In the same year Mozart was already beginning work on his Symphony No. 15, composer Emanuele Barbella was still deeply immersed in the earlier Italian tradition of the trio sonata. This collection of six such works from 1772 is known collectively as the Hamilton Trios and is dedicated to British ambassador and explorer William Hamilton. The works were largely composed for true chamber music of the time -- that is, able to be performed by a wide section of society in their homes. Although there's the occasional smattering of unexpected chromaticism or unusual harmonic progression, these works by and large do not jump off the page. Regrettably, the performance given here by the
Ensemble Musica da Camera adds little to the enjoyability of these charming but unexciting works. The period performance practice group suffers from some questionable intonation that only seems to be more noticeable as the disc goes on; leading tones are especially flat, particularly compared to modern tuning practices. The violins are especially guilty of sliding into notes, which at first just seems like an odd choice, but after 55 minutes is much more troubling. Other than for exposure to a relatively unknown composer, this album will be of mild interest at best to most listeners.