Telemann: Fantaisies Pour La Basse De Violle

Telemann’s Fantasias represent the most important current discovery in the gamba repertoire and are destined to become one of the cornerstones of the repertoire. The compositions, full of musical references to many different styles, are a compendium of how Italian and French influences permeated the purely German language to create a specific style, but it is also an example of visionary creativity, as Telemann anticipates many structural elements that define what will become the galant or pre-classical style. Moreover, using the genre Fantasia, Telemann shows us a portrait full of audacity, freshness and compositional freedom hitherto unknown.
Sara Ruiz plays on an anonymous viola da gamba dated around 1700. Her performance and interpretation are different from all the others which have been recorded so far: she chooses to emphasize the rotundness and the beauty of the tone, while her technical skills allow her to create a drama which is absent from most of competitors’ accounts. She conveys a great variety of tones, moods, tempos and colours. She does not hesitate to make use of a nice legato where a pleasant melody is encountered: she makes her instrument sing almost like a voice. With her, each Fantasia tells a story, every time a particular and thrilling one.

01. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 1 TWV 4026 I. Adagio-Allegro-Adagio-Allegro
02. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 1 TWV 4026 II. Allegro
03. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 2 TWV 4027 I. Vivace
04. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 2 TWV 4027 II. Andante
05. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 2 TWV 4027 III. Vivace da Capo
06. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 2 TWV 4027 IV. Presto
07. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 3 TWV 4028 I. Largo
08. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 3 TWV 4028 II. Presto
09. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 3 TWV 4028 III. Vivace
10. Sara Ruiz – Fantasía 4 TWV 4029 I. Vivace
11. Sara Ruiz – Fantasía 4 TWV 4029 II. Grave
12. Sara Ruiz – Fantasía 4 TWV 4029 III. Allegro
13. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 5 TWV 4030 I. Allegro
14. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 5 TWV 4030 II. Largo
15. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 5 TWV 4030 III. Allegro
16. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 6 TWV 4030 I. Scherzando
17. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 6 TWV 4031 II. Dolce
18. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 6 TWV 4031 III. Spirituoso
19. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 7 TWV 4032 I. Andante
20. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 7 TWV 4032 II. Vivace
21. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 7 TWV 4032 III. Allegro
22. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 8 TWV 4033 I. Allegro
23. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 8 TWV 4033 II. Grave
24. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 8 TWV 4033 III. Vivace
25. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 9 TWV 4034 I. Presto
26. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 9 TWV 4034 II. Grave
27. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 9 TWV 4034 III. Allegro
28. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 10 TWV 4035 I. Dolce-Allegro-Dolce-Allegro
29. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 10 TWV 4035 II. Siciliana
30. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 10 TWV 4035 III. Scherzando
31. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 11 TWV 4036 I. Allegro
32. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 11 TWV 4036 II. Grave
33. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 11 TWV 4036 III. Allegro
34. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 12 TWV 4037 I. Andante
35. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 12 TWV 4037 II. Allegro
36. Sara Ruiz – Fantasia 12 TWV 4037 III. Vivace