Published in Salzburg in 1715, Artificiosus Concentus pro Camera is the only surviving collection for solo violin by Johann Joseph Vilsmayr, who served as a court violinist in Salzburg from 1689 until his death in 1722. We cannot be certain that he studied with Heinrich Biber, the greatest violinist of his age who became a leading musician at the Salzburg court, but the relationship between the two figures can be inferred from the style and the sophistication of Vilsmayr’s writing for his instrument.
Four of the partitas notably use scordatura, where the violin is retuned away from the conventional G-D-A-E intonation in order to explore new and striking expressive colours on the instrument. In works such as the cycle of Mystery Sonatas, Biber shows himself the master of this technique, but (as his putative student) Vilsmayr demonstrates a deep understanding of scordatura. For example, in the B flat major Partita, the highest string is lowered to D, creating a natural resonance that emphasizes a fundamental tone for that key. In the D major Partita, the scordatura (A–E–A–D) enriches the harmonic resonance by reinforcing the overtones of the key centre.
Despite its high musical and technical value, Vilsmayr’s collection remains little known, especially when compared to contemporary masterpieces for solo violin such as the Mystery Sonatas, the Sonatas and Partitas of Bach or the Fantasias by Telemann. In his booklet essay for this new recording, the violinist Davide Facchini explains how he was initially drawn to the world of Biber, before discovering these fascinating works of Vilsmayr. He discovered for himself that they represent a landmark moment in the Austrian violin school, ‘demonstrating a refined balance between technical invention, timbral exploration, stylistic sensitivity, and a profound preference for scordatura.’
Born in Rome in 2000, Davide Facchini studied with luminaries of the Baroque-violin tradition such as Enrico Onofri, Lorenzo Ghielmi, and Enrico Casazza. This album marks his international debut on record.
