HANDEL Works For Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord (Ibrahim Aziz)
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Genre:
Chamber
Label: First Hand
Magazine Review Date: 05/2020
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 77
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: FHR91
![FHR91. HANDEL Works For Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord (Ibrahim Aziz)](https://reviews.azureedge.net/gramophone/media-thumbnails/FHR91.jpg)
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Sonata for Viola da gamba and Continuo |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Ibrahim Aziz, Viola da gamba Masumi Yamamoto, Harpsichord |
Sonatas for Violin and Continuo, Movement: No. 8 in A, HWV372 (Sonata XIV) |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Ibrahim Aziz, Viola da gamba Masumi Yamamoto, Harpsichord |
Viola da gamba Suite |
Sainte-Colombe le fils, Composer
Ibrahim Aziz, Viola da gamba Masumi Yamamoto, Harpsichord |
Suite for Keyboard |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Masumi Yamamoto, Harpsichord |
(7) Suites for Keyboard, Set II, Movement: Suite No. 4 in D minor, HWV437 |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Ibrahim Aziz, Viola da gamba |
Suite (Partita) for Keyboard |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Ibrahim Aziz, Viola da gamba Masumi Yamamoto, Harpsichord |
Author: Mark Seow
It’s the non-Handel works and the music not originally for viola da gamba that are particularly interesting on this new release from First Hand Records. The Sonata in G, a tone lower than the original for violin (HWV372), is an enticing arrangement. Choosing a slower tempo than most violinists for the Allegro movements, soloists Ibrahim Aziz and Masumi Yamamoto bring out the cantabile in Handel’s writing. But the effect is somewhat laboured – every phrase is just a bit too thoughtful – sacrificing the inherent playfulness and carefree exuberance of these movements that is essential to the overall balance of the sonata.
The fairly unknown Prélude by Sainte-Colombe le fils, however, is an excellent addition. Aziz makes extraordinary sense of the somewhat strange writing; his playing is full of breath and mystery. Yamamoto’s solo contribution to the disc, Handel’s Suite No 4 in E minor, HWV429, is equally delightful. The harpsichord gleams under Yamamoto’s touch; the Allemande and Sarabande in particular are intoxicating. At the centre of the disc is its pearl. The Prelude in D minor, an arrangement of the opening to the Keyboard Suite No 4 in D minor, is utterly gorgeous. Aziz weaves an improvisatory spell of arpeggiac magic; more of this, please. The sound, engineered and mastered by John Croft, is lovely throughout.
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