J.S. Bach: Sonatas for Viola da Gamba & Harpsichord Robert Smith & Francesco Corti

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750): Sonata in G Minor, BWV 1029:
• 1 Sonata in G Minor, BWV 1029: I. Vivace 05:18
• 2 Sonata in G Minor, BWV 102: II. Adagio 05:22
• 3 Sonata in G Minor, BWV 1029: III. Allegro 03:34
• Christopher Schaffrath (1709 - 1763): Sonata in A Major, CSWV:F:29:
• 4 Sonata in A Major, CSWV:F:29: I. Allegretto 08:12
• 5 Sonata in A Major, CSWV:F:29: II. Adagio 04:48
• 6 Sonata in A Major, CSWV:F:29: III. Allegro 05:10
• Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonata in D Major, BWV 1028:
• 7 Sonata in D Major, BWV 1028: I. Adagio 02:01
• 8 Sonata in D Major, BWV 1028: II. Allegro 03:31
• 9 Sonata in D Major, BWV 1028: III. Andante 03:48
• 10 Sonata in D Major, BWV 1028: IV. Allegro 04:03
• Robert Smith (b. 1959):
• 11 Dido's Torment 04:55
• Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonata in G Major, BWV 1027:
• 12 Sonata in G Major, BWV 1027: I. Adagio 03:48
• 13 Sonata in G Major, BWV 1027: II. Allegro ma non troppo 03:30
• 14 Sonata in G Major, BWV 1027: III. Andante 01:45
• 15 Sonata in G Major, BWV 1027: IV. Allegro moderato 02:58
• Total Runtime 01:02:43

Info for J.S. Bach: Sonatas for Viola da Gamba & Harpsichord

The cembalo-obbligato sonata reached its zenith in the middle decades of the eighteenth century; thought to date from the last fifteen years of J.S. Bach’s life, the composer was a pioneer of this compelling form, and for the soloistic role of the harpsichord in ensemble music. Critically acclaimed Amsterdam-based viola da gamba player Robert Smith joins with the celebrated Italian harpsichordist Francesco Corti to present a new recording of four prime examples of this genre, Bach’s three Sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord along with a sonata by his close contemporary Christopher Schaffrath. Completing the album is a new work by Robert Smith – based on Henry Purcell’s Dido’s Lament this innovative new work for the instrument absorbs broad influences from both the eighteenth century and the heavy-metal band Metallica.

“Intensely expressive, highly dramatic” (The Strad)

Robert Smith, viola da gamba
Francesco Corti, harpsichord

Robert Smith
is a viola da gamba and cello player from Yorkshire in the North of England. Since winning the Bach-Abel Viola da Gamba Competition in Köthen in 2012 Robert’s life as a basso-continuo player and soloist has taken him down many interesting and varied paths. He has regularly criss-crossed Europe from his home in Amsterdam to play baroque music with many leading ensembles and orchestras. Robert is a member of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and with his own ensemble Fantasticus he has recorded critically acclaimed CDs for Resonus Classics.

In music as in life Robert likes to get off the beaten path. His CDs often feature previously unrecorded repertoire such as the lyra-viol music on Tickle the Minikin and the virtuoso Jenkins duets with his former teacher Paolo Pandolfo on The Excellency of Hand. He enjoys exploring different genres of music and working with artists from other disciplines. This has led to interesting performances such as playing Metallica songs for death-defying acrobats in historical circus tents.

As a solo player Robert has had live concerts broadcast by BBC Radio 3, Deutschlandfunk Kultur and worked as a soloist for the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. In 2017 Robert released one of the first ever recordings of Telemann’s newly discovered Fantasias for solo viola da gamba, which The Observer reviewed as “playing of exceptional quality”. His 2019 release “La Gracieuse” with music by Marin Marais was Gramophone Magazine’s Editor’s Choice.

Robert plays on a bass viola da gamba made by Pierre Bohr in Milan. His baroque cello made by Guust Francois is loaned to him by the Dutch Nationaal Muziekinstrumentenfonds. He studied viola de gamba with Mieneke van der Velden (Amsterdam) and Paolo Pandolfo (Basel). He also studied baroque cello with Wouter Möller, Jaap ter Linden and Viola da Hoog.

Francesco Corti
Francesco Corti wurde in Arezzo (Italien) in eine musikalische Familie hinein geboren. Er studierte Orgel in Perugia mit W. van de Pol, danach Cembalo in Genf mit A. Fedi und in Amsterdam mit Bob van Asperen. Im Jahr 2006 gewann er den ersten Preis beim Bach-Wettbewerb in Leipzig und 2007 den zweiten Preis beim Alte Musik-Wettbewerb in Brügge.

Als Solist trat er in Rezitals und Konzerten in ganz Europa, den USA, Mexiko, dem fernen Osten und in Neuseeland auf. Er wurde zu namhaften Festivals eingeladen, wie den Salzburger Festspielen, dem Bachfest Leipzig, dem Musikfest Bremen, zu Utrecht Oude Muziek, und er ist in so bedeutenden Konzertsälen wie der Salle Pleyel in Paris, dem Bozar in Brüssel, dem Konzerthaus in Wien, dem Mozarteum und dem Haus für Mozart in Salzburg sowie dem Concertgebouw in Amsterdam aufgetreten.

Darüber hinaus arbeitet er mit renommierten Ensembles zusammen, wie dem Ensemble Zefiro (A. Bernardini), Harmonie Universelle (F. Deuter), Les Talens Lyriques (Chr. Rousset), Le Concert des Nations (J. Savall). Seit 2007 ist er Mitglied von Les Musiciens du Louvre (M. Minkowski), mit denen er zahlreiche Konzertreisen unternommen und CDs eingespielt hat, sowie Solo-Konzerte von Bach, Händel, Haydn und Mozart aufführte. Er tritt regelmässig als Dirigent des Ensembles in Erscheinung und hat auch zwei Europa-Touren des Ensembles Holland Baroque Society geleitet.

Seine Solo-Aufnahmen enthalten u.a. Werke von Louis Couperin und die Partitas von J.S. Bach. Neuerscheinungen für 2016 bringen unter anderem eine CD mit Cembalo-Sonaten von J. Haydn (Aparte) und die beiden Klavierquartette von W.A. Mozart, aufgenommen auf dem originalen, in Salzburg befindlichen Instrument des Komponisten (Decca).

Francesco Corti unterrichtet seit September 2016 als Professor für historische Tasteninstrumente und Generalbass an der Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.

This album contains no booklet.