Bonporti: Sonatas, Op. 6 for 2 Violins and B.C. Labirinti Armonici

• Francesco Antonio Bonporti (1672 - 1749): Sonata No. 1 in B Minor, Op. 6:
• 1Bonporti: Sonata No. 1 in B Minor, Op. 6: I. Preludio01:56
• 2Bonporti: Sonata No. 1 in B Minor, Op. 6: II. Corrente. Allegro02:06
• 3Bonporti: Sonata No. 1 in B Minor, Op. 6: III. Giga01:29
• Sonata No. 2 in D Major, Op. 6:
• 4Bonporti: Sonata No. 2 in D Major, Op. 6: I. Preludio. Andante01:21
• 5Bonporti: Sonata No. 2 in D Major, Op. 6: II. Allemanda01:39
• 6Bonporti: Sonata No. 2 in D Major, Op. 6: III. Gavotta. Prestissimo01:40
• Sonata No. 3 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 6:
• 7Bonporti: Sonata No. 3 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 6: I. Allemanda02:50
• 8Bonporti: Sonata No. 3 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 6: II. Sarabanda. Andante03:21
• 9Bonporti: Sonata No. 3 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 6: III. Giga01:25
• Sonata No. 4 in A Major, Op. 6:
• 10Bonporti: Sonata No. 4 in A Major, Op. 6: I. Preludio. Largo01:40
• 11Bonporti: Sonata No. 4 in A Major, Op. 6: II. Allemanda. Allegro01:36
• 12Bonporti: Sonata No. 4 in A Major, Op. 6: III. Corrente02:19
• Sonata No. 5 in E Major, Op. 6:
• 13Bonporti: Sonata No. 5 in E Major, Op. 6: I. Preludio01:07
• 14Bonporti: Sonata No. 5 in E Major, Op. 6: II. Allemanda. Presto01:42
• 15Bonporti: Sonata No. 5 in E Major, Op. 6: III. Giga. Presto01:39
• Sonata No. 6 in B-Flat Major, Op. 6:
• 16Bonporti: Sonata No. 6 in B-Flat Major, Op. 6: I. Preludio. Largo02:34
• 17Bonporti: Sonata No. 6 in B-Flat Major, Op. 6: II. Allemanda. Allegro01:59
• 18Bonporti: Sonata No. 6 in B-Flat Major, Op. 6: III. Sarabanda. Largo02:33
• Sonata No. 7 in G Minor, Op. 6:
• 19Bonporti: Sonata No. 7 in G Minor, Op. 6: I. Preludio. Adagio02:18
• 20Bonporti: Sonata No. 7 in G Minor, Op. 6: II. Allemanda. Allegro01:31
• 21Bonporti: Sonata No. 7 in G Minor, Op. 6: III. Giga. Presto01:38
• Sonata No. 8 in C Major, Op. 6:
• 22Bonporti: Sonata No. 8 in C Major, Op. 6: I. Preludio01:37
• 23Bonporti: Sonata No. 8 in C Major, Op. 6: II. Allemanda. Presto01:48
• 24Bonporti: Sonata No. 8 in C Major, Op. 6: III. Gavotta. Presto01:50
• Sonata No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 6:
• 25Bonporti: Sonata No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 6: I. Allemanda. Comodo01:57
• 26Bonporti: Sonata No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 6: II. Sarabanda. Largo01:54
• 27Bonporti: Sonata No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 6: III. Giga. Presto01:14
• Sonata No. 10 in F Major, Op. 6:
• 28Bonporti: Sonata No. 10 in F Major, Op. 6: I. Preludio. Vivace00:50
• 29Bonporti: Sonata No. 10 in F Major, Op. 6: II. Corrente. Allegro01:42
• 30Bonporti: Sonata No. 10 in F Major, Op. 6: III. Giga. Presto01:39
• Total Runtime54:54

Info for Bonporti: Sonatas, Op. 6 for 2 Violins and B.C.

Volume 4 in a critically acclaimed survey of Bonporti’s music reaches Op.6, perhaps the most overlooked treasure in the output of the ‘gentleman from Trento’.

This was the nickname bestowed on himself by Francesco Antonio Bonporti (1672-1749), who was born in the northern Italian city, and made his career as a musician in the surrounding region before dying in Padova.

The Opus 6 collection of trio sonatas was published in 1705, and dedicated to the Roman prince Carlo Colonna, who had played a pivotal role in the career of the young Handel as his patron. Perhaps it has been comparatively neglected because of its relatively archaic form: by 1705, a collection of trio sonatas amounted to a tribute to the past, a kind of rite of passage through which every young composer of distinction should pass, before moving on to the more overtly impressive and demanding genres of concerto and solo sonata.

Inevitably, the model for any composer of Bonporti’s era was the Op.1 collection of trio sonatas by Arcangelo Corelli. Bonporti’s Op.6 proves itself a worthy successor. All ten sonatas are arranged in a three-movement form, mostly opening with a Prelude and then a pair of Baroque dances: courantes, gigues, gavottes and sarabandes, though now so stylised as to be distant from their original purpose.

This somewhat minimalist form of trio sonata does not employ the theatrical devices heard in some Italian chamber music of the time; there is even a sense of melancholy restraint about Bonporti’s language in Op.6, as though he was straining towards an expressive freedom which emerges in later opus numbers. This tension is held in balance, however, and poured into a harmonic language of delicately placed suspensions which reach a highpoint in the chromatic opening prelude to the Seventh Sonata.

Reviewing Bonporti’s Op.2 Sonatas on Brilliant Classics with Labirinti Armonici (95718), Raymond Tuttle in Fanfare concluded, ‘These performances are excellent, ideally balancing energy and gracefulness… I can think of nothing bad to say about these sonatas and these performances. This album has raised my curiosity about Bonporti, and I think that is recommendation enough.’

Labirinti Armonici

Associazione Labirinti Armonici
came into being in 2006 with the aim of promoting familiarity with a certain type of “good music”. The main focus is baroque music, in other words compositions dating from the period 1600 to 1750. But this is not all, since the association also turns its critical attention to other repertoires with a wealth of different sounds that make for highly pleasurable listening. There are no fixed ensembles, but rather groups of musicians whose number and makeup change and evolve in the course or time.

Study of the chosen compositions is underpinned by an overall approach that is closely linked to the style of the period. The use of original early instruments fitted with gut strings, of baroque and classical bows that differ considerably from their modern equivalents, and the study of myriad extant sources in the shape of treatises and handbooks on interpretation allow us to get very close to the taste and feelings expressed in the music of different ages. Moreover, then as today, there are questions of flair and improvisation that make every performance unique and special. Even programmes involving more recent music call for particular attention to the score, with what it reveals of the composer’s original intent and requirements.

Since 2010 the association has been organizing master classes on early music, inviting expert musicians from all over the world to come and share their knowledge and feeling for the repertoire in question. In autumn 2012 the first Temporum miracula concert season got under way with a series of events aimed at investing the group’s research and studies with continuity. Since 2015 the group has adopted the name BAROCKO. For Barocko17 the musicians were led in a master concert by the internationally acclaimed violist Stefano Marcocchi.

Booklet for Bonporti: Sonatas, Op. 6 for 2 Violins and B.C.