Rating: 5/5
Review:
Another gem from Pandolfo
Paulo Pandolfo has been making brilliant recordings for
decades now, and this is another gem, I think.
The music is by de Machy, a composer I'd never heard of before, and
published in 1685 (the year of Bach's birth, to put it in context). It's all for solo viola da gamba and arranged
into Suites of dances – a familiar format at the time. It is varied and enjoyable, with melodic
invention and skilful polyphonic writing for the instrument, on which de Machy
was an acknowledged master.
What makes this disc so enjoyable, of course, is the playing
of Pandolfo. As always, it is virtuosic,
expressive and free-flowing. Pandolfo's
almost improvisatory-sounding style works very well with these pieces, and I
find the whole thing a pleasure.
Glossa make their usual beautiful job of both recorded sound
and presentation, and this is a very fine disc all round. If you like the gamba as I do, or just have
an interest in early Baroque music, don't hesitate – this is a cracker!
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