Description
The unearthing of Telemann's Fantaisies pour la Basse de Viole in 2015 has been the most important discovery for the repertoire of viola da gamba in recent times.
Telemann's Fantasias represent the most important current discovery in the gamba repertoire and are destined to become one of the cornerstones of the repertoire. The compositions, full of musical references to many different styles, are a compendium of how Italian and French influences permeated the purely German language to create a specific style, but it is also an example of visionary creativity, as Telemann anticipates many structural elements that define what will become the galant or pre-classical style. Moreover, using the genre Fantasia, Telemann shows us a portrait full of audacity, freshness and compositional freedom hitherto unknown.
Sara Ruiz plays on an anonymous viola da gamba dated around 1700. Her performance and interpretation are different from all the others which have been recorded so far: she chooses to emphasize the rotundness and the beauty of the tone, while her technical skills allow her to create a drama which is absent from most of competitors' accounts. She conveys a great variety of tones, moods, tempos and colours. She does not hesitate to make use of a nice legato where a pleasant melody is encountered: she makes her instrument sing almost like a cello, i.e. a voice. With her, each Fantasia tells a story, every time a particular and thrilling one.
