The Cello in Spain: Boccherini & Other 18th-Century Virtuosi Josetxu Obregon & La Ritirata

• Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805): Cello Sonata in C major (G.6):
• 1I. Allegro03:31
• 2II. Largo05:11
• 3III. Allegro moderato03:40
• Giuseppe Antonio Paganelli (1710-1763): Sonata in A minor:
• 4I. Largo02:51
• 5II. Allegro01:15
• 6III. Adagio01:53
• 7IV. Gigue01:20
• Jean-Pierre Duport (1741-1818): Cello Sonata No.1 in D major:
• 8I. Allegro03:08
• 9II. Adagio04:28
• 10III. Allegro03:53
• Anonymous: (second half of the 18th century):
• 11Adagio in E Minor [Barcelona Manuscript, 2nd half of the 18th century]04:00
• Domingo Porretti (1709-1783) Cello Concerto in G major:
• 12I. Largo01:56
• 13II. Allegro02:22
• 14III. Largo02:02
• 15IV. Allegro01:28
• Francesco Paolo Supriano (1678-1753):
• 1612 Toccatas for Cello: No. 1 in G Major01:58
• Pablo Vidal (1808):
• 17Arte y Escuela de violoncello: Duetto-Andante01:03
• Jose Zayas (1804):
• 18Ultima leccion in B-Flat Major02:37
• Luigi Boccherini:
• 19Guitar Quintet No. 4 in D Major, G. 448: III. Fandango: Grave assai - IV. Fandango07:58
• Total Runtime56:34

Info for The Cello in Spain: Boccherini & Other 18th-Century Virtuosi

If the history of eighteenth-century cello music and performance in Spain is still waiting to be written, Josetxu Obregón and La Ritirata are bringing us up close to the instrument’s role during that time with their new Glossa CD, The Cello in Spain. The selection made by this exciting cellist provides a sample of pieces which undoubtedly would have been heard in Spain during the infancy of the instrument there and in the period leading into the Age of the Enlightenment.

Such was the growing taste for the instrument that many composers and virtuosi came from elsewhere to perform, either passing through the country or settling there for life as did Luigi Boccherini or Domingo Porretti (a Cello Concerto from the latter is performed here). Obregón’s vivid advocacy – matched by scholar José Carlos Gosálvez in his accompanying booklet – reaches through to the first native cello school, with music from Pablo Vidal and José Zayas; many of these pieces here are being recorded for the first time. As well as a captivating sonata from Jean-Pierre Duport (dedicated to the Duke of Alba after the French cellist’s visit to Madrid), we are also treated to a new reading of Boccherini’s evocative Fandango (drawn from a Guitar Quintet), complete this time with castanets.

La Ritirata’s choices of instruments and performing styles admirably match the demands of music ranging from the Baroque to the Classical and this new disc paves the way for a broader exploration of the presence of the cello in the group’s home country.

Josetxu Obregón, cello & direction
La Ritirata:
Daniel Oyarzabal, harpsichord, organ
Diana Vinagre, cello
Enrike Solinís, baroque guitar, archlute
Daniel Zapico, theorbo
Sara Águeda, harp
Lina Tur Bonet, violin
Miren Zeberio, violin
Daniel Lorenzo, viola
Michel Frechina, double bass
David Chupete, castanets

No biography found.

Booklet for The Cello in Spain: Boccherini & Other 18th-Century Virtuosi