JOHANN CHRISTIAN BACH (1735-1782): 4 Sonatas for Viola da gamba and Pianoforte/Harpsichord Obbligato, CARL FRIEDRICH ABEL (1723-1787): Sonata à Viola di Gamba Solo et Basso in E Minor, WKO 150, Solo à Viola di Gamba è Basso in G, WKO 149.

Description: Works for gamba by the two lifelong friends and concert promoters make a perfect coupling. Even better is the fact that the Bach sonatas are all world premiere recordings, their manuscripts having been bought at auction in 1992 and lately made available for study and recording. The detailed notes tell all but suffice to say that one of the Bach sonatas may have been used to introduce the first fortepiano ever to have been played in concert in London. Bach's sonatas are in the two-movement format and style familiar from early Mozart violin sonaas and so many other instrumental sonatas of the 1760s and 70s while Abel's date from after 1782 and add an opening adagio in the style preferred at the Berlin court. Thomas Fritsch (viola da gamba), Shalev Ad-El (fortepiano, harpsichord).