| What we get is a work steeped in Cimarosa’s operatic experience, but conventionally ‘sacred’ in form. Thus we get to hear all the musical forces at beginning and end of the work, and in between soloists alternate with chorus. The music is, unsurprisingly, very well put together; there are plenty of enticing melodies and the whole has considerable charm. But compared to the great settings of the same Psalm it lacks both profundity and real grandeur of conception. Still, take it on its own terms and there is much to enjoy. | ” |
| The baryton resembles a bass viol and can be played with a bow at the front while simultaneously being plucked from the back, the resulting sound having quite an unusual resonance for a solo instrument. The instrument was popular in areas of Austria and south Germany at periodic intervals between the mid-17th and early 19th century, and works for the instrument have been composed by Haydn and Leopold Mozart among others. Tomasini was primarily a violinst but also a composer of chamber music in the court of Prince Nikolaus von Esterhazy, in which he served as a musician for much of his life alongside Haydn. Haydn’s influence on Tomasini is clear, and working for a music patron as devoted as Prince Nikolaus helped the musical output of both artists to flourish. Prince Nikolaus was a firm fan and indeed talented performer of the baryton, and consquently both Haydn and Tomasini composed several works for the instrument, the former having composed over 175 such works. Appropriately, the Esterhazy Ensemble give fantastic performances of these trios. They are among the ensemble’s favourite pieces to perform due to their huge range of inventiveness and crowd-pleasing instrumental acrobatics. The ensemble dedicates itself particularly to the baryton repertoire, and are lucky enough to have in their possession the only copy of the prince’s instrument, on which these works are performed | ” |
