New Classical Tracks: A musical first in the 21st century
The New York-based Baroque ensemble Rebel has dreamed up a musical first. Rebel takes its name from Jean-Fery Rebel, a free-thinking 17th-century French composer. And this group lives up to its namesake by approaching Baroque music from various angles.
Their new recording, "Corellisante," explores for the first time the musical parallels between two highly-revered composers, Arcangelo Corelli and a composer he inspired, Georg Philipp Telemann.
Corelli was a master Baroque composer who excelled at writing solo sonatas for violin and bass, small-ensemble works like concerti grossi, and trio sonatas. This new release is a survey of Corelli's trios, which were written as church sonatas and chamber sonatas.
Corelli's church sonatas feature a distinct part for the violin, with a bass line provided by the organ. As a violin virtuoso, Corelli always gave his instrument the most exciting part. In Corelli's Sonata No. 12, after the organ strikes the opening chord, the violins are off and running.
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Violinists Jorg-Michael Schwarz and Karen Marie Marmer cordially share the spotlight, and their personalities are so perfectly matched that it's difficult to discern where one violin part starts and the other stops.
Corelli's chamber sonatas are basically dance suites. A short prelude serves as a curtain raiser for the energetic dance that follows in the Sonata No. 10 in G major.
The members of Rebel play off each other, and that intense perception makes their performance unified and tight, yet they leave plenty of room for interpretation. There's nothing buttoned-up about their free-flowing performance.
Telemann was known for his ability to absorb influences from other lands and other composers. His Corellisante Sonatas use Corelli's ideas as a base. Telemann feels no need to color within those lines. His harmonies and textures are much more elaborate.
Unlike Corelli, whose primary focus is the violin, Telemann gives each instrument something interesting and fun to play. The ensemble Rebel offers a bold reading of Telemann's Sonata in A major, and their performance never drags - even in the opening slow movement.
Corelli was a musical artisan meticulously perfecting each composition, and Telemann was a musical adventurer who openly explored and stretched Corelli's ideas.
For the first time, the Baroque ensemble Rebel offers the best of both worlds as they stand these two master composers next to each other on their new release, "Corellisante."
