Mauro Valli. Bach Cello Suites. Bach in Bologna CD ARCANA A459.
Released 2019.
Recorded at the Neumünster Church Zürich, Switzerland, between September 2014 to September 2017.
Cellos used:Andrea Castagneri ca 1740 Paris & 5 string violoncello piccolo by Matias Herrera and LuciaValli Caracas 1993.
Baroque bow Periki Pite, Pesaro 2010
Gut strings to order by Nicoa Ottobre Moneta.
The Cellist.
Mauro Valli is Italian born in Sant’Agata Feltria. According to his web site he has focussed solely on Baroque music, both performance and teaching for the past 30 years. However, for the past 10 years or so he has taken up wine making! From the appearance of his web site, he would appear to attack this work with the same passion and gusto as his cello playing!
Another snippet from the website is a reported quote from Anner Bylsma that Valli is the “Master of embellishment”. More of this later.
Background.
Previously on this web site I have suggested that as a general rule its best to read the booklets accompanying CDs after listening. In this case I would reverse my advice and suggest a good read prior to listening. There are three contributors including Mauro Valli and it’s a fascinating and illuminating read.
Key points are:
Rationale for inclusion of seven Ricercari by Gabrielli.
Discussion as to whether Bach was aware of the Ricercari.
Tuning used in Bologna at the time of Gabrielli and by Valli on this recording. ( 465Hz, higher than normal instead of lower)
The use of the five string violoncello piccolo for Suite four and the tuning down of the top two strings. The purpose being to get resonance from these two strings when E and A flat played in the lower registers. Brilliant! Not sure why not done previously!
Rationale for embellishment that merges with improvisation.
You can see there is a lot of out of the box thinking employed here.
The Recording.
Valli clearly felt that the recording venue was critical to the end product. I am pleased to confirm that his travels over three years backwards and forwards have paid off. The acoustic provides a good balance of echo and clarity of sound. The cello is forward but there is a clear ambience of the venue. Breathing is apparent but not finger board taps. The full range of the cello is well captured with lovely rich resonance in the lower registers and incisive upper registers. This without too much rasp from the gut strings.
The Music.
Cutting to the chase, the main feature that will strike any listener is the ornamentation. This is quite the most extensive use of “embellishment” that I have come across. It would not surprise me if the number of notes played in this recording are twice more conventional recordings. I have to say I really enjoy it. Valli executes the extras with great dexterity and skill, always bringing a smile to my face. Sometimes that smile is due to the sublime harmonisation and cadences they bring about. At other times the ornamentation is so flamboyant that it verges on caricature. However, it never seems to disturb the flow of the music and adds much excitement in faster movements and grace in slower movements.
The only doubt I have is whether over time this approach may grate. For now, I am enjoying it particularly as it is used to add great variation to repeats. It even makes an appearance in the fifth Sarabande!
The Ricercari
These are interesting pieces which are very different to the Suites requiring a more improvisational approach due to sparse notation. At times the attack and dynamics used by Valli made me think modern Jazz. Their inclusion is very welcome and full rationale included in the booklet.
General thoughts.
Clearly the interpretation sets out to reflect the Baroque style of playing but again as outlined in the CD notes not to an obsessional extent. There are a lot of very well-articulated rapid passages but Sarabandes are played with legato bowing. I did feel that although the playing was very rhythmic and exciting, there was less of a regular pulse to feel through each movement.
The phrasing in general seemed quite short. I had in my head an image of the performer walking down his lines of vines, pausing to inspect the grapes sometimes taking longer or at other times pressing on, possibly in a rather random manner but always with great care and attention!
Conclusion.
In summary, a very enjoyable recording, enhanced by the embellishments. However, I can well imagine this would not be everyone’s cup of tea.
If you have any doubt as to whether you would enjoy this recording, check out this short video. To my English ears the Italian language mirrors the artist’s embellishments!
Having said that a contentious suggestion I would like to make, is that if you only could buy two recordings, then this with Tortelier’s first or Starker’s Mercury living presence would make a fine contrasting pair!
Charles.