Sonatas for cello and organ by VIVALDI & BARRIERE

"These beautifully recorded performances on cello and organ are certainly free in spirit, but they offer theatre and imagination, really bringing the spirit of the genre to life." --The Strad

The young Croatian cellist Jelena Ocic has been singled out as one of the most gifted of her generation. On this CD she is accompanied by her sister, the organist Ljerka Ocic, in a recording of Sonatas by Vivaldi and one of his contemporaries, the French composer Jean-Baptiste Barrière.

Founding cellist of the great Beaux Arts Trio Bernard Greenhouse has referred to Jelena Ocic as “one of the most remarkable cello talents of today”, while the late Siegfried Palm called her “one of the most promising interpreters of New Music”. This is her third recording for Challenge Classics following the 2009 release of music by Ginastera, Kabalevsky, and Senderovas (CC72358), and in 2011 of pieces by Bach, Beethoven, and Hindemith (CC72524).

Antonio Vivaldi wrote concertos and sonatas mainly for the all-girl pupils in the Ospedale della Pietà in his home city of Venice. The works recorded here are his Sonatas in A Minor RV 43, E Minor RV 40 and B-flat Major RV 46. The performing musicians have replaced the two Allegro movements of the A Minor Sonata with the two of the Sonata in A Minor RV

44, preserved in two of the manuscripts. Although born a generation after Vivaldi, the short lifespan of Jean-Baptiste Barrière (1707-1747) tallies with that of the Italian composer. Born of humble origins in Bordeaux, Barrière initially earning his living as a cellist at the Paris Opera. Later he perfected his skills in Italy with Francesco Alborea (known as Francischello) and toured Europe as a celebrated soloist. Barrière’s sonatas are striking for their well-poised, cyclic conception.

BARRIERE Sonatas for Cello & Bass Continuo Vol. 2

Following on from the album released in 2001 and honoured by numerous distinctions (‘Or’ of Diapason, ‘Choc’ of Classica), Bruno Cocset and Les Basses Réunies devote a new recording to Jean Barrière, allowing us to discover six other sonatas - some of which are taken from his Fifth Book - played on the pardessus by the Italian gambist Guido Balestracci. The two harpsichord pieces from the Sixth Book, constituting this programme, are interpreted by Bertrand Cuiller. Bruno Cocset and Les Basses Réunies have contributed considerably to the rediscovery of Jean Barrière, who has become essential in the repertoire of cellists and Baroque instrumental music.
Release date: 13th Nov 2015

BARRIERE Sonatas for Cello & Bass Continuo

Though in his day he was recognized as both a composer and cellist, Jean Barriere arguably excelled far more as a performer. His total published output numbers only 34 sonatas--24 for cello and five each for viol and harpsichord. And given how little invention is displayed here--six selections from his first four books of cello sonatas--Barriere's style hardly can be described as original. It's mostly Italian/French--Corellian with occasional hints of Bach. What Barriere does do astonishingly well, however, is present fellow cellists with a plethora of flashy technical challenges guaranteed to test the limits of their virtuosity.

While in the second-movement Allegros Barriere allows occasional suggestions of the displays to follow, he regularly waits until the final movements before the fun really begins. Heaven help the poor cellist who has to negotiate these complex multiple stops, arpeggiated chords, and numerous rising and descending 16th-note scales! Cellist Bruno Cocset and the members of the French period-instrument ensemble Les Basses Reunies rise to every one of Barriere's numerous challenges, delivering expert performances that equal or better the few duplications David Simpson and colleagues offer on their likewise rewarding Barriere recital for Solstice. 

Recommended, especially to chamber music fans of this period who enjoy simply being wowed by virtuosity for its own sake.

--John Greene, ClassicsToday.com