Fondo Barocco: Baroque Cello Sonatas

When one thinks of Baroque sonatas for violoncello and basso continuo, the commonly known repertoire ends with Antonio Vivaldi and Benedetto Marcello. Beyond these well-trodden paths are works by composers such as Antonio Caldara, Giuseppe Sammartini and Giovanni Bononcini, as well as the little-known Wenceslaus Spourni, who was born Václav Spurný in Bohemia around 1700 and achieved some fame as a cellist and composer in his adopted home of Paris. The Duo Fondo Barocco, consisting of cellist Marie Orsini-Rosenberg and bassist Herwig Neugebauer, is to be thanked for having taken on these Baroque jewels and, with their lively interpretations, for having presented an album of worthwhile rediscoveries.