Pier Giuseppe Sandoni: Cantatas & instrumental works

Description

For their new recording "Pier Giuseppe Sandoni : Cantatas & Instrumental Works" on deutsche harmonia mundi, the Swiss ensemble La Floridiana and its director and harpsichordist Nicoleta Paraschivescu team up with the excellent soprano Francesca Aspromonte. The album pays tribute to the little-known but excellent Italian Baroque composer and harpsichordist Pier Giuseppe Sandoni (1683-1748). Highly regarded in his time, he became famous not only as Händel’s assistant and harpsichordist, but also as the husband of the celebrated prima donna Francesca Cuzzoni (1696-1778). Sandoni’s excellent improvisational abilities were compared to those of Handel, and he was a sought-after teacher in the aristocratic circles of England. He learned the craft of composition in his hometown of Bologna from the famous Giovanni Bononcini and was appointed to the prestigious Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna as organist and composer - an honor granted only to exceptional musicians. Despite their excellent quality, Sandoni’s works are practically unknown today; this is due to the fact that very few of them were published, but they survive in manuscript form in many European libraries. For this album, Nicoleta Praschivescu gathered all the preserved material and created this unique program of Sandoni’s work. The album includes magnificent and virtuosic pieces for harpsichord such as the “Suite in G minor” or the “Ciaccona for harpsichord in A major,” as well as the “Sonata a Trè for two violins and basso continuo in E minor.” Sandoni may have written the cantatas “Dimmi crudel,” “Chi s’intende d’amar” and “Del timor d’un cor geloso” dedicated to his wife and sung by soprano Francesca Aspromonte. This album aims to honor the work of this almost forgotten composer Sandoni and awaken him from his sleep.