Il Diavolo

This disc is a refreshing take on several well-known violin sonatas, and some lesser known works, featuring Italian baroque violinist Davide Monti together with Australian musicians Jacqueline Ogeil, playing a replica of a Cristofori piano, and Josephine Vains on baroque cello.

The opening sonatas of this disc in particular provide an excellent showcase for Monti’s skill in ornamentation, drawing on the style of the many historical examples available. In music of this era the performer was often the composer, and the written music was often just musical shorthand for what was actually performed. Monti, a specialist in improvisation, adds extensive embellishments on the melody, particularly in the slow movements of these sonatas. At some points he also improvises passages as a means of linking movements.

Although not the first violinist to record his own ornamented version of Corelli’s Sonata in D major, Monti takes the ornamentation further, and has a more bravura approach than other recordings by e.g. Van Dael (Naxos) or Manze (Harmonia Mundi), who adopt a more understated approach. Monti’s opening contains almost breathtaking flights of fancy, while skilfully keeping within a metrical and harmonic framework so the music retains its logical shape and phrasing. A feel of spontaneity is maintained throughout the performance, which in my opinion excuses the very occasional rough edges in this recording.

Scarlatti’s Sonata in D minor is an expressive work, providing a lyrical contrast to the more virtuosic works on the disc. Although listed among the composer’s many keyboard sonatas, its performance as a violin sonata is argued on the basis of its four movement structure and violinistic idiom.

Vivaldi’s Sonata in D returns to a virtuosic style, in a work that shows the strong influence of Corelli. Monti’s performance of the title track of the disc, Tartini’s Sonata in G minor, nicknamed the “Devil’s Trill”, is not only technically brilliant, but also musically sensitive, with the ensemble maintaining a wonderful feeling of suspense through the continuous trills. The ensemble provides an imaginative interpretation of Corelli’s well-known variations on La Folia. The final work on the disc, Free Spirit, consists of further improvisations by Monti on a theme by McGrath.

A feature of this CD is the use of a Cristofori piano as the continuo keyboard instrument, rather than the usual harpsichord or organ. As explained in the CD liner notes, research shows that the prototype of this instrument already existed in the 1690s, although this has not been widely recognized due to the imprecise terminology used to describe keyboard instruments at the time. In contrast to recordings of these works using harpsichord or organ as the main continuo instrument, the use of the Cristofori piano gives greater depth of sound, although at times there is less clarity. The robust continuo combination of Jacqueline Ogeil on Cristofori piano and Josephine Vains on baroque cello balances well with Monti’s energetic style. Interestingly the continuo realisation used in this recording of Corelli’s Sonata in D major is based on a version by Tonelli found in an 18th century manuscript.

Overall this CD is an exciting example of scholarly research combined with musical intuition by virtuoso performers to create a unique and convincing interpretation of this repertoire.

Many people know the story of the Devil’s Trill Sonata by Tartini. How he dreamed one night he made a pact with the devil, who took up Tartini’s violin and played ‘a sonata so wonderful and so beautiful, played with such great art and intelligence as [he] had never even conceived in [his] boldest flights of fancy’. Upon waking, he jumped out of bed and, grabbing hold of his violin, tried to replicate this fiendish sonata. The Accademia Arcadia seize this piece, still considered difficult today, with both hands. Along with other baroque works, they present it in this lovely album of early eighteenth-century trio sonatas (if you ignore the delightful little theme and variations at the end).
One of the great aspects of this album is the fact that two of the musicians are locals who work hard at furthering the classical music culture in Australia, while the third (virtuosic violinist Davide Monti) is a frequent visitor who brings a wealth of knowledge to our shores. The founder of Arcadia, Jacqueline Ogeil, also had a Christofori piano made for her (one of the first examples of a pianoforte and the only one of its kind in the southern hemisphere) and founded the extremely popular Woodend Winter Arts Festival. Together with Monti and Josephine Vains on continuo cello, they sound like three friends who, for the sheer thrill of playing music, came together to create this recording.

What I particularly loved was the very final track: Monti on solo violin doing baroque variations on what was a whistled tune by one of the supporters of the Woodend Winter Arts Festival, Peter McGrath. Monti heard it and as a joke notated it and improvised upon it. Titled ‘Free Spirit’, I feel it brings the best of the traditional Australian folk tune and the strait-laced baroque style together in a short homage to both genres.