For audiences and performers, baroque music is a kind of infinite bottom drawer. Just when you think that you’ve got to the end of it, a composer who was once a modest footnote is appearing on the scene calling out from some murky music library collection to be resurrected. Lost masterworks keep emerging, and not only do they give scholars material to plum the depths of, but they also provide performers fresh works to explore.
Antonio Bertali (1605-1669) was an Italian composer of both sacred and secular music. Despite being fairly recognised in his day, few of his works were published and almost none survived. This is a real shame as he might have been regarded alongside the likes of Monteverdi, Lully, Bach and Vivaldi if it had.
Bertali’s compositions are a stylistically linked to many other northern Italian composers of the time, and include operas, oratorios, a large number of liturgical works, and some chamber music. He is best known for his “Chaconne” or “Ciaccona,” as well as his contribution to the Italian Opera Seria tradition in Vienna.
Interestingly nearly all of Bertali’s instrumental works exist in more than one location, and are spread amongst dusty archives across Europe. I suppose we can thank the many khaki-clad Indiana Jones types for uncovering these obscure baroque gems, as they are fine examples of the style.
ACRONYM, (Albino-squirrel Consort Radiating from Oberlin via New York, Mostly) are a fresh new period ensemble devoted to providing contemporary premieres of ancient works. After realising they were on to something, they wasted little time getting down to business and began recording on the Olde Focus Recordings label in 2012.
On the whole, Bertali’s thirteen Sonatas are in good hands on this disc. They play each sonata with a tangible sense of individualism and thoughtful purpose. Most importantly, one can hear that they are enjoying the works as much as I enjoyed listening to them. I was particularly taken with Sonata in G a 3, which builds slowly into an absolutely ethereal melodic interplay between the strings.
Focusing on the development of three musical lines, this is music of conversation, and it effortlessly portrays a raw tonality illustrated in the baroque sonata form. The music has a restless energy that drives everything before it, and then pauses for exquisite contemplation. The balance within the ensemble is well placed, and the distinct baroque sonority comes through loud and clear.
Recommended
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It should be mentioned that ACRONYM features a local connection with Toronto’s Edwin Huizinga who performs as a violinist with groups such as Classical Revolution Toronto, Tafelmusik, and The Wooden Sky.
To hear excerpts and links to purchase the CD, click here.
Michael Vincent
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