Butterfield / Mcmahon / Wollston

Jean-Marie Leclair: Violin Sonatas / Book 3 / Op.5 / Nos. 5-8 Butterfield / Mcmahon / Wollston

Jean-Marie Leclair's violin sonatas embody a stylistic fusion known as les goûts réunis in which the lyricism and the virtuosity of the Italian school are integrated with the dance idioms of French Baroque music. In this volume, the music reaches new heights of technical complexity in it's filigree ornamentation and continuous multiple stopping while still incorporating much wistful beauty. In the Sonata in D major, however, Leclair's ambition expands yet further, as he combines innate lyricism and rustic drones in a prototype concerto form.