Franz Benda: Violin Sonatas

"When [Franz] Benda [...] plays an Adagio, one has the impression that eternal wisdom is speaking down to us from heaven." Thus the description, written in 1798, by violinist Johann Peter Salomon - a pupil of Benda's and a good friend of Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven - of the playing of the "magician" and the "great genius". The works on this recording were selected from a unique manuscript collection preserved in the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin. What makes it a rarity are the written-out ornaments, for all of the movements, even the quick ones, are complemented by one or, in some cases, even two ornamented versions on separate staves. Even if this Berlin manuscript does not stem from Benda's own hand, there is much to indicate that it is a very careful and, in terms of ornamentation technique, authentic version. For this recording, Swiss violinist Leila Schayegh and her continuo partners Václav Luks and Felix Knecht have recorded a selection from Benda's beautifully ornamented sonatas, including, of course, some of the legendary Adagio movements that Salomon mentions.