Sonata in E minor for Violin and Continuo (early version)
Sonata in G major for Violin and Continuo
Sonata in D major for Solo Harpsichord
Sonata in A minor for Violin and Continuo
Sonata in G major for Violin and Continuo

Audacious ornamentations, florid passagework, rich slow movements; these are but some of the adjectives used in the booklet notes to describe the music of German musician and composer Johann Georg Pisendel (1687-1755), considered to be one of the best violinists of his time. He was a student of Torelli and a contemporary of Vivaldi and Telemann. Along with his many travels during which he observed and absorbed many musical styles, he also held an important position as concertmaster of the Dresden Hofkapelle.

These Sonatas, presented here in their world premiere recordings, more than measure up to the achievements of his Baroque counterparts. But I would add that their technical demands on the violinist give them a slight level of authority over the competition (Could this explain the lack of recordings of this music). Violinist Javier Lupiáñez certainly displays no issues with these technical hurdles, and in fact adds some of his own masterly touches to certain passages. On his six and providing excellent support are Patrícia Vintém (harpsichord) and Inés Salinas (cello). The cello part in particular is quite active throughout and adds some solid counterpoint to the overall sonic canvas. This ensemble's mandate is "to give life to completely unknown works and rediscover the forgotten musical language of the Baroque period."

The new Snakewood Editions label appears to be this ensemble's own in-house label with only two productions so far, including this recording. And of the audio recording itself the booklet notes explain: "The recordings on this CD were made with a proprietary microphone technique, called ECA, that was developed by our sound engineer in order to achieve maximum sound fidelity, with very good positioning of the instruments in the virtual space that is being created between your speakers. The mixing and mastering process has been performed with an almost fully analog equipment chain in order to maintain the complex tonal character of the sound of gut strings and the harpsichord. This results in a musical vividness and three-dimensional sound that is rarely heard in acoustic music recordings".