Violinist
Adrian Chandler
and his small group
La Serenissima
have built up a strong following with Italian Baroque recordings that are outgoing and virtuosic yet also hold deeper musicological interest. This 2024 release, which made classical best-seller lists in the spring of that year, includes the piece for which
Giuseppe Tartini
is known by most listeners, the
Violin Sonata in G minor
("
Il trillo del diavolo
," or "
The Devil's Trill
"), whose blazing finale combines trills and arpeggios. This work spawned a continuing association between violin virtuosity and the demonic that has come down to the
Charlie Daniels Band
and even beyond. There are many recordings of "
," and
Chandler
's is clear and crisp, but perhaps the main draw here is the selection of other
Tartini
sonatas on the album. They contain a lot of double- and triple-stopping, but there is no "
Devil's Trill
" among them; they emerge from the style of
Corelli
(who, of course, was no slouch as a violinist himself), and they have a rather conservative tinge. They do not resemble
Vivaldi
much at all beyond general outlines. What this does is affirm the extraordinary, sui generis quality of
. Some of the other pieces come from a group of 26 sonatas that
said could be played either unaccompanied or with continuo;
wisely does some one way and some the other, introducing even general listeners to performance issues with this repertory. In short, this is a satisfying release even for listeners who already have
in their collections. ~ James Manheim