"Dolce e Coraggioso" - Gabriela Galván (traverso) and Isidoro Roitman (liuto attiorbato) record sonatas of Corelli, Barsanti, Platti, Vivaldi and Locatelli

 

Cover design Horacio D'Alessandro

Recently issued, "Dolce e Coraggioso" (Sweet and Brave), comprising works of Italian Baroque composers, is the third disc issued by Argentinian artists Gabriela Galván (traverso) and Isidoro Roitman (liuto attiorbato). Smaller than the archlute, the liuto attiorbato can be tuned to G and A, enabling the lutenist to play in sharpened keys, as are the works on this recording.

"Dolce e Coraggioso" opens with Arcangelo Corelli's Sonata Op.5 No.4 in G major. Written originally for violin, the Twelve Violin Sonatas, Op. 5 (Sonate a violino e violone o cimbalo, 1700) were the best-known instrumental sonatas during much of the 18th century (indeed, Corelli was feted by the aristocracy, cardinals, and royalty) and have been arranged for many different instruments. Playing from a score appearing on "Editorial Paris: Le Clerc le cadet, Le Clerc l'ainé, Boivin" (1754), the artists gave poignant expression to the contrasts dictated by the sonata da chiesa form, with Galván's playing at times elegant, poised and fragile, at others, vivid and energetic, ornamenting suavely and adding just a touch of the inégal. Reading from figured bass notation, Roitman's resourceful treatment of it abounded in interest, creativity and imagination. Here, one is reminded of Geminiani, who referred to Corelli as possessing "a nice ear and most delicate taste… pleasing harmonies and melodies…to produce the most delightful effect upon the ear”.

 

Francesco Barsanti is well known to recorder players for his highly idiomatic 6 Solo Sonatas for alto recorder Opus 1. Galván and Roitman's inventive, exhilarating and eloquent playing of Sonata No.2 in B minor from the composer's 6 Sonatas for German [transverse] Flute and Continuo Op. 2 (1728) shed light on the excellence of this less frequently heard collection. Once again, the figured bass allows Roitman's fantasy to take flight, to explore the lute's potential. Not to be ignored is the fact that Barsanti (1690-1772) was one of several extraordinary Italian instrumentalists, virtuosi and composers travelling across Europe, contributing decisively to the definitive success of instrumental music and the formation of an international musical language. 

 

No household name today, Giovanni Benedetto Platti (1697-1763) was known in his day as an exceptionally fine singer, instrumentalist and composer. He left his native Italy in 1722 to take up a position in Germany at the court of Prince-Bishop Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn.  Straddling the late Baroque and early Classical eras, his "Sonatas for Transverse Flute" paint a vivid and engaging portrait of the 18th-century musician/composer himself. Galván and Roitman's playing of Platti's Sonata No.3 Op.1 was candid, fresh and charming, as they presented the composer's refined melodiousness with the timbral and tonal qualities that are an extension of the Italian Baroque style.

 

It seems that Antonio Vivaldi wrote as few as four sonatas for the transverse flute (RV48-51). Interestingly, none of these is characteristically Vivaldian and none brings to mind sonatas for other instruments. Performing Vivaldi's Flute Sonata in E minor RV 50, Galván and Roitman chose to call attention to the poésie common to all four movements - Andante, Siciliano, Allegro, Arioso - rather than effecting strong contrasts between them. The intimate soundscape they produced took shape via the cantabile character of its melodies, interesting use of motifs and of inégal- and extemporary rhythmic shaping on the flute, as Roitman added interest with such devices as spreads and with some melodic soupçons elegantly linking one passage to another.

 

The artists choose to sign out with Sonata Op.2 No.2 in D major of Pietro Antonio Locatelli's "Dodici Sonate", 12 Sonatas for transverse flute and bass (first published Amsterdam 1723). In playing that was strategically paced, genial, entertaining in its surprising turns of phrase and variety of expression, punctuated by the occasional coy and mysterious  gesture and enhanced with tasteful, fanciful ornamenting, Galván and Roitman drew attention to the composer's colourful personality (Locatelli was known to have  performed at the Prussian court wearing a blue velvet coat with silver trim,  precious diamond rings and carrying a sword), to the emerging style galant of the time as well as to  the increasing importance of the solo sonata genre, as they subtly highlighted the versatility of Locatelli’s writing.

 

For the recording of "Dolce e Coraggioso" Gabriela Galván plays a Baroque flute made by Martin Wenner, Singen, Germany (2018) a copy of an original by Carlo Palanca (c.1750.) Made by Paolo Busato, Padua, Italy, 2021, Isidoro Roitman's liuto attiorbato is a copy of an original by Matteo Sellas, Venice (1638.) Recorded in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in February 2023 (recording engineer Ariel Gato), "Dolce e Coraggioso" sounds natural and true, creating the intimate ambience required for this genre of chamber music. Once again, Gabriela Galván's informed approach, her unique signature timbre and sensitive musical shaping, joined by Isidoro Roitman's deep scrutiny of the composers' manuscripts and styles and his response to detail and gestures of the flute role, make for a rewarding listening experience to the discriminating listener.

The Embouchure Duo (Ariel Gato)