Sainte-Colombe: Concerts a deux violes esgales (volume 2)

ATMA (ACD 2 2276)
World premiere:
The complete 67 «Concerts» on four double CDs

Following on the critically acclaimed first volume (Goldberg 5, Diapason 5, Répertoire Recommended) by the gamba duo Les Voix Humaines, here is Volume 2 of the complete works for two viols by Sainte-Colombe, considered by some as the greatest 17th-century gambist. Sainte-Colombe’s life remains a mystery till this day; what is no mystery, though, is the emotional depth of his works. They are marked above all by their great expressive range, their contrasts in tessitura and tone, and the variety and emphasis of colour and affetti, as notes author Pascal Quignard. Thus continues this extraordinary and thrilling project, delivered by “the two members of Les Voix Humaines, [whose performances] are absolutely superb, encompassing all the poetic intensity of Sainte-Colombe’s music” (Brian Robins, Fanfare November/December 2001).

Susie Napper & Margaret Little, violas da gamba

Goldberg 5

Available at Atma Classique