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L’Echo du Danube
Johann Schenck

Sofia Diniz

L’Echo du Danube

Price: € 22.95
Format: CD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917296822
Catnr: CC 72968
Release date: 05 January 2024
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Label
Challenge Classics
UPC
0608917296822
Catalogue number
CC 72968
Release date
05 January 2024

"There is no superficiality in terms of stylized dances here. Much of this is due to the brilliant and sensitive playing by gambist Sofia Diniz, along with her two colleagues. They ensure that the often-fluid melodies that Schenk employs are well delineated and phrased, and of course the sound contains a vibrant depth."

Fanfare Magazine, 01-7-2024
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Artist(s)
Composer(s)
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About the album

L’Echo du Danube is the poetic title given by Johann Schenck to his collection of pieces for viola da gamba, first published around 1703/04 as Opus 9 in Amsterdam by Estienne Roger — the most important music printer at the time. L’Echo du Danube is Schenk’s last complete work to survive, a fact that gives these pieces the weight of a “musical testament. It comprises six sonatas for solo viol: the first two sonatas with basso continuo accompaniment, the next two also with basso continuo but this time ad libitum (optional), and the two last ones for viola da gamba without any accompaniment. Although Marin Marais already had published his first book of Pièces de Viole in 1686 and the flourishing English viol tradition was well known in Northern Europe, Schenk’s approach to the instrument is an important step in the process of creating an independent repertoire, specifically written for the viol by composers who were themselves performers and masters of its idiomatic idiosyncrasies. Although Schenck fully explores the potential of the viol as a melodic instrument, he clearly favoured, its possibilities of playing chords, in a manner strongly influenced by lute playing and repertoire: he sought to show the viol as an instrument that is harmonically independent, appropriate for polyphonic writing besides its talent for melodic singing. Hence his writing in such a distinctive way: abundantly using chords and double stops; continually alternating between the bass and the high register; and striving for an effective combination of luxurious harmony and depth of sound, without losing sight of the delicately cantabile voice of the viola.
Op dit dubbelalbum staat werk van ongekend hoog niveau voor viola da gamba. 'L’Echo du Danube', deze poëtische titel gaf de in 1660 in Nederland geboren componist Johann Schenck aan zijn verzameling composities voor viola da gamba. Zijn werk heeft een hoge technische moeilijkheidsgraad, wat een enorme vaardigheid én controle van het instrument vereist. Dat is gambiste Sofia Diniz wel toevertrouwd. Met haar prachtige spel waan je je in vervlogen tijden. Op dit album speelt ze samen met collega gambist Torben Klaes en klavecinist Fernando Miguel Jalôto.

De stukken voor viola da gamba van Schenck werden gebundeld en voor het eerst gepubliceerd rond 1703/1704 in Amsterdam, onder de naam Opus 9. Het was Estienne Roger, in die tijd de belangrijkste muziekdrukker, die de bundel uitbracht. Johann Schenck was een van de meest productieve componisten van zijn tijd. Een tijd die in Noord Europa met recht de "gouden eeuw" van de viola da gamba wordt genoemd. L'Echo du Danube is het laatste complete werk van Schenck dat bewaard is gebleven, wat je noemt een 'muzikaal testament'.

Deze wereldpremière-opname van het gehele opus bestaat uit zes sonates voor altviool solo: de eerste twee sonates met basso continuo-begeleiding, de volgende twee ook met basso continuo maar deze keer ad libitum (optioneel), en de twee laatste voor viola da gamba zonder begeleiding. Goed te horen zijn de polyfone structuur van de werken, het expressieve cantabile van de ‘stem’ van de gamba en de weelderige harmonieën. Het kan niet anders dan dat dit album zal bijdragen aan de bekendheid van de mysterieuze Nederlands/Duitse componist, zijn muziek én zijn favoriete instrument.

Sofia Diniz speelde in diverse oude muziekensembles en orkesten als The Spirit of Gambo, Il Fondamento, Ricercar Consort, Collegium Vocale Gent en Hespèrion XXI. Daarnaast heeft ze haar eigen kamermuziekgroep, Ensemble ConTrastes.

Johann Schenck werd in 1660 in Amsterdam geboren als zoon van Katharina Kempjes en Wienand Schenck, een Duitse wijnverkoper uit Keulen. Er is geen informatie over de eerste jaren van zijn leven of het begin van zijn carrière. Hoogstwaarschijnlijk was hij autodidact en kan hij Carolus Hacquart (ca.1640 - ca.1701), een in Nederland actieve Vlaamse viola da gambaspeler en componist, gekend hebben.

In 1696 of 1697 werd Schenck benoemd tot kamermusicus aan het hof van de keurvorst van de Pfalz Johann Wilhelm II in Düsseldorf. Naast zijn reguliere taken als hofkamermusicus was hij ook kamerheer van de keurvorst en had hij administratieve functies. Hoe hij tijd overhield om te reizen en andere hoven te bezoeken, iets wat impliciet blijkt uit zijn reputatie als virtuoos musicus, is onduidelijk. De exacte datum van zijn overlijden is onbekend. Maar zijn naam verdwijnt uit officiële documenten kort na de publicatie van zijn laatste werk. Vandaar dat wordt aangenomen dat hij niet lang daarna, maar uiterlijk in 1716, gestorven moet zijn.
L'Echo du Danube ist der poetische Titel, den Johann Schenck seiner Sammlung von Stücken für Viola da Gamba gegeben hat, die erstmals um 1703/04 als Opus 9 in Amsterdam bei Estienne Roger - dem bedeutendsten Notendrucker der damaligen Zeit - veröffentlicht wurden. L'Echo du Danube ist das letzte vollständige Werk Schencks, das überlebt hat, eine Tatsache, die diesen Stücken das Gewicht eines "musikalischen Testaments" verleiht. Es umfasst sechs Sonaten für Gambe solo: die ersten beiden Sonaten mit Basso continuo-Begleitung, die nächsten beiden ebenfalls mit Basso continuo, aber diesmal ad libitum (fakultativ), und die beiden letzten für Viola da Gamba ohne jegliche Begleitung. Obwohl Marin Marais bereits 1686 sein erstes Buch mit Pièces de Viole veröffentlicht hatte und die blühende englische Gamben-Tradition in Nordeuropa gut bekannt war, ist Schencks Herangehensweise an das Instrument ein wichtiger Schritt im Prozess der Schaffung eines unabhängigen Repertoires, das speziell für die Gambe von Komponisten geschrieben wurde, die selbst Interpreten waren und ihre idiomatischen Eigenheiten beherrschten. Obwohl Schenck das Potenzial der Gambe als Melodieinstrument voll ausschöpft, bevorzugt er eindeutig ihre Möglichkeiten, Akkorde zu spielen, und zwar in einer Weise, die stark vom Lautenspiel und -repertoire beeinflusst ist: Er versucht, die Gambe als ein harmonisch unabhängiges Instrument zu zeigen, das neben seiner Begabung für den melodischen Gesang auch für mehrstimmiges Schreiben geeignet ist. Deshalb schrieb er so unverwechselbar: Er verwendete reichlich Akkorde und Doppelgriffe, wechselte ständig zwischen Bass- und Hochlage und strebte nach einer effektiven Kombination von üppiger Harmonie und Klangtiefe, ohne dabei die zarte, kantable Stimme der Bratsche aus den Augen zu verlieren.

Artist(s)

Sofia Diniz (viola da gamba)

Portuguese born, Sofia Diniz studied music and cello in Lisbon and later specialized in historical performance practice in Cologne, Germany with Rainer Zipperling (baroque cello and viola da gamba), in Den Haag, Netherlands with Wieland Kuijken and Philippe Pierlot (viola da gamba) and Brussels, Belgium with Philippe Pierlot. She works as a freelance gamba player throughout Europe and beyond, playing as a soloist and with several early music ensembles and orchestras such as The Spirit of Gambo (Freek Bortslap), Il Fondamento (Paul Dombrecht), Ricercar Consort (Philippe Pierlot), Collegium Vocale Gent (Philippe Herreweghe), Hespèrion XXI (Jordi Savall), Concerto Campestre (Pedro Castro), Ludovice Ensemble (Fernando Miguel Jalôto), Sete Lágrimas (Filipe Faria e Sérgio Peixoto) or Concerto Köln. Sofia Diniz also has her own...
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Portuguese born, Sofia Diniz studied music and cello in Lisbon and later specialized in historical performance practice in Cologne, Germany with Rainer Zipperling (baroque cello and viola da gamba), in Den Haag, Netherlands with Wieland Kuijken and Philippe Pierlot (viola da gamba) and Brussels, Belgium with Philippe Pierlot.

She works as a freelance gamba player throughout Europe and beyond, playing as a soloist and with several early music ensembles and orchestras such as The Spirit of Gambo (Freek Bortslap), Il Fondamento (Paul Dombrecht), Ricercar Consort (Philippe Pierlot), Collegium Vocale Gent (Philippe Herreweghe), Hespèrion XXI (Jordi Savall), Concerto Campestre (Pedro Castro), Ludovice Ensemble (Fernando Miguel Jalôto), Sete Lágrimas (Filipe Faria e Sérgio Peixoto) or Concerto Köln. Sofia Diniz also has her own chamber music group, Ensemble ConTrastes, which dedicates to the performance of music from the baroque period written for or with viola da gamba.

Sofia Diniz has played in numerous recordings with Sete Lágrimas for the label MU, for MIRARE with Ricercar Consort (Philippe Pierlot), for AliaVox with Hespèrion XXI (Jordi Savall), for Harmonia Mundi with Collegium Vocale Gent and Concerto Palatino (Philippe Herreweghe), and some live recordings, like of Purcells Dido and Aeneas for ARTE with Ricercar Consort and Collegium Vocale Gent (Philippe Pierlot).

Sofia Diniz is based in Cologne, Germany, and she plays a seven string viol by François Bodart (2007), copy of a Barak Norman model (London 1700), a seven string copy of a Collichon (Paris ca. 1680) by Henner Harders (2001), and a treble viol by François Danger (2000).

Sofia Diniz publishes her first solo recording La Lyre d’Apollon, the first integral recording of Jacques Morel’s first book of Suites for viola da gamba (1709) with the German label Conditura Records. Sofia Diniz collaborated with Edition Güntersberg (Günter and Leonora von Zadow) for the publishing of the modern edition of Jacques Morel’s four Suites for Viola da Gamba, already available to the public.


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Torben Klaes (viola da gamba)

Composer(s)

Press

There is no superficiality in terms of stylized dances here. Much of this is due to the brilliant and sensitive playing by gambist Sofia Diniz, along with her two colleagues. They ensure that the often-fluid melodies that Schenk employs are well delineated and phrased, and of course the sound contains a vibrant depth.
Fanfare Magazine, 01-7-2024

With her length of bow, her ability to breathe breadth into the different sections, Sofia Diniz excels at restoring the emotions of slow pieces... Supported by two partners with impeccable style (let us salute in particular the finesse and precision of harpsichordist Fernando Miguel Jalôto)...
Diapason, 01-7-2024

The Portuguese gambist Sofia Diniz is entirely equal to the challenge. The style of her playing is crisp and beautifully ornamented; and she is the master of illusion, creating the impression of two players in her unaccompanied sonatas.
American Record Guide, 01-5-2024

There is much to admire in these performances. Gambist Sofia Diniz presents these sonates with grace and generosity of sound. There's an enticing liveliness to her articulation. What I find most attractive is the unprecious way Diniz manoeuvres extremely complex figuration, rarely resorting to rubato (...)
Gramophone, 01-4-2024

Everywhere there is finesse and a refusal of ostentation - to say nothing of Sofia Diniz's sovereign technique, which triumphs in the variety of colors and sounds, and in the dialogue she weaves with her partners.
Classica, 01-4-2024

It was worth the wait. Because what the viol player Sofia Diniz (alone in the last two sonatas) and her two colleagues at the viol and harpsichord bring out of the works saturated with moods, colors and characters is simply divine. You rarely hear such intense, deep lofting and singing viol playing.
Fono Forum, 01-3-2024

The Portuguese gambist Sofía Diniz, gives here an impressive lesson of absolute control of the sound of the instrument, capable of the roughest chords and the subtlest articulations. In the solo sonatas particularly noteworthy is her mastery of the rapid changes between the upper and lower strings that give the impression of a polyphony, not to mention her legato full of nuances and poetry.
Scherzo, 01-3-2024

...L'Echo du Danube, which is considered the last musical testament of all the great viol players at the end of the 17th century.  
BBC Radio 3, 17-2-2024

Schenk's beautiful collection of gamba music, published in 1703, is called L'Echo du Danube (the echo of the Danube). The Portuguese gambist Sofia Diniz has recorded this musical testament, consisting of solo pieces and sonatas with accompaniment, with Torben Klaes (also gamba) and Miguel Jalôto (harpsichord). It is a varied whole and Diniz is a narrator with a sincere and appealing voice.
De Volkskrant, 08-2-2024

Play album Play album
Disc #1
01.
Sonata 1: Vivace - Adagio
03:26
(Johann Schenck) Fernando Miguel Jalôto, Torben Klaes, Sofia Diniz
02.
Sonata 1: Vivace
01:04
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz, Fernando Miguel Jalôto, Torben Klaes
03.
Sonata 1: Adagio e Tremolo
01:24
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz, Fernando Miguel Jalôto, Torben Klaes
04.
Sonata 1: Aria Largo
01:52
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz, Fernando Miguel Jalôto, Torben Klaes
05.
Sonata 1: Allegro - Prestissimo
02:32
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz, Fernando Miguel Jalôto, Torben Klaes
06.
Sonata 1: Adagio
02:24
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz, Fernando Miguel Jalôto, Torben Klaes
07.
Sonata 1: Allegro
01:46
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz, Fernando Miguel Jalôto, Torben Klaes
08.
Sonata 5: Adagio
02:56
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz
09.
Sonata 5: Aria Largo
03:55
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz
10.
Sonata 5: Gavotta Presto
01:17
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz
11.
Sonata 5: Adagio
01:51
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz
12.
Sonata 5: Giga Vivace
01:58
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz
13.
Sonata 5: Aria
04:54
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz
14.
Sonata 3: Adagio - Allegro - Adagio - Vivace - Adagio
02:59
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz, Fernando Miguel Jalôto
15.
Sonata 3: Allemanda
03:28
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz, Fernando Miguel Jalôto
16.
Sonata 3: Corrente
02:21
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz, Fernando Miguel Jalôto
17.
Sonata 3: Sarabanda
03:51
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz, Fernando Miguel Jalôto
18.
Sonata 3: Giga
02:14
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz, Fernando Miguel Jalôto
19.
Sonata 3: Gavotta 1ma
01:19
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz, Fernando Miguel Jalôto
20.
Sonata 3: Gavotta 2da
01:29
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz, Fernando Miguel Jalôto

Disc #2
01.
Sonata 2: Adagio
05:29
(Johann Schenck) Torben Klaes, Fernando Miguel Jalôto, Sofia Diniz
02.
Sonata 2: Giga
02:54
(Johann Schenck) Torben Klaes, Fernando Miguel Jalôto, Sofia Diniz
03.
Sonata 2: Corrente
04:16
(Johann Schenck) Torben Klaes, Fernando Miguel Jalôto, Sofia Diniz
04.
Sonata 2: Adagio
02:56
(Johann Schenck) Torben Klaes, Fernando Miguel Jalôto, Sofia Diniz
05.
Sonata 2: Vivace - Largo - Vivace
06:35
(Johann Schenck) Torben Klaes, Fernando Miguel Jalôto, Sofia Diniz
06.
Sonata 6: Adagio - Allegro - Adagio
04:25
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz
07.
Sonata 6: Presto
01:46
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz
08.
Sonata 6: Adagio
01:17
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz
09.
Sonata 6: Aria Largo - Vivace - Largo - Allegro - Largo - Largo
05:20
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz
10.
Sonata 6: Aria Adagio
03:27
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz
11.
Sonata 6: Giga
01:52
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz
12.
Sonata 4: Adagio
01:48
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz, Fernando Miguel Jalôto
13.
Sonata 4: Allegro
01:52
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz, Fernando Miguel Jalôto
14.
Sonata 4: Adagio
00:46
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz, Fernando Miguel Jalôto
15.
Sonata 4: Prestissimo
01:23
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz, Fernando Miguel Jalôto
16.
Sonata 4: Allemanda
02:53
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz, Fernando Miguel Jalôto
17.
Sonata 4: Corrente
02:21
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz, Fernando Miguel Jalôto
18.
Sonata 4: Sarabande
02:37
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz, Fernando Miguel Jalôto
19.
Sonata 4: Giga
01:56
(Johann Schenck)
20.
Sonata 4: Menuetto
01:42
(Johann Schenck) Sofia Diniz, Fernando Miguel Jalôto
show all tracks

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