Today, we’ll hear music from Charles MacLean, who was born in 1700 and lived until 1773. MacLean took inspiration from the Scottish folk song “Nighean donn an àraidh” for his violin sonata in A, and its movements are variations upon that tune. Instead of the standard violin tuning, G-D-A-E, MacLean wrote this sonata for a violin tuned A-E-A-E, which creates more tension on the bridge and yields a more brilliant sound. In this performance, we’ll hear Bill Bauer on violin and Jeff Noonan on theorbo.
