Sarah Cuninngham, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Monica Hugget - Telemann: Les Plaisirs - Chamber Concertos (1997)

This cd contains one of the best performances of Telemann's well-known A Minor Suite for recorder and strings. Sarah Cunningham is a fine recorder player, and Monica Hugget plays first violin and directs the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, who play on period instruments. The strings play with very little or no vibratto, which might sound a bit dry to some listeners, but the elegance and precision of this band will win over many others. The A Minor Concerto for recorder is also given an enjoyable performance, but the remaining pieces, a Suite in D for Viola da gamba, and a Sinfonia in F for recorder and gamba are less pleasing, mainly because the gamba playing of Marion Verbruggen is somewhat less than exciting. Her instrument is mainly effective in chamber music of a very intimate type since it has a very small voice which I find difficult to hear along with the rest of the band. Even the recorder tends to drown it out. I wonder if these two works were acutally intended for the viola d'amore (or viola) rather than the gamba ("leg viol"), since the viola has a somwhat louder voice. So, at least half of this disc is full of pleasures, but the other half is a bit disappointing.