The first thing to strike the listener about these 2006 Avie recordings of
Bach's Sonata for viola da gamba and harpsichord will be how loud they are. While neither instrument is noted for its power to project, the instruments are recorded so closely here as to be gargantuan in these recordings by Jonathan Manson and
Trevor Pinnock. After adjusting the volume, the second thing to strike the listener will be how brilliantly played they are.
Pinnock, of course, is already well known for his brightly virtuosic recordings of
Bach,
Handel, and
Scarlatti from the '70s and '80s while Manson has carefully cultivated his reputation by recording with such superstars as
Yo-Yo Ma. Together, they play with tremendous verve and excitement plus amazing unity and cogency. The third thing to strike the listener will be how wonderfully expressive they are.
Bach's accompanied instrumental works have always been given less attention than his unaccompanied works, but Manson and
Pinnock make a very convincing case for the depth, the beauty, and above all the soulfulness of these works. The fourth thing to strike the listener will be that the disc contains not just the three canonical gamba sonatas, but also an ingenious transcription of a flute sonata played with a comparable degree of virtuosity and expressivity. Although there are surely other recordings of these works that the listener ought to hear, starting with
Jordi Savall and
Ton Koopman's classic recording, anyone who loves the music will have to check out Manson and
Pinnock.