Customer Reviews

Schenk: The Nymphs of the Rhine, Vol. 2

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Naxos has done it again--brought us a beautifully recorded performance of unjustly neglected early music performed with good taste and finesse on period instruments. Schenk is one of those rare-fruits who has lingered for too long in the shadow of his more famous contemporaries. His duos for the viola da gamba are full of all sorts of unexpected twists and turns, and, surprisingly, they don't appear to have fallen prey to the rigid rules of form inflicted on the sonata by Corelli, retaining instead the dark, brooding quality of an earlier time and mixing it with the raw and latent energy found in the best music of the late seventeenth century. I had not heard of the performers here before I bought this CD, but I would put them on a level with the best gamba players today, as their interpretations are fresh and buoyant and entirely appropriate to the mysterious nature of this music.

If you enjoy the sound of viols, this is an album to treasure. If you enjoy cello, you'll be captivated by this set of sonatas. My introduction to viols came via the composer Marin Marais, and various performances with period instruments, including John Dowland, Tobias Hume etc. However Susie Napper and Margaret Little manage to sustain your attention (and more!) for over 72 minutes, with a spirited and joyful selection of sonatas, using only two viols.
Schenck's music appears a delightful mixture of church and dance styles, which this duo deliver with real engagement and conviction. Until now, I'd tended to believe that viols were meant to deliver fairly serious, even austere music, but this disc had me captivated. Great sound quality as well. An astonishing bargain at the price.