{"product_id":"ric483-nicolai-sonatas-suites-for-viols","title":"Nicolai: Sonatas \u0026 Suites for Viols","description":"\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNicolai: Sonatas \u0026amp; Suites for Viols\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e shines a rare light on Johann Michael Nicolai, a composer about whom almost nothing personal is known despite a sizeable surviving output — probably born near Weimar in 1629. He died in Stuttgart in 1685, the same year J.S. Bach was born.\r\n\r\nThe program gathers his sonatas and suites for two and three bass viols, works that trace a fascinating shift in 17th Century German music: away from the hierarchical blend of consort polyphony and toward a new, almost Enlightenment-era individualism, with the bass viol taking on a soloistic, violin-like voice rare for its register.\r\n\r\nThe album includes both duo suites (in C major, A minor, and D minor) and trio sonatas (A minor and D major), the latter presented in two different continuo configurations. With organ in one, and stripped bare in the other — reflecting the ambiguity of the original sources.\r\n\r\nThe program closes with an anonymous Sonata a 3 drawn from the Düben collection in Uppsala, whose fantastical closing pages gesture toward the stylus fantasticus of the North German school.\r\n\r\nAs \u003cstrong\u003eL'Achéron's\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eFrançois Joubert-Caillet\u003c\/strong\u003e notes in his liner essay, Nicolai's inventive, individualist writing seems to anticipate the coming Age of Reason — proof, in his words, that originality can emerge from even the darkest registers.\r\n\r\n\u003cstrong\u003eL'Achéron\u003c\/strong\u003e\r\n\u003cstrong\u003eFrançois Joubert-Caillet, Bass Viol\u003c\/strong\u003e\r\n\u003cstrong\u003eSarah Van Oudenhove, Bass Viol\u003c\/strong\u003e\r\n\u003cstrong\u003eJulie Dessaint, Bass Viol (continuo)\u003c\/strong\u003e\r\n\u003cstrong\u003eYoann Moulin, Harpsichord \u0026amp; Organ\u003c\/strong\u003e","brand":"Ricercar","offers":[{"title":"DSD 512 \/ 2ch Stereo","offer_id":57300004208964,"sku":"RIC483-21","price":35.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"DSD 256 \/ 2ch Stereo","offer_id":57300004241732,"sku":"RIC483-16","price":29.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"WAV 192 kHz \/ 2ch Stereo","offer_id":57300004274500,"sku":"RIC483-3","price":23.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"DSD 128 \/ 2ch Stereo","offer_id":57300004307268,"sku":"RIC483-15","price":25.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"FLAC 96 kHz \/ 2ch Stereo","offer_id":57300004340036,"sku":"RIC483-7","price":19.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"DSD 64 \/ 2ch Stereo","offer_id":57300004372804,"sku":"RIC483-14","price":23.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"DXD 24 Bit \/ 2ch Stereo","offer_id":57347955982660,"sku":"RIC483-22","price":25.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/7900\/2436\/files\/RIC483.jpg?v=1789832757","url":"https:\/\/www.nativedsd.com\/products\/ric483-nicolai-sonatas-suites-for-viols","provider":"NativeDSD Music","version":"1.0","type":"link"}