Corelli: Trio Sonatas

Good deal. Great easy listening, even meditative music. The dis is in great shape. No problem.

I love it.very nice

great thanks

If it were a matter of the recorded sound only, this 1986 effort from London's Abbey Road studios would score full marks: everything here is very directly and clearly captured, and the balance between the instruments is perfect. But unfortunately the playing is as direct and relentless as the sound, leaving little or no room for nuances and making one wonder why Arcangelo Corelli was so famous in his day. The CD appears to have been London Baroque's first attempt at Corelli's sonatas and offers a selection from all six of his published works: two sonatas each from opus 1 and 2 respectively, one sonata each from opus 3, 4 and 5 and a somewhat mutilated solo version of the concerto grosso opus 6, no. 5: Corelli is known to have played these pieces with quite large forces, but he also made provision for them to be played as trio sonatas. London Baroque were not satisfied with Corelli's chamber version, however, and restored the viola and the violone from the larger concerto, which may be legitimate as far as the sound goes but surely can no longer be called 'historical performance practice'. The group later recorded all of the sonatas from opus 1 through 4 on 4 Cds for Harmonia Mundi, and as these have been re-released at budget price, budding Corelli fans should turn there rather than to this forerunner. If price is no object, the recordings by the Purcell Quartet on Chandos Chaconne would probably be an even better choice.

Having being bred to believe Corelli can be a simplistic and somewhat formulaic composer (too many A-level Trio Sonata practice questions), this disc came as a refreshing surprise. The tasteful, but not gregariously over-the-top approach to authenticity results in a rich, smooth sound which is sympathetically and accurately recorded. The striking feature for me is the sheer reveling of the players in those wonderful sequences, making them sound so fresh - as though the ink is still drying on the page. An ultra-sophisticated ambient music for the 21st century?!