These works for “mistuned” violins provide a programmatically unique and musically very satisfying foray into repertoire that was very popular in the 16th to early 18th centuries. There’s nothing stylistically groundbreaking here–it’s all well within the framework of Baroque practice; however the sound of the string instruments has an exceptional, undeniable vibrant quality owing to the special tunings, for instance re-setting the violin’s usual G-D-A-E tuning to A-E-A-C-sharp for works by David Pohle, Telemann, and Johann Kindermann. While you may not have heard of composers Jan Ignáz František Vojtz, David Pohle, or Johann Erasmus Kindermann, if you love Baroque instrumental style you will enjoy an immediate bond with their works, and the Telemann selections are the proverbial icing on the cake, especially the dazzling disc-closing Concerto in A major. The five-member Der Musikalische Garten gives uncompromising, energetic, technically faultless performances throughout this very generous (71-minute) program. Highly recommended, a gift for baroque music fans.
