A new and complete survey of the
attractive body of cello sonatas
which, in his day, helped to make
Antonio Caldara a Viennese rival to
the fame of Antonio Vivaldi in Venice.
Born in Venice as the son of a violinist,
Caldara grew up as a chorister at the
Basilica di San Marco, and won
important posts in Mantua, Rome and
Barcelona, as a maestro di capella to
royal courts. But it was his move to
Vienna during the 1710s which
secured his name and his fortune.
Becoming Vice-Kapellmeister to
the Imperial Court in 1716, Caldara
introduced the late Venetian style
to Central Europe, and its influence
remained a determining factor
in both church music and opera
as well as instrumental music until
long after his death in 1736.
Through sacred works such as the
oratorio Maddalena al piedi di
Cristo, Caldara has won a following on
record in the modern era. However, his
surviving output of instrumental music
has remained largely unexplored.
Publishing his Op.1 Trio Sonatas in 1688,
Caldara refers to himself as a ‘musico di
violoncello’, and there can be no doubt
from this collection that he knew his
way around the instrument. They were
composed between 22 April and 26
July 1735: Caldara’s sheer facility has
perhaps told against him, with a total
output of over three thousand separate
works. But he knew his craft, and melody
seems to have come readily to him.
A few Lezioni (Nos. 43, 23 & 1) from
Caldara’s published instruction method
for learning the cello are included as
preludes to Sonatas Nos. 8, 10 and 12.
Most of the sonatas belong to the
four-movement ‘sonata da chiesa’
form, but Caldara also used the threemovement
archetype which became
increasingly standard. There is no
shortage of opportunities for virtuosic
display, as well as for lyricism.
These recordings are made by
musicians immersed in the Italian
late-Baroque world. In its expanded
form, L’Arte dell’ Arco has made
much praised recordings of Haydn and
Vivaldi for Brilliant Classics, including
a comprehensive box of Vivaldi’s
Concertos Opp. 1-12. These Italian
musicians speak and sing Caldara’s
music with unforced fluency.