Between the late seventeenth century and the first half of the eighteenth century, the trio sonata established itself as a privileged space for instrumental dialogue, where the boundaries between accompaniment and protagonism became increasingly permeable. In Um quasi-duelo, violin and cello engage in a subtle interplay of balance, imitation, and contrast, revealing the cello’s gradual emancipation as a solo voice and fully-fledged interlocutor.
Although the trio sonata is one of the central genres of Baroque music, the combination of violin and cello as upper voices remains relatively rare and is less frequently heard in concert than the more customary formations with two violins or flutes. Precisely for this reason, this repertoire reveals a distinctive sound world, shaped by the contrasting timbres of the two instruments and by the constant ambiguity between accompaniment and protagonism.
From Stradella’s still free and discursive forms to Vivaldi’s theatrical writing, through the French elegance of Boismortier and Barrière, the programme explores different European traditions united by the idea of musical conversation. The voices intertwine, pursue and answer one another continuously, in a repertoire where the tension between cooperation and rivalry becomes a driving force of musical invention.
The works for solo organ introduce another sonic and historical dimension. In Alessandro Scarlatti’s Variazioni sulla Follia di Spagna, the celebrated Follia progression becomes a vehicle for virtuosic exploration and continuous invention. Francisco Correa de Arauxo’s Tiento y discurso de segundo tono, meanwhile, evokes the Iberian tradition of counterpoint and improvisatory writing, while also marking the 400th anniversary of the publication of the monumental Facultad orgánica (Alcalá de Henares, 1626), one of the most important keyboard collections of seventeenth-century Europe.
The adaptation of Bach’s Trio Sonata BWV 525 concludes the programme as a synthesis and culmination of this polyphonic tradition. Originally conceived for organ, the work brings together contrapuntal clarity, independence of the voices, and formal balance, taking to its furthest extent the Baroque ideal of dialogue between autonomous lines.
Diana Vinagre | baroque cello & musical direction
Jacek Kurzydło | baroque violin
Silvia Márquez Chulilla | organ