Sometimes there are performers in a certain repertoire, on certain instruments, and in certain moments in music history that are so dominant and authoritative that, like a great preacher or philosopher or scholar, their word on their chosen subject is always worth hearing–and effectively stirs listeners to a knowing realization that their word is truth. Jordi Savall has earned such a place in the highly specialized field of viola da gamba playing. His interpretations invariably show the highest technical accomplishment invested with a thorough knowledge of period practice and style. But there’s also that indefinable sense of natural affinity for the music that routinely emanates from a Savall performance. Yes, Savall is a man of our century, but something beyond the present drew him to this ancient but very vital repertoire and to his unusual yet distinctive instrument, which has a sound that human ears recognize as reedy and mellow and warm, with a timbre that complements our own voices.
Savall’s work here, in collaboration with another acknowledged master of “period” music, keyboardist Ton Koopman, thoroughly and impressively explicates the intricacies of some of Bach’s most intimate, skillful structures, the Sonatas for viola da gamba and cembalo. There’s not a faltering moment nor an out-of-sync phrase as these two preeminent artists ply the often dense paths of Bach’s visionary landscape. Indeed, these sonatas are anything but casual pieces (did Bach ever write any?), and they truly show that the great master knew what he wanted–although the cello was in its ascendancy, he specifically wrote these pieces for the older instrument. Savall is in total command–and these are the performances to own. The sound gives appropriate space to each instrument and presents the pair in a realistic chamber music setting.
