Guardian Angel – Works by Biber, Bach, Tartini, Pisendel
Rachel Podger
Channel Classics CCA SA 35513
Lest you think this is a lightweight, “new-age” recording, the title of this brilliant new CD is shared with Biber’s Passacaglia for solo violin, the last of his Mystery Sonatas. Rachel Podger is well-known as a first-rate baroque violin soloist, teacher and leader of many of England’s top period instrument orchestras. On this recording from May, 2013 she appears alone, leading us on a tour of music from the Baroque era written or transcribed for unaccompanied violin. The program includes interesting music by the London virtuoso Nicola Matteis, the long-lived Italian violinist Giuseppe Tartini (two of his rather obscure solo sonatas) and the little-known Dresden composer Johann Georg Pisendel. The absolute highlights, though, are a suave performance of the title work by Biber and a transcription of J.S. Bach’s superb A Minor Flute Partita.
Podger’s playing is full of clarity, technical assuredness and power. What is most impressive and moving, though, is her attention to detail and understanding of the rhetoric of these pieces. To quibble, it might have been nice to hear a broader range of dynamics and colours, but her sound is so mesmerizingly beautiful and her musical ideas so clear and convincing that our interest is keenly held throughout.
I especially appreciated the recording quality. Solo violin can be tricky to record well. This recording places us in the hall with enough distance for good perspective, though we’re close enough to pick up every detail.
