Delair: Violin Sonatas

This recording is the world premiere of the rediscovered violin sonatas by Denis Delair, a leading theorist of the basso continuo who was active in the early 18th century. Musicologists knew that Delair was a composer, but his music remained lost for a long time. This album presents some of the earliest examples of French violin sonatas, combining the rich harmonies and characteristic dance movements of the French Baroque with contrapuntal and virtuosic instrumentation that is more in keeping with the Italian style. Delair's theoretical background is evident in the experimental modulations found throughout the collection. The overture to the "Sonata Seconda" is a perfect example of the composer's unique sound world. Here he combines the traditional overture form used by composers such as Jean-Baptiste Lully with his own experimental harmonic ideas. The Ensemble Levée was founded to bring forgotten music back to life and explore new stories in music history. They want to find out why some pieces of music had a continuous performance tradition while others fell into oblivion. The members Marguerite Wassermann (violin), Martin Jantzen (viola da gamba), Niels Pfeffer (theorbo) and Josef Laming (harpsichord) studied together in Basel, Switzerland. Violinist Elise Dupont joined for the "Sonata Septima".