ALESSANDRO STRADELLA (1643-1682): Violin Sinfonias Nos. 1-12, 2 Sinfonias a 3.

Description: We still do not know precisely how and when these Sinfonias were composed, though Stradella occasionally mentions them in his correspondence and borrowed passages from them in his operas and oratorios. They are structured in several brief sections, several with a grave and stately introduction, a dashing contrapuntal movement, a brief aria-like section and a dazzling finale, like a sonata in microcosm, with the dialogue weaving in and out of the solo violin and its accompaniment. However, Stradella probably did not write the Sinfonias as a discrete set, given their internal variety. The sixth and eleventh of the set are at least twice as long as many of the others, and Stradella uses this space to spin an expressive mood of great stillness in his arching introductions. 2 CDs. Ensemble Giardino di Delizie; Ewa Anna Augustinowicz (violin).