Sammartini: Concertos & Overtures

Featuring

Peter Van Heyghen
Benoît Laurent
Les Muffatti
Giuseppe Sammartini

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Composition History

Some of Sammartini's works were published posthumously by John Walsh, who was known for unscrupulously compiling and arranging works, sometimes resulting in unplayable parts.

Composer Biography

Giuseppe Sammartini was born in Milan in 1695 into a family of professional musicians, and his father, Alexis Saint-Martin, was an oboist of French origin.

Critical Reception

Giuseppe Sammartini, the composer, was once described in 1776 by English music historian John Hawkins as an "admirable composer" and his works were ranked alongside those of Corelli and Geminiani, and even above Handel's.

Interpretation

The performers, Les Muffatti, chose to include lesser-known pieces, with seven of the works on this album likely being played for the first time since the 18th century.

Composer Biography

Sammartini was considered an unrivalled oboe virtuoso, with John Hawkins stating he was "the greatest that the world had ever known" and could produce a tone closest to the human voice.

Instruments

For the continuo section, the archlute was chosen as a harmonic instrument to achieve dynamic contrast, despite limited historical evidence of its use in 18th-century England.

Interpretation

Les Muffatti decided on an orchestral interpretation for these works, aligning with mid-18th-century English performance practice conventions, despite some scholarly debate about one-a-part performance for Baroque concertos.