Giovanni Battista Somis: Violin Sonatas, Op. 1 Kreeta Maria Kentala, Mitzi Meyerson & Lauri Pulakka

• Giovanni Battista Somis (1686-1763): Sonata da camera in D Major, Op. 1, No. 6:
• 1 Sonata da camera in D Major, Op. 1, No. 6: I. Adagio 01:32
• 2 Sonata da camera in D Major, Op. 1, No. 6: II. Allegro 02:31
• 3 Sonata da camera in D Major, Op. 1, No. 6: III. Allegro 01:28
• Sonata da camera in G Minor, Op. 1, No. 9:
• 4 Sonata da camera in G Minor, Op. 1, No. 9: I. Adagio 01:37
• 5 Sonata da camera in G Minor, Op. 1, No. 9: II. Allegro 02:19
• 6 Sonata da camera in G Minor, Op. 1, No. 9: III. Allegro 02:55
• Sonata da camera in B-Flat Major, Op. 1, No. 5:
• 7 Sonata da camera in B-Flat Major, Op. 1, No. 5: I. Adagio 01:13
• 8 Sonata da camera in B-Flat Major, Op. 1, No. 5: II. Allegro 02:49
• 9 Sonata da camera in B-Flat Major, Op. 1, No. 5: III. Allegro 02:11
• Sonata da camera in E-Flat Major, Op. 1, No. 7:
• 10 Sonata da camera in E-Flat Major, Op. 1, No. 7: I. Adagio 02:31
• 11 Sonata da camera in E-Flat Major, Op. 1, No. 7: II. Allegro 01:19
• 12 Sonata da camera in E-Flat Major, Op. 1, No. 7: III. Presto 01:16
• Sonata da camera in C Major, Op. 1, No. 10:
• 13 Sonata da camera in C Major, Op. 1, No. 10: I. Adagio 02:10
• 14 Sonata da camera in C Major, Op. 1, No. 10: II. Allegro 02:12
• 15 Sonata da camera in C Major, Op. 1, No. 10: III. Allegro 02:43
• Sonata da camera in E Minor, Op. 1, No. 2:
• 16 Sonata da camera in E Minor, Op. 1, No. 2: I. Adagio 01:47
• 17 Sonata da camera in E Minor, Op. 1, No. 2: II. Allegro 02:05
• 18 Sonata da camera in E Minor, Op. 1, No. 2: III. Allegro 02:32
• Sonata da camera in G Minor, Op. 1, No. 1:
• 19 Sonata da camera in G Minor, Op. 1, No. 1: I. Adagio 01:36
• 20 Sonata da camera in G Minor, Op. 1, No. 1: II. Allegro 02:05
• 21 Sonata da camera in G Minor, Op. 1, No. 1: III. Allegro 02:38
• Sonata da camera in E Major, Op. 1, No. 12:
• 22 Sonata da camera in E Major, Op. 1, No. 12: I. Adagio 01:29
• 23 Sonata da camera in E Major, Op. 1, No. 12: II. Allegro 02:09
• 24 Sonata da camera in E Major, Op. 1, No. 12: III. Allegro 01:50
• Sonata da camera in A Major, Op. 1, No. 8:
• 25 Sonata da camera in A Major, Op. 1, No. 8: I. Adagio 01:22
• 26 Sonata da camera in A Major, Op. 1, No. 8: II. Allegro 02:23
• 27 Sonata da camera in A Major, Op. 1, No. 8: III. Allegro 01:41
• Sonata da camera in D Minor, Op. 1, No. 4:
• 28 Sonata da camera in D Minor, Op. 1, No. 4: I. Adagio 02:15
• 29 Sonata da camera in D Minor, Op. 1, No. 4: II. Allegro 02:14
• 30 Sonata da camera in D Minor, Op. 1, No. 4: III. Allegro 01:33
• Sonata da camera in A Minor, Op. 1, No. 3:
• 31 Sonata da camera in A Minor, Op. 1, No. 3: I. Adagio 02:05
• 32 Sonata da camera in A Minor, Op. 1, No. 3: II. Allegro 02:23
• 33 Sonata da camera in A Minor, Op. 1, No. 3: III. Allegro 02:14
• Sonata da camera in F Major, Op. 1, No. 11:
• 34 Sonata da camera in F Major, Op. 1, No. 11: I. Adagio 01:06
• 35 Sonata da camera in F Major, Op. 1, No. 11: II. Allegro 02:01
• 36 Sonata da camera in F Major, Op. 1, No. 11: III. Allegro 03:09
• Total Runtime 01:13:23

Info for Giovanni Battista Somis: Violin Sonatas, Op. 1

Mitzi Meyerson likes to come up with surprising musical finds or rediscoveries and her latest, the Opera Prima of Giovanni Battista Somis, is as fascinating as her recordings devoted to Richard Jones and Gottlieb Muffat. Indeed, the harpsichordist chanced upon the score for this set of Baroque violin sonatas – first published in 1717 – when investigating the music of Richard Jones in the British Library, finding thereby another trove of forgotten Baroque gems.

Somis worked for the Dukes of Savoy, initially in Turin, in the early 18th century, but studied with Corelli in Rome, later befriended Vivaldi, and himself taught many subsequent prominent violinists, including Jean-Marie Leclair. Known as a virtuoso on the violin himself (and he is even said to have composed 152 violin concertos!), Somis even performed at the Concert Spirituel in Paris. This, his first collection of sonatas, was dedicated to the powerful Regent of Savoy, Marie-Jeanne-Baptiste de Savoie, the mother of the future duke, Vittorio Amedeo II. The music is often very galant and perfectly combines Italian and French features.

Together with violinist Kreeta-Maria Kentala and cellist Lauri Pulakka, Meyerson fully enters into the Baroque spirit of transcribing and arranging on this Glossa recording by varying these 12 three- movement sonatas with all the stylistic experience and insight that the modern-day musicians can offer.

Kreeta-Maria Kentala, violin
Lauri Pulakka, violoncello
Mitzi Meyerson, harpsichord

Mitzi Meyerson
is a world-renowned harpsichordist and teacher. She maintains a sterling reputation for her concerts and recordings, and has taught hundreds of students over the last thirty years, many of whom went on to be successful artists in their own right.

Mitzi Meyerson specializes in researching little-known or lost works for the harpsichord, which she then brings to light in recordings. She has released over sixty recordings to excellent critical acclaim; notable amongst them are solo albums of Dietrich Buxtehude, Jacques Duphly, Musikalischer Parnassus of JFK Fischer, ordres from the Fourth Book of Francois Couperin, Componenti Musicali of Gottlieb Muffat, and the complete harpsichord works by Richard Jones.

Her CD prizes include the "Choc" award from Le Monde de la Musique, "Editor′s Choice" from Gramophone, and the "Diapason d′Or". Ms Meyerson′s releases include two double-disc sets of Georg Böhm and CB Balbastre (Glossa); both productions were on the "Bestenliste" for the prestigious Deutsche Schallplatten Kritik. The two-disc complete harpsichord works of Richard Jones was chosen as "CD of the Month" by Toccata, "Editor′s Choice" in Concerto, and received unilaterally positive reviews from many publications including Gramophone, which described it as "the best harpsichord disc of the year".

Mitzi Meyerson has discovered several collections of completely unknown music, and continues to do active research in this field. She is currently at work on two solo projects and a new disc with her trio colleagues, Kreeta Maria Kentala and Lauri Pulakka. Their previous collaborations were Chamber Airs for the Violin by Richard Jones, and Sonatas for Violin by Gian Battista Somis. Both of these were received with glowing reviews.

Ms Meyerson is a full professor of historical keyboard instruments (harpsichord and fortepiano) at the Universität der Künste in Berlin. She specializes in working with modern pianists to obtain a Baroque-style perspective in the performance of Bach, developing an awareness of articulation, harmonic structure, and many other aspects. The position at the UdK was especially created for Madame Wanda Landowska, and this institution was the first university ever to offer harpsichord studies in modern times.

Mitzi Meyerson has many outside interests. She is a certified doula (birth assistant), has been a university lecturer on doula training, and has personally assisted at a hundred births. She has a keen love of photography and has been featured in several successful one-woman shows in Germany and England.

This album contains no booklet.