|
BARNABUS GUNN
Barnabus GunnSix solos... 1745 edited by Martin Perkins and Chloe Werner Edition HH (HH 20.319),
2013. viii + 35ppo + vln & vlc parts, £24.95
My only previous awareness of Barnabus Gunn (c.1680-1753) is his 1750 Six Setts of Lessons for the Harpsichord. He studied with Pepusch and spent most of his career in Birmingham. His other publication was a set of Two Cantata’s and Six Songs (1736). It’s good that local editors have produces so interesting a collection, perhaps a bit old-fashioned for 1745, but well worth playing. The original edition was just a two-stave score, which is presented thus without realisation. Presumably, the 1745 print was large enough for the two string players to look over the harpsichordist - unlikely to work with the new edition, since the size of the score staves is quite small - but there's no problem with the parts. With my declining sight, however, I wonder whether the bass figures under the score could be a little bigger, and I wish I'd done the same with my own publications! A CD would be interesting.
We are grateful to Clifford Bartlett for permission to reproduce this review.
|
