Castello: Sonata Quarta

Several of the composers presented on this CD were employed by the Basilica of San Marco in Venice, often working as both singers as well as instrumentalists. Dario Castello worked in Venice during the first half of the 17th century. He produced two collections of sonatas which were published in Venice in 1621 and 1629, and some of these are performed here by the specialist period music group Caecilia-Concert. The recording also includes pieces by Castello’s contemporaries Frescobaldi, Bertoli, Scarani, Picchi and Marini.

Dario Castello’s sonatas are a reflection of the “stilo moderno” style of composing, with varying tempi and dramatic changes of affect. They also contain virtuosic passagework for each instrument. There were numerous reprints of Castello’s music, including one in Antwerp, indicating the popularity and continuing influence of his compositions.

Caecilia-Concert is a versatile instrumental ensemble specialising in the research and performance of 17th century music for instruments and voices. Its individual members hold prominent positions in several of the leading period instrument ensembles, including the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and The English Baroque Soloists. The groups previous recordings for Challenge Classics include the CDs “Treasury of a Saint” (CC72161), and “Buxtehude & Co.” (CC72179).

“We have recorded works by violinist-composers Biagio Marini, Antonio Bertali, and Johann Heinrich Schmelzer. Dario Castello is the exception: he was a brass player. Why did those composers pick the trombone, of all instruments, for this purpose, rather than, say, the horn? One of the reasons was that the trombone was the only brass instrument of that period which was capable of playing a complete chromatic scale. In other words, the trombone could execute melodies and runs in the same way as a violin. Around 1800, the newly-invented valves were added to trombones, horns, and trumpets. That made the chromatic scale possible for hornists and trumpeters as well, and it resulted in a kind of terrain shift. Later on, the trombone’s role within classical music was primarily within the symphonic orchestra, where it was used for color and reinforcement. But in music of the baroque period for small ensembles, the trombone was making music together with the strings, as a soloist.” (from liner notes by Katja Reichenfeld)