Pietro Castrucci (1679-1752)
Sonate, op. 1, n° 3
Sonate, op. 1, n° 4
Sonate, op. 1, n° 7
Sonate, op. 1, n° 9
Sonate, op. 2, n° 1
Chaconne de la Sonate, op. 2 n° 12

Propsero Castrucci (1690-1760)
Sonate n° 2
Sonate n° 4
Sonate n° 5

Marco Pedrona, violon
Davide Merello, orgue

Ils étaient deux frères violonistes : Pietro (Rome, 1679 – Dublin, 1752) et Prospero (Rome, 1690 – Londres, 1760) Castrucci. Ils furent l'un et l'autre élèves de Corelli, et figurèrent dans son orchestre au moins entre 1702 et 1705. En 1715, à l'invitation de Lord Burlington, ils s'installent à Londres, où ils acquièrent la gloire. Pietro devient chef d'orchestre de l'Académie Royale. Au retour de Haendel à Londres en 1719 ou 1720, les deux frères intègrent son orchestre, et lui inspirent quelques airs d'opéra, que le maître leur dédie. Le virtuose violoniste Pietro y exécute de nombreux solos. Les deux frères sont à l'origine de la brève mode de la violetta, la « viole anglaise », une sorte de viole d'amour dotée de cordes sympathiques. Pietro publie plusieurs recueils de sonates et de concertos, et Prospero un recueil de six sonates. En 1750, Pietro meurt à Dublin, dans la misère, une semaine après avoir donné son dernier concert. Marco Pedrona, au violon, et Davide Merello, à l'orgue pour la basse continue, nous font revivre l'œuvre de ces deux musiciens qui, combinant l'héritage de Corelli avec les courants d'avant-garde de leur temps, annoncent le style de Tartini. Un album d'écoute fort agréable pour deux compositeurs injustement oubliés. (Marc Galand)

Elegant Baroque sonatas for violin and basso continuo by a pair of little-known brothers, Pietro and Prospero, who belonged to Handel’s circle of talents in 18th-century London. Pietro (1679-1752) and Prospero (1690-1760) Castrucci belong to the generation of virtuosos who connected the development of violin playing from Corelli to Tartini, and took the Italian style abroad, combining it with the latest musical fashions of the time. Born in Rome, they studied with Corelli, but moved to London in 1715, which had become a European capital for music primarily thanks to the patronage of the English aristocracy and the celebrity figure of Handel. The Castrucci brothers played in Handel’s orchestra at the Royal Academy for the next 20 years, and Handel wrote obbligato parts for them in his operas. Prospero published only one collection, of six sonatas, in 1739; he seems to have been the more conservative of the two brothers, writing in a style reminiscent of his teacher Corelli, albeit decorated with bold flourishes characteristic of Veracini and Locatelli. The more innovative of the two was Pietro, who became more famous, wrote more prolifically and was published well beyond London. His violin writing is a crucible of invention, featuring bold strokes such as multi-tempo movements, arpeggiated chords on three strings, unisons with basso continuo, inverted mordents, and the kind of ‘arco battuto’ writing that Beethoven would later emulate. A pupil of Giuliano Carmignola, Marco Pedrona founded Ensemble Guidantus in 1995, specialising in music of the Italian Baroque. With them he has performed across Italy and further afield, giving highly praised performances of the canonic repertoire from Corelli to Pergolesi but also reviving many figures such as the Castrucci brothers.