivaldi’s notes.

Gaetano

Meneghetti

This Vicentine composer, now almost forgotten, was once described as “one of the finest violinists of his age”. He performed alongside Vivaldi in Venice, and his works were copied and disseminated throughout Europe.

The sonata we will record (Fatta li 30 Aprile 1717) is perhaps the most virtuosic work on the entire album: a true tour de force for any violinist, pushed to the very limits of both technique and musical expression by Meneghetti.

Girolamo Nicolò

Laurenti

A Bolognese composer and violinist who also built a successful career in Venice, a pupil of Torelli, admired by Quantz, and renowned throughout Europe—yet today almost completely forgotten.

His Sonata in F major survives only in Sanguinazzo’s collection: a genuine gem of the Italian sonata da camera repertoire.

Carlo

Marino

Carlo Marino was a celebrated violinist and composer in his day, and quite possibly Locatelli’s first teacher. His sonatas were printed and copied throughout Europe, although today they are virtually unknown.

Yet there is something particularly fascinating here: Sanguinazzo—or perhaps his teacher—adapted violin works for the violoncello. The sonata we are recording is a cello arrangement of one of Marino’s most beautiful violin sonatas.

Filippo

Banner

Little is known about this cellist and composer. He worked in Venice and Padua, but his trail quickly disappears from the historical record. The few instrumental works that survive have come down to us thanks to Sanguinazzo.

His Sonata in G minor for violoncello, probably written during the first decade of the eighteenth century, is a masterpiece by a composer who has all but vanished from musical history.

unknown master

Sanguinazzo’s collection still conceals many puzzles and hidden treasures. The author of many of its manuscripts remains unknown. The Sonata in C minor for violoncello is undoubtedly the work of a master—one who, like Vivaldi, Corelli, Albinoni, and the other composers featured on this recording, captivated Sanguinazzo three centuries ago.

We do not know his name, but thanks to people like Sanguinazzo, his music has survived.