Bartolomeo de Selma y Salaverde: Canzon a doi Basso e soprano - Terza
Giovanni Battista Fontana: Sonata nona Fagotto e Violino
Bartolomeo de Selma y Salaverde: Canzon a doi Basso e soprano - Quarta
Dario Castello: Sonate Concertate Libro Secondo, Sonata Ottava A 2. Sopran e Fagotto. Overo viola.
Bartolomeo de Selma y Salaverde: Fantasia per fagotto solo
Giovanni Battista Fontana: Sonata Decima Fagotto e Violino
Adam Jarzebski: Concerto Primo A 2. Soprano e Tenore
Dario Castello: Sonate Concertate Libro Secondo, Sonata Settima A 2. Sopran e Fagotto. Overo viola.
Bartolomeo de Selma y Salaverde: Canzon a doi Basso e soprano - Prima
Giovanni Battista Fontana: Sonata Duodecima Fagotto e Violino
Adam Jarzebski: Canzon "In DEO speravit" A 2. Canto e Bastarda

Those of you who like to scour catalogs and internet databases in search of hitherto performed or recorded music of interest will be delighted to come across this new recording on the small, independent and yet highly innovative German label Paschen Records, of music by an obscure Spanish composer by the name of Bartolomeo de Selma y Salaverde (c. 1590-c. 1638). He lived as an Augustinian monk and instructed students on how to play the fagott, the antecedent of the bassoon. He is thought to have been the first composer to write music for the instrument. He traveled extensively through Spain, Italy, Austria and Poland, hence the inclusion on this recording of works by regional composers from the same period.

Of particular interest here is that Clemens Schlemmer plays a Dulcian (curtal). "Unique among the bassoon family, being formed from a single piece of wood, it creates its own characteristic aura, particularly dulcet, charming and rather saxophonesque" {Booklet Notes}. Organists will be familiar with its sonic character as many pipe organs have a stop called Dulcian. He is joined by Anne Schumann (Violin) and Petra Burmann (Theorbo). This small trio of instruments presents an intimate look into the creative life of these lesser-known composers from the baroque era.

As soon as ten seconds into the Canzon a doi Basso e soprano - Terza (audio clip below), when Clemens Schlemmer plays the first notes on the dulcian, your focus of attention is immediately drawn to its warm, mellow, woodsy sonic character. It seems to add a folk element to the music that reveals yet another aspect of a baroque musician's life. All the recordings from the Paschen Records label that I've heard, and especially the ones that I've reviewed like De:Fine Amour, and Seicento or even Gewaltakt, have impressed me with their unique outlook and focus on musical life off the beaten path. Dishes other than the main course are always welcome.