Buriedtreasure

Violinist Chouchane Siranossian introduces us to some of her favourite recordings

Biber Mensa Sonora Pars III

Musica Antiqua Köln/reinhard Goebel (violin) DG Archiv 477 5001

I first heard this a few years ago, because I was interested in Reinhard Goebel, and I was really fascinated by it. There are five quite short and very beautiful movements, but the Sarabanda and the Ciacona are incredible. Those two movements are actually one of the reasons I became a Baroque violinist. There are some dances in the music, and there are effects which are very strong. When you listen to it you are in a kind of trance; it really touches you very deeply.

Johan Christoph Bach Meine Freundin, du bist schön – Ciacona

Clematis/leonardo García Alarcón Ricercar RIC323

This is actually a very big curiosity for me. It’s by an uncle of JS Bach – it’s interesting to hear the influence his family had on him. He would have heard this cantata, because the score was in the hands of his father and it was possibly even played for his first marriage. There’s something very erotic about the Ciacona: the text is about a couple who are not yet married and who go to a garden… so you can imagine what’s happening. It’s quite intense. Elmas Piano Concertos

Howard Shelley (piano)

Hyperion CDA68319

I heard a lot about Stephan Elmas when I was a child, because it was my father who discovered the scores for these concertos. He was a student in Geneva looking for information about Armenian composers, and he found out that Elmas – who died in Geneva in 1937 – was actually Armenian. A nephew of Elmas had the scores and they had never been played with an orchestra. They’re so Romantic; Elmas was a student of Liszt and you can hear him in the music. Siranossian’s album ‘Bach Before Bach’ is out on 12 November on Alpha Classics