The violinist
Rachel Barton Pine
has made recordings ranging from classical-heavy metal fusions to works by Black composers, but she started out in Baroque music, and with this reading of
Corelli
's
Op. 5 violin sonata set
, she seems to have returned to it with new energy. It is a wonderful performance. Laying down the foundation is a fine set of continuo specialists who each play multiple instruments; the texture shifts as keyboardist
David Schrader
moves from harpsichord to a small positive organ, bowed string player
John Mark Rozendaal
moves from cello to a viola da gamba, and
Brandon Acker
alternates among Baroque guitar, theorbo, and archlute. Would players of
's time have had such a variety of instruments on hand? Maybe not, but it adds variety to a hefty double-album program. The star of the show is
Pine
herself, who achieves a joyous performance commensurate with her look in the album graphics. The touch of humor in the Tempo di Gavotta movement of the
Violin Sonata in A major, Op. 5, No. 9
, may bring a smile, and here and elsewhere, she is crisp and confident.
's performance of the final single-movement "La folia" ground bass piece making up the
Violin Sonata in D minor, Op. 5, No. 12
, is magisterial; this is a famous virtuoso piece, but
's excitement is palpable, and she gets something of the star quality
must have had in his own time. Producer
James Ginsberg
(son of
Ruth Bader
) chooses the Nichols Concert Hall, a former Christian Science church, as the venue, and to these ears, it is too cavernous by half, although it is noted for its sound in a cappella vocal music. However, that is just a fly in the ointment on an album that marks a major triumph for
, who narrates a set of album notes at the end of online versions. ~ James Manheim