Is it too early to start my “Recordings of the Year” list? The music and performances on this release are nothing short of a revelation. CPO is always willing to take a chance on a rare composer, and this gamble hits the jackpot. There are a handful of recordings in the catalog that include some of Johannes Schenck’s ensemble music, and a couple of items appear as part of viola da gamba recital discs, but there is nothing available devoted solely to his works for that instrument. This is among the most brilliant, sophisticated music to come out of the Baroque, and Schenck’s mastery of the possibilities of the viola da gamba surely rivals Saint-Colombe and Marais. His style shows all the usual French, German, and Italian influences, with a slight emphasis on the French but with a decidedly Germanic attitude toward the dance forms.
Lorenz Duftschmid is a marvelous musician, and he plays this music at the highest imaginable level. Most extraordinary is the Solo in A minor. From the moving and brilliant quasi-fantasie first movement to the delightful Chaconne, it is the equal of Bach’s Cello Suites in sophistication and originality. The exquisite first half of the Largo is done pizzicato, a nod to the French tradition, and Duftschmid is as delicate and somber as humanly possible. He is partnered by Sophie Watillon in the G minor Suite for two violas da gamba and continuo, and the results are equally lovely. A varied and colorful D minor sonata shows some of the variety of colors possible with the instrument, especially the gently descending sautillé chords of the second movement of the D major Sonata. This final work of the disc features some thoughtful, well-balanced continuo playing, with judicious use of organ positive in the Largo.
The recording is warm, and close enough to feel intimate, but retains the gamba’s full resonance. The occasional breaths before downbeats are only slightly audible, and every detail of the playing, from the fingers moving on the strings to the buzzing of harpsichord strings, is entirely natural.
