Vivaldi : E minor Cello Sonata RV 40 (arr. for cello & accordion, Duo Kiasma)

Continuing on our project on exploration of baroque music is Antonio Vivaldi and his famous E minor cello sonata! It's quite a traditional sonata, with 4 movements, (slow-fast-slow-fast), but each movement really does have its very specific charm and particularities, especially considering the added challenge of arranging it for our duo!

Duo Kiasma :
Pierre Fontenelle (cello)
Frin Wolter (accordion)

Antonio Vivaldi : Cello Sonata in E minor RV 40
live in Shenzhen, June 2025

The 1st movement, an introductory Largo with some quite pleasing harmonic twists and turns and subtle melodic melancholy. The main question that was immediately posed was the choice of the articulation for the accordion part - neither too dry nor too resonant, and yet still flexible enough to adapt itself to the cello's part (and then leaving room for adaptation to the acoustic of a specific hall).

'Ditto' for the second movement, a lively Allegro - how can the choice of articulations in the basso continuo give sufficient energy to the whole without overshadowing the cello's part? It's a fine line to walk!

The third movement is one of the most beautiful, a tender Sicilienne, where we chose to play around a bit more with the style of accompaniment in the accordion part, sometimes more intimate, sometimes more englobing...

And then, the final dancing Allegro, in all its dramatic glory and rhythmical play!