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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:
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
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
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
Styrous® ~ Monday, April 8, 2024
Label: Westminster – XWN 18594
Format: Vinyl, LP, Mono
Country: US
Released:
Genre: Classical
Style: Baroque
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