#cdliner

Liner Notes: Delphian Records August 2020 ‘Ohrwurm’, liner notes by Mark Seow Tabea Debus, Alex McCartney, Jonathan Rees

Bach BWV 147, BWV 248, Handel Music for the Royal Fireworks HWV 351 , Telemann Concerto TWV 51:D7 in D major, Purcell Sonata for Trumpet and Strings in D major Z850, Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary, 1695: Funeral Sentences. Alison Balsom, Balsom Ensemble Warner Classics

THE SCENE: Vivaldi, Tartini, Veracini and Pisendel are slouched on divans. Loud and tipsy, they dominate this corner of heaven reserved for a very specific type of musician: the violinist-composer. Here, once a year, on the seventeenth day of the second month, these violinists gather to reminisce, gossip and argue. Their discussions often venture into the technical; they discuss bow technique, ornamentation, acoustics. This evening they also indulge in the personal. Stories flow with the ease and speed of wine from a jug, and it is at this point that we join them in salutation.

… With all this harmonic, rhythmic and physical distraction, the solo alto weaves a surprisingly calm melody. However the singer too is prey to temptation: elements of the slinking semiquaver movement and suspensions characterise the melody. The central section of the aria also constructs a symbolic interaction between the sinner and the world of deceit. Both phrases of the alto melody are punctuated by an interrupted cadence – or perhaps the American term ‘deceptive cadence’ is more telling in this instance. Here the strings interrupt the singer, as if to remind him to stay alert to deception...