State-of-the art historical-performance discs are rarer in the U.S. than in western Europe, but this one (even if the leader of the Ensemble Rebel is German Jörg-Michael Schwarz) generally fills the bill. The first thing that's required is an innovative program rather than an acceptance of conventions. Corellisante excels here with its collection of trio sonatas by Corelli and Telemann, giving even the casual listener a feel for the way currents of style developed in the Baroque. Telemann's four sonatas are actually entitled Sonate Corellisante and the listener gets the chance to evaluate the relationship between the two composers' styles and to ask exactly what Telemann meant. In the event, it may be that Telemann used Corelli more as a marketing device than as a stylistic inspiration -- his sonatas are less concerned with the long, ornamented line than are Corelli's, and more with humor and grace created by primarily textural means. Some of the movements, even those marked with Italian tempo indications, are based on French dance rhythms. Yet he did not simply pull Corelli's name out of the air; in 1735, fresh from creating new kinds of chamber music forces in his Tafelmusik, he was working in a Corellian genre. The second thing that's required for a state-of-the-art historical-performance disc is interpretations that are not academic but are as passionate as those of any Romantic pianist, and here the Ensemble Rebel, the resident chamber group at Trinity Church on Wall Street in New York, succeeds once again. Its style is direct, forceful, and fully cognizant of the fact that when Corelli played, he was a musician who demanded attention, not one who was part of an entertainment background. The blend of instruments is compelling, with
Schwarz's 1668 Jacobus Stainer violin finding its modern match in the harpsichord constructed by keyboardist Dongsok Shin after Flemish models. The only state-of-the-art element missing may be really appropriate sound; the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in upstate New York has often served American engineers well, but here it spawns sounds that will be too close to the bone for most listeners. In general, though, this disc will excite American Baroque lovers and will interest those internationally.