Corelli: Sonata for Strings, Volume 4

Purcell Quartet, Corelli Trio Sonatas, opp. 3, 4 on Chandos Chaccone

This CD has been with me for some time, having purchased it likely in Rochester, NY during my college days, and becoming an early introduction to Corelli’s beautiful trio sonatas for string ensemble. This music, with its tidy Neopolitan harmonies and encyclopedic style, forged lessons for future composers who were more daring and extrovert.

The Purcell for me have an odd violin tone, not to my ideal preference, yet this is perhaps one of the better CDs they have produced on Chandos. The tempi seem so right for most all the movements, no matter fast or slow. There’s moment to foot-tap, some for smiling, and all capture that sweetness of style inherent in Corelli’s music.

The recording quality is not ideal, and the violinists Mackintosh, Weiss, and Wallfisch could play with a little more passion in the slower areas. Their faster passagework is immaculate. Movements like Op. 3, no. 12, III play-out as an example: combinations of fast racing, then a conclusion so sweet you’d swear it was all toffee and caramel.

Corelli’s music typifies the best mid-Italian string music of the baroque era. He created the forms others followed and tweaked. The Purcell recorded all of his trio sonatas that were published, and this one CD is but one example of their Corelli project. I am not aware of a better edition out currently, but there is of course room for improvement in the execution of style, and the quality of the recorded sound.

Yet, despite its age, it’s a beloved disc.