J. S. Bach:
Cello Suite No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1008

Carlos Martinez Gil:
Suite Estiu (Summer Suite)

Carl Friedrich Abel:
(Arpeggio) in D minor, WK 205
(Allegro) in D minor, WK 208
(Adagio) in D major, WK 187

Rebecca Rowe:
Journeying

Johann Schenck:
Sonata (V) in D minor

Risonanze is the début solo album of London-based viola da gamba player Ibrahim Aziz, who is one of the greatest performers of the instrument of his generation. This recording is a performance of immense expression, expertly delivered on a viol made by English string maker Barak Norman in 1712. The album includes one of the highlights of the baroque era the Cello Sonata No. 2 by J.S. Bach as well as other baroque works. Risonanze also includes contemporary works, including one specially written for Aziz.

Popular between the 15th–18th centuries, the viol has a unique quality of the sound through plangent tones of its middle voice, silvery and vibrant high notes, and the depth of its bass and human-like qualities. Its bow is played with a technique that discourages sharp attacks on the strings, but instead draws out and threads together each note like beautiful pearls on a maiden’s neck, glowing with a silky halo. This quality of sound is not volume but resonance.

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Recorded at the Church of the Ascension, Plumstead, London, 29 and 31 May 2018. Performed on a English viola da gamba made in 1712.