April 8, 2024

20,000 vinyl LPs 361: Giuseppe Tartini ~ The Devil's Trill Sonata

 ~   
vinyl LP front cover 
 cover photo by 
photo of album cover by Styrous®


Today is the birthday of Italian composer and violinist of the Baroque era, Giuseppe Tartini, who was born on April 8, 1692, in Pirano (today part of Slovenia), a town on the peninsula of Istria, in the Republic of Venice. He is known for his output of over a hundred pieces for the violin, the majority of them violin concertos, but primarily for his Violin Sonata in G Minor (the Devil's Trill Sonata).        
 
This is one of the finest recordings of the Sonata by Jewish Austrian violinist, Erica Morini; she was accompanied by Pollish-born American pianist, Leon Pommers.     
 
American violinist, teacher, and musicologist, Boris Schwarz has said of Morini:
"Morini's right arm was a model of smoothness, yet it was incisive when energy was required; her left hand was a miracle of pure intonation, using a narrow vibrato that never obscured the core of the note, producing a tone of bell-like clarity. Watching Morini play, one felt that she was completely oblivious to the outside world; she seemed mesmerized by her own sounds."     
Unfortunately, this recording was recorded in 1956 long before the digital age, thus, it is a mono recording.                 

Tartini was the first known owner of a violin made by Antonio Stradivari in 1715, he also owned and played the Antonio Stradivarius violin ex-Vogelweith from 1711.      

Tartini's most famous work is the Devil's Trill Sonata, a solo violin sonata that requires a number of technically demanding double stop trills and is difficult even by modern standards. According to a legend embroidered upon by Russian and American mystic, Madame Blavatsky, Tartini was inspired to write the sonata by a dream in which the Devil appeared at the foot of his bed playing the violin. The legend infers Tartini sold his sold to the Devil; a legend handed down through the centuries in various cultures.           
 
Tartini allegedly told the French astronomer Jérôme Lalande that he dreamed that The Devil appeared to him and asked to be his servant. At the end of their lessons Tartini handed the devil his violin to test his skill—the devil immediately began to play with such virtuosity that Tartini felt his breath taken away. When the composer awoke he immediately jotted down the sonata, desperately trying to recapture what he had heard in the dream. Despite the sonata being successful with his audiences, Tartini lamented that the piece was still far from what he had heard in his dream. What he had written was, in his own words: "So inferior to what I had heard, that if I could have subsisted on other means, I would have broken my violin and abandoned music forever."   

The folklore of the "Devil's violin", classically exemplified by a similar story told of Niccolò Paganini, is widespread; it is an instance of the deal with the devil. A deal with the Devil (also called a pact with the Devil, Faustian bargain, or Mephistophelian bargain) is a cultural motif exemplified by the legend of Faust and the figure of Mephistopheles, as well as being elemental to many Christian traditions. According to traditional Christian belief about witchcraft, the pact is between a person and the Devil or another demon, trading a soul for diabolical favors, which vary by the tale, but tend to include youth, knowledge, wealth, fame and power.          
 
A modern variant is the country song written and recorded by American music group Charlie Daniels Band, The Devil Went Down to Georgia; in 1986, the film Crossroads was inspired by the legend of blues musician Robert Johnson. It starred Ralph Macchio, Joe Seneca and Jami Gertz, the film was written by John Fusco and directed by Walter Hill and an original score by Ry Cooder featuring classical guitar by William Kanengiser and harmonica by Sonny Terry. Steve Vai appears in the film as the devil's virtuosic guitar player in the climactic guitar duel (link below). I think it's the best film Macchio ever made. In 2001 PBS presented a segment on violin in its series "Art" titled Art of violin: the devil's instrument.         

  
    
Tracklist:
       
Side 1:
        
        Sonata In G Minor ("Devil's Trill")   
A1 - 1. Larghetto Affetuoso   
A2 - 2. Allegro   
A3 - 3. Grave - Allegro Assai   
A4 - Variations On A Theme Of Corelli
       
Side 2:
       
Sonata In G Minor ("Didone Abbandonata")   

B1 - 1. Adagio   
B2 - 2. Non Troppo Presto   
B3 - 3. Largo   
B4 - 4. Allegro Commodo   
       
Credits:
       
    Composed By – Giuseppe Tartini
    Piano – Leon Pommers
    Sleeve Notes – Irving Kolodin
    Violin – Erica Morini
       
Notes:
       
    Made in U.S.A.
       
Barcode and Other Identifiers
 
    Matrix / Runout (Side A Label): H8-OP-5007
    Matrix / Runout (Side A Deadwax): H8 OP5007- 1A A2 R
    Matrix / Runout (Side B Label): H8-OP-5008
    Matrix / Runout (Side B Deadwax): H8 OP5008- 1A A1 R
 
Tartini*, Erica Morini – Devil's Trill Sonata
Label:    Westminster – XWN 18594
Format:    Vinyl, LP, Mono
Country: US
Released:    
Genre: Classical
Style: Baroque        

         
Viewfinder links:        
         
Ry Cooder       
Crossroads          
Jérôme Lalande         
Ralph Macchio        
Erica Morini        
Leon Pommers         
Antonio Stradivari         
Giuseppe Tartini         
Sonny Terry       
        
YouTube links:        
         
The Charlie Daniels Band ~ The Devil Went Down to Georgia       
Crossroads (movie) (1 hr. 38 miins.)
Giuseppe Tartini ~ Violin Sonata in G Minor (14 mins., 25 secs.)       
        
        
         
        
        
        
Styrous® ~ Monday, April 8, 2024       
       
 
 
















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