Programme

Arcangelo Corelli (1653 - 1713)

Sonata in C major, n. 1 (original in D major)

Grave-Allegro-Adagio-Grave-Allegro-Adagio, Allegro, Allegro, Adagio, Allegro

Sonata in C minor, n. 8 (original in E minor)

Preludio (Largo), Allemanda (Allegro), Sarabanda (Largo), Giga (Allegro)

Sonata in E flat major, n.4 (original in F Major)

Adagio, Allegro, Vivace, Adagio, Allegro

George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759)

Chaconne in G major, HVW 435 (solo harpsichord)

Sonata in D minor, n.7

Preludio (Vivace), Corrente (Allegro), Sarabanda (Largo), Giga (Allegro)

Sonata in B flat major, n. 3 (original in C major)

Adagio, Allegro, Adagio, Allegro, Allegro

Performers

Viola da gamba: Teodoro Baù

Harpsichord: Andrea Buccarella

Programme Notes 

When Arcangelo Corelli published his 12 "Sonatas for Violin and Violone, or Harpsichord" Op. V in Rome in 1700, it marked a new era and was considered a model of stylistic perfection. Its editorial success is evident from the numerous reprints and editions of the collection that began circulating throughout Europe. The spread of this music was so extensive that it appeared in forms different from the original, with transcriptions for recorder, flute, cello, and even viola da gamba. One example is a manuscript, likely of German origin but preserved at the National Library of Paris (MS. VS 6308), containing all 12 sonatas transcribed for viola da gamba. Since many other examples of individual sonatas transcribed for this instrument exist, we can glimpse a practice more common than we might think: transcription. A well-known piece presented in a new form, like a familiar landscape seen from a fresh perspective.

This programme also includes a Chaconne by George Frideric Handel for solo harpsichord, published in London in 1733 as part of the composer’s second collection of harpsichord suites. It is likely that this piece was composed during Handel's Italian period, as its style is distinctly Italian and Corellian, particularly in the sensitivity with which Handel approaches ornamentation and variation of the ostinato.

Biographies

Teodoro Baù: Viola da Gamba

"One to watch" for the Gramophone magazine, Teodoro Baù is a winner of international competitions including MA Festival Bruges (2021) and Bach-Abel Wettbewerb Köthen (2015).

His debut recording, published by Ricercar and containing sonatas by Arcangelo Corelli in an original transcription for viola da gamba, won several prizes and awards including the Diapason d'Or.

Born in Italy, he began his study of viola da gamba with Claudia Pasetto and continued in Basel and Salzburg. Additionally, he studied lute with Massimo Lonardi in Venice and Peter Croton in Basel.

Teodoro lives in Basel, and in recent years has alternated between solo and chamber activity; he is a member of the ensemble "La Fonte Musica" in which he plays the ars subtilior repertoire with the mediaeval viella. He has appeared as a soloist at renowned festivals such as the Bachfest Leipzig, the Schwetzingen Festival, the Tage Alter Musik in Herne, the Festival Oude Muziek in Utrecht, and the MA Festival in Bruges.

In addition to his concert activities, Teodoro Baù teaches viola da gamba at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, the "Bruno Maderna" Conservatory in Cesena, and at the summer courses for early music at Urbino Musica Antica.

Andrea Buccarella: Harpsichord

Harpsichordist, organist and conductor, Andrea Buccarella is among the most appreciated musicians and early music specialists of his generation.

In 2018, he won First Prize at the Bruges International Harpsichord Competition and the Outhere Prize. Following this success, he embarked on an intense concert activity that led him to perform at major festivals and concert halls in Europe, the United States, Colombia, Bolivia, Korea and Japan, both as a soloist and as a conductor. 

In 2012, he took over the artistic and musical direction of the Abchordis Ensemble, for which he conducts an intense research activity, aimed at discovering musical masterpieces from the past, unpublished and undiscovered in modern times. Under his direction, Abchordis Ensemble won First Prize at the Händel International Competition in Göttingen (2015).

As harpsichord soloist, he has performed in important concert halls and festivals and has made live audio/video recordings of: J.S.Bach's Goldberg-Variations BWV 988 for the Goldberg Festival (Gdańsk); Preludes and Fugues BWV 870-881 from the Second Book of the Well-Tempered Clavier by J.S.Bach for the Concertgebouw Brugge; works for harpsichord by A. Scarlatti, F. Durante and G. Greco for the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht.

Andrea is also very active as a teacher, he has given several masterclasses in harpsichord, basso continuo and ensemble music. Starting from the academic year 2022/2023, he is guest teacher of Harpsichord at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.