An evening with April's Artist of the Month Mario Brunello (cello)

The history of the cello sonata genre may be traced back over three centuries. In the latter half of the 17^th century in Western Europe, primarily in France, Italy and Germany, music for strings had reached unknown levels of perfection. The first works for cello in the  sonata genre belong to composers including Boccherini, Marcello and Vivaldi in Italy, Berteau, Francoeur and the Duport brothers in France and Bach and his sons and Handel in Germany. Early sonatas stood out for their polyphonic structure, for example a sonata trio (for three instruments: violin or flute, viola da gamba and harpsichord). When the  lead role was taken over by one “voice” with a strong melody and the others took on an accompanying role the sonata for solo instrument with an accompaniment became the most important. In the baroque era sonatas were one of two kinds: the chamber sonata (sonata da camera) consisting of preludes, ariosos and dances in various tonalities, and the church sonata  (sonata da chiesa) which was intended for religious purposes.
In the  music of Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) the sonata has an important role, albeit unequal to that of the concerto. Works in the  genre include both sonata trios for various ensembles and solo cycles – examples of chamber and church sonatas. The composer had a marked preference for the violin and the cello among solo instruments. It is believed that the  Six Sonatas for Cello and Basso Continuo, Op. 14, were published in 1740 in Paris by Leclercq. In the  17^th century their revival had come about due to French music historian Henri Prunières in whose collection they were found.
Antonio Vivaldi’s cello sonatas demonstrate a subtle link between church music and chamber music. The lofty character of the  music, the contrast in tempo between the sections (slow-fast-slow-fast) and the abundance of elements of counterpoint bear witness to this link with the church sonata. At the same time, the predominance of dance forms indicated a connection with the chamber sonata. I  line with a practice common at the time, there are several possible ways of performing the basso continuo (thoroughbass) in these sonatas: either on the organ or on the harpsichord, as well as by doubling the lower register of this role of the second cello.

Giovanni Sollima (b. 1962) is an Italian composer and cellist. He was born in a family of musicians and studied the cello under Giovanni Perriera and composition with his father, Eliodoro Sollima. Giovanni Sollima’s works are in the minimalist music style. Nonetheless, the composer actively experiments with different genres: jazz, rock, electronic music, the folklore of Sicily and countries of the Mediterranean basin. He is enthusiastic about performing on instruments from both East and West, electric and electronic instruments and instruments he himself has invented. Giovanni Sollima is one of the greatest Italian cellists and, despite his classical training, he has reinvented this instrument, offering audiences all kinds of experiments with sound. His pieces for cello often have programme subheadings. Such works include Spasimo (the name of a church with frescoes by Rafael, half destroyed during the war).

Anna Kolenkova