Giuseppe Tartini - Palladians - The Irish Times

The Palladians ensemble do most everything in their power to identify Tartini's best-known piece, the Devil's Trill Sonata, as a standout work. The nickname stems from the third movement, where Tartini attempted to emulate the violin playing of the devil as he encountered it in a dream. The players bring a kind of tragic grandeur to the first movement, too, seeking out and relishing the anguish in moments of clashing dissonance. Tartini's Didone abbandonata is another fine programmatic sonata, as rich in pathos as its title would suggest. The disc also includes a Pastoral Sonata, a slow movement from a Violin Sonata in E minor played without continuo, and a Grave from a Viol Concerto, as well as a sonata by Veracini, who exerted a key influence on Tartini.