William Croft (1678-1727) was a distinguished English composer who knew Purcell in his youth and later overlapped with Handel at the English court. His unjustly neglected violin sonatas have never before been recorded all on one disc. The disc also contains the world premiere recording of an anonymous seven-movement sonata from the same period. This astonishing piece contains the earliest known example of a virtuoso obbligato harpsichord part in an English violin sonata.
Croft: Sonata in A
1. Adagio
2. Allegro
3. Adagio
4. Largo
5. Vivace
Croft: Suite in D minor
6. Slow Almand
7. Corant
8. Saraband
Croft: Sonata in G Minor
9. Adagio
10. Allegro – Adagio
11. Allegro
Croft: Suite in F
12. Scotch Tune
13. Air
14. Jigg
Croft: Sonata in B Minor
15. Adagio
16. Allegro
17. Grave
18. Allegro
Croft: Suite in G
19. Ground
20. Minuett
Anon: Sonata in D Minor
21. Preludio
22. Fugato
23. Allemanda
24. Corrente
25. Sarabanda
26. Gavotta
27. Giga
| Artist | Hazel Brooks - violin, David Pollock - harpsichord |
|---|---|
| Reviews | "Harpsichordist David Pollock emerges as the stronger personality, revelling in the sonatas’ unusually elaborate bass parts and accompanying with insight and style. He also shines in the Gavotta of an anonymous seven-movement Violin Sonata in D minor (c.1720) and contributes polished and strongly characterised accounts of three of Croft’s solo keyboard suites. The recording combines immediacy, firmly focused yet transparent textures, and well-managed balance." The Strad |
