Track Listing

1. Sonata No.1 in B minor
2. Sonata No.2 in A minor
3. Sonata No.3 in D major
4. Sonata No.4 in A major
5. Sonata No.5 in F major
6. Sonata No.6 in G minor

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2396 in Music
• Released on: 2001-01-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .19 pounds

From Amazon.com
Baroque fans, take note: You'll want this CD. Dutch composer Johannes Schenck is about as obscure a figure as you could ask for, a virtuoso of the viola da gamba who served as a Dusseldorf court musician and composer and died sometime after 1712. But his 12 sonatas for two solo gambas, titled The Nymphs of the Rhine, are simply magnificent. And this disc, for now, is the only way to hear this chamber music on CD (a second volume from Naxos contains the latter six sonatas). Susie Napper and Margaret Little, members of the Baroque ensemble Les Voix Humaines, deliver stirring performances that emphasize the gorgeous lyricism found in these compositions. These dance suites are full of long singing lines for the two solo instruments, and you'll probably hear hints of Marin Marais and Arcangelo Corelli in their interplay. Schenck's works aren't as powerful as either of those two greats (there's a reason most of us haven't heard of him, right?), but they do boast some dramatic counterpoint and a melodic beauty that's charming, to say the least. The concept of music for two viola da gambas may sound strange, but these works are warm and inviting. Words simply can't do justice to the great playing and lovely music heard on this bargain-priced disc. Just get it; you won't be sorry. --Jason Verlinde

Amazon.ca
Le Nymphe di Rheno permet de mesurer le travail de Margaret Little et de Susie Napper, deux musiciennes montréalaises qui donnent vie à de magnifiques œuvres pour deux violes de gambe. Un type de formation rarissime qui traduit pourtant parfaitement l’essence de la musique baroque.

Ici, Les Voix Humaines se consacrent à la musique de Johannes Schenck, compositeur hollandais né à Amsterdam. Virtuose de la viole de gambe, il a laissé une œuvre constituée de plusieurs sonates qui épousent tantôt le style français de la suite de danse, tantôt celui de la sonata da chiesa (sonate d’église). Vraisemblablement composées entre 1697 et 1706, "Le Nymphe di Rheno" (Les Nymphes du Rhin pour deux violes de gambe seules) sont interprétées de façon magistrale par les deux musiciennes, qui font preuve d’une compréhension intime du langage expressif de Schenck. --Dominique Olivier