Gaetano Brunetti (1744-1798)
Divertimento n° 1, L 127
Divertimento n° 2, L 128
Divertimento n° 3, L 129
Divertimento n° 4, L 130
Divertimento n° 5, L 131
Divertimento n° 5, L 131
Divertimento n° 6, L 132

Proyecto Brunetti

Fernando Pascual, violon
Isabel Lopez, alto
Joan Carrascosa, violoncelle

Des quarante-sept trios que composa entre 1774 et 1784 le violoniste et compositeur Gaetano Brunetti (1744-1798) le Proyecto Brunetti en a retenu six, pour violon, alto et violoncelle. D'inspiration classique, mozartienne même, relevée d'une touche de galanterie ces divertimenti méritent fort bien leur nom. Leur exquise simplicité mélodique se colore parfois de modulations et de chromatisme sans du tout bousculer leur admirable plastique digne d'un très grand styliste. Le trio Brunetti s'empare d'ailleurs de ces morceaux choisis avec une belle appétence. Élégance des phrasés, sens des nuances et des dynamiques, voilà qui sert merveilleusement cette musique d'un charme absolu. On attend la suite. (Jérôme Angouillant)

New recordings of little-known but exquisite string-trio divertimenti from the high-noon of the Classical era. Proyecto Brunetti is a flexible ensemble formed with the aim of promoting the chamber music of Gaetano Brunetti (1744-1798). Its founder-cellist is Pere Joan Carrascosa, who has also edited the manuscripts of this divertimento collection for publication and written the authoritative booklet essay on the composer’s life and work. The album can be considered a first port of call for anyone looking to investigate the figure of Brunetti. When they do so, they will find music of elegant gestures and appealing gentility, clear-cut melodies and subtle innovation. The greater part of his surviving music is cast in the genre of string trio which was a reliable source of entertainment for both amateur musicians and audiences in the latter half of the 18th century. There are 47 such trios in eight collections of six (minus one in the last case), and this album presents the third such collection. Brunetti probably wrote it between 1772 and 1774 while in service to the Prince of Asturias, later to become Charles/Carlo IV of Spain. The Prince himself probably played second fiddle to the composer in those pieces scored with two violins, with the composer’s son Francesco on the cello.Structurally straightforward, each divertimento comprises two movements cast in either a basic sonata or rondo form. It is their melodic freshness, harmonic invention and the stylishness of their writing, treating all three parts as equals, that elevates them beyond the value of ephemeral entertainment.