Where music connects.
CD: Secret charms.
Works of Giuseppe Tartini and The count of Saint Germain
Coviello Classics 2022
Mojca Gal (violin - Anne Simone Aeberhard (recorders) - Thomas Leininger (cembalo) - Bruno Hurtado Gosalvez (violoncello).
Supersonic Pizzicato, 27.07.2022, Uwe Krusch
The fact that violinists are sometimes perceived merely as technically outstanding virtuosos, while musical expression falls by the wayside, is not a purely modern phenomenon. As early as the 18th century, Tartini is said to have characterized another violinist in this way. Tartini himself, by contrast, was said not to have played the violin, but to have sung on it. One may thus expect from him both technical mastery and mature interpretative artistry.
Similar things were said about Count St. Germain. Only through the embellishment of the written music—mostly improvised and tailored to the situation—were these violinists able to develop their personal style. And these ornaments always served to imitate the human voice with its distinctive qualities.
Mojca Gal and Ensemble Ad Fontes have selected works by these two composers for their CD. It quickly becomes clear that the violinist has internalized and conveys the idea of an ornamented, expressive style of playing. At first, one might get the impression that she plays rather reservedly and deliberately avoids any virtuosic display—so much so that one could almost fear an overly sober, monotonous performance. Yet it is precisely this unpretentious approach that proves to be a great strength.
For the interpretations remain consistently engaging and intense, without ever appearing contrived or showy. Rather, Gal succeeds in unfolding the emotional depth and gestural expressiveness inherent in the music of these two composers’ time. Ensemble Ad Fontes complements this with a nuanced and colorful accompaniment. In the sonata for two violins, Anne Simone Aeberhard takes on the second melodic part on the recorder—a detail not mentioned in the booklet, but all the more evident in the soundscape.
CD: Pregon del cantante vagabundo
Music fromBardia Charaf, Etiènne Moulinié, French 17th century ballads
Ars Production 2019
Anne Simone Aeberhard, recorders – Bruno Hurtado Gosálvez, violone – Leonardo Bortolotto, viola da gamba – Filipa Meneses, viola da gamba – Mojca Gal, violin – Miguel Bellas, archlute – Charlotte Nachtsheim, harp and soprano – Sebastian Mattmüller, baritone – Bardia Charaf, percussion – Alberto Arcos, narrator
Thierry Dagon, 30.06.2021: Schweizerische Musikzeitung
Music of the Renaissance and of today, performed on historical instruments.
A crossroads. A journey. Time has disappeared. Appearances too. You think you're in the Middle Ages — but you’re in the present. Your ears surrender to the delicacies of the French Renaissance and find themselves in Spain. Or perhaps not. Wandering through detours. Twists and turns along a beautiful path that takes on the shape of a waking dream.
Some truly beautiful poems by Royds Fuentes-Imbert open the door to music by Bardia Charaf (*1982), Étienne Moulinié (1599–1676), Pierre Guédron (1570–1620), and a few traditional pieces. Best listened to in one sitting, letting the imagination drift freely.
Ensemble Ad Fontes flourishes in these deeply committed interpretations. They gently take us by the hand along this colorful path — and we follow, happily.