Brook Street Band releases album of 18th century's ‘best-kept secrets’
Leading UK period instrument ensemble The Brook Street Band have released their 14th album, featuring one of only two remaining sets of compositions by little-known English organist and composer Joseph Gibbs.
His work, 8 Sonatas for violin & basso continuo, Op. 1, was written in 1746 while working as an organist in Dedham, Essex. Characterful and individual, these pieces fuse Italianate virtuosity with English and quirky Gibbs-ian humour, heavily influenced by the music of Arcangelo Corelli. The purchase of a portrait of Gibbs by Thomas Gainsborough in 1928 by the National Portrait Gallery reignited musical interest in the composer.
The Brook Street Band’s new recording, only the second to include the complete set of sonatas, was recorded in the Tudor-period surroundings of Oxnead Hall in Norfolk by Rachel Harris (violin), Tatty Theo (cello), and Carolyn Gibley (harpsichord). Another of the group's recent recordings, of J.F. Lampe’s ‘The Dragon of Wantley’ (made possible by generous support from Continuo Foundation), was selected as Gramophone Magazine’s ‘Editor’s Choice’ and won the Opera Award in the 2023 BBC Music Magazine Awards.
Joseph Gibbs: 8 Sonatas for Violin and Basso Continuo, Op. 1 is now available to purchase on DigiSleeve CD and to stream on all digital platforms.
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