La Bellezza - Lina Tur Bonet and Musica Alchemica
Baroque violinist Lina Tur Bonet releases a new album entitled La bellezza: The Beauty of 17th Century Violin Music on Pan Classics (2020) with over 60 minutes of music—and it's good.
Her ensemble, Musica Alchemica, provides continuo support, in addition to the extra strings to play in ensemble and in violin duets. Composers represented include Weichelin, Marini, Schmelzer, Falconieri, Biber, Cima, Bertali, Buxtehude, Uccellini. Favorite composers. Conside the album a type of best-hits type release.
The recorded quality is very good; the stereo separation, for instance between the two violins in the Weichelin Partita makes elevates the piece. There's a papable element to the texture to the strings, too. The mikes used are close to the soloists and the continuo lute, I like this approach. The acoustics, too work well.
Many of these pieces were already familiar to me, such as Marini's Trio Sonata sopra la Mónica or Biber's fifth partita from the Harmonia Artificioso-Ariosa. Comparisons to favorite recordings demonstrate to me that Tur Bonet has excellent technical chops and along with her ensemble is making excellent interpretive decisions.
The opening on harpsichord of the Andrea Faloncieri version of La Folia is organic and well-done, when the bass comes in, it's punchy enough to ripen the ensemble's sound. By the time violins come in, we're hooked, and they keep us entranced with the writing Falconieri passes back and forth between the two soloists. Technically excellent, musically colorful, ulimately it's another example of very enjoyable music making.
Antonio Bertali's Ciaccona in C is almost becoming a new baroque warhorse by now, and while I have my favorites already in other recordings, Tur Bonet has a few tricks up her sleeve to still keep us hooked.
My favorite track is the last movement, a passacaglia in the Biber suite, and again, the interplay between Tur Bonet and Valerio Losito is a juxtaposition of equals and the result between them with the support of a colorful continuo is very satisfying.
The title of this album could have been embarrassing had the performances been lackluster, but there's only pride here. Musica Alchemica does well to showcase the beauty of seventeenth music for violins. Warmly recommended.
