A Snare and a Deception!
Giordano Bruno | Wherever I am, I am. | 12/09/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"After reading Mike Birman's glowing endorsement of Haydn's trios using the unusual instrument, the Baryton, I rushed to order this CD of such novelties performed by Rincontro, a new ensemble to me. Three quick days later, I had it in hand! I popped into my system and listened! and knew within five bars that I'd been hoodwinked. The special silvery sounds of the baryton, a gamba-like instrument with metal sympathetic strings - a kind of giant Hardangar fiddle or oversized viola d'amore - were NOT to be heard. The three members of Rincontro - Pablo Valletti, Patricia Gagnon, and Petr Skalka - perform the trios on modern violin, viola, and cello, without any particular flair for "historical performance practice" and without impressive virtuosity. The six trios recorded here are pleasant enough, exactly the sort of thing that moderately skilled amateurs would enjoy playing in their homes. In fact, I may seek out the scores and transcribe them for bassoons."