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Caffe=Hauß Zimmermann

CD cover Caffe=Hauß Zimmermann

Anne-Suse Enßle recorder, Reinhard Führer harpsichord
67:46
Audax Records ADX13719
Music by Albinoni, J. S. Bach, F. Couperin, Goldberg & Telemann

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This is a delightful ‘what if?’ of a CD. What if an 18th-century recorder virtuoso had happened into Leipzig in the 1730s and inevitably drifted into the orbit of J. S. Bach and his Collegium Musicum at the Caffe-Hauß Zimmermann? So impressed would the great master have been that he would have devised a programme around the player, incorporating and arranging his own music as well as that of his contemporaries and pupils, much as we know that he did in other contexts. While this may well never have happened in reality, there is no reason to rule it out, and the recorder player Anne-Suse Enßle and her harpsichord accompanist Reinhard Führer have devised a splendidly entertaining and entirely plausible programme. Compositions and arrangements by Bach rub shoulders with original recorder music by Albinoni and Bach’s student. Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, doomed to be forever associated with the eponymous variations by Bach, but a fine composer and virtuoso in his own right. The final work on the CD is the enigmatic Sonata BWV 1033, known as ‘The Patchwork’ as it appears to have been cobbled together from various Bach sources. Barthold Kuijken first proposed the idea that it might be a homage by his pupils to the great master, compiled precisely perhaps for performance in Zimmermann’s. Anne-Suse Enßle employs a battery of six different recorders in her bravura account of this imaginative and musically satisfying programme, and she is superbly supported by Reinhard Führer on a 1981 Kroesbergen harpsichord based on Flemish models. If the context is something of a fantasy, then we are surely entitled to conjure up an enthusiastic Zimmerman’s audience, who between cups of steaming coffee would have thoroughly enjoyed this rich and varied programme and this stellar performance.

D. James Ross

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Recording

Draghi: El Prometeo

CD cover of Draghi El prometeo

Fabio Trümpy, Scott Conner, Mariana Flores, Giussepina Bridelli, Borja Quiza, Zachary Wilder, Ana Quintans, Kamil Ben Hsaïn Lachiri, Victor Torrès, Anna Reinhold, Alejandro Meerapfel, Lucía Martín-Cartón, Chœur de Chambre de Namur, Cappella Mediterranea, Leonardo Gracía Alarcón
128:34 (2 CDs in a card tryptych)
Alpha Classics Alpha 582

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Antonio Draghi’s opera on the Prometheus legend sets his own libretto and was first performed in Vienna in 1669 in honour of the birthday of the Queen of Spain, a member of the House of Habsburg. In addition to translating his libretto from Italian into Spanish for the occasion, Draghi introduces several Spanish features into his setting, but essentially he is transplanting the Venetian operatic tradition to Vienna, where it will flourish and flow so successfully into the classical operatic masterpieces of the late 18th century. This important opera has been prevented from taking its proper place in the operatic canon by dint of the shocking fact that Draghi’s music for Act 3 has disappeared without trace! The present ‘complete’ recording has been possible only after the intervention of the director Leonardo García Alarcón, whose Promethean ‘recomposition’ of the missing music has brought the opera back to life. Recorded in the Dijon Opera house as part of an extended tour, the CDs manage to capture an authentic ambience without any extraneous noises. As is so often the case when works are reconstructed, the most remarkable passages turn out to be in the original score, and this is definitely true here as in the remarkably adventurous chorus which concludes Act II. Here and elsewhere, Draghi shows himself to be a harmonically daring composer, as well as a considerable master of the lyrical melody and the dramatically charged ensemble. Alarcón has assembled an excellent line-up of soloists and a splendid chorus for this recording, and you can tell that this recording has matured as a staged production. They are ably accompanied by the instrumental Cappella Mediterranea in a recording which should do much to restore this overlooked opera and its remarkable composer to their rightful place in the operatic pantheon.

D. James Ross

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Recording

Vivaldi: Concerti per flauto

CD cover Antonini plays Vivaldi Concerti per flauto

Giovanni Antonini, Il Giardino Armonico
59:45
Alpha Classics Alpha 384

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These are tempestuous and stunningly virtuosic performances of Vivaldi’s RVs 433, 441, 442, 443, 444 and 445 by one of the finest Baroque ensembles of the moment and one of the most impressive recorder virtuosi. Giovanni Antonini employs a sopranino recorder for the  ‘flautino’ concertos and a treble recorder for the ‘flauto’ ones, both of which he plays with eye-watering skill and musicality, ably supported by Il Giardino Armonico, which he also directs. The playing is so deft and expressive from soloist and ensemble that the listener’s attention is seized at the very opening of the CD and never allowed to wander. The famous concerto ‘La Tempesta di Mare’ has never sounded more exciting, but neither have any of the others! Antonini’s photo on the cover is consciously or unconsciously reminiscent of the younger Franz Brüggen, and none is more entitled to associate himself with this earlier recorder virtuoso. Almost as an afterthought, Antonini takes to the chalumeau for a contrasting account of the rather lugubrious ‘Cum dederit’ from the ‘Nisi Dominus’ RV 608, and annoyingly he’s a pretty good chalumist too! This is an impressive CD in every respect and a useful antidote either to the type of lackadaisical approach you hear sometimes to Vivaldi, or worse still the recent vogue in ‘mucking about’ with his music. These are thoroughly honest accounts and yet breathtakingly effective.

D. James Ross

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Recording

Divertimenti Viennesi

CD cover of Divertimenti Viennesi Dittersdorf Michael Haydn Vanhal

Musica Elegentia, Matteo Cicchitti conductor
88:15 (2 CDs in a single jewel case)
Brilliant Classics 96127
Dittersdorf: Six string trios; Michael Haydn: Divertimento in C; Vanhal: Divertimento in G

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The name of the ensemble playing this Unterhaltungsmusik pretty much sums up its style and content – this is elegant but trivial repertoire, intended as background music to social occasions or to be played by amateurs primarily for their own entertainment. So there is nothing terribly intellectually challenging on this 2-CD set. What is interesting, is that this sort of light chamber music provided the everyday soundtrack for late-18th– and early-19th-century Vienna, which in turn provided the backdrop for so much ground-breaking composition. In addition to boasting one of the best names in the whole of classical music, Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf also has the distinction of having played in a string quartet with Vanhal, Mozart and Joseph Haydn, so it is clear that the great masters happily rubbed shoulders with their lesser contemporaries, and even made music with them. Vanhal was a student of Dittersdorf, while Michael Haydn was, of course, the younger brother of Joseph Haydn. The first CD of the set features trios for two violins and violone by Dittersdorf – the programme note makes the valuable point that the violone was seen as the default string bass instrument in Vienna at this time. The yawning gap in pitch between the two violins and the violone seems a little odd to begin with, but you soon get used to it. The performers try to inject as much wit and energy as possible into Dittersdorf’s music, but it did eventually all begin to sound the same to me – perhaps this is not a criticism of music intended as ‘background’, the ‘muzak’ of its time. I have to say I preferred the two Divertimenti on the second CD by Vanhal and Michael Haydn, where a viola replaced the second violin and helped to bridge the chasm between the violone and the upper strings. This was generally more imaginative repertoire, perhaps slightly later in provenance than the Dittersdorf, although I did still find the occasional ‘violone thrash’ moments a little comedic.

D. James Ross

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Recording

Hellendaal: “Cambridge” Sonatas

CD cover Hellendaal Cambridge Sonatas Pramsohler

Johannes Pramsohler, Gulrim Choï, Philippe Grisvard
68:40
Audas Records ADX13720

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Pieter Hellendaal’s immigration to England in 1751 from Rotterdam, after a period of training in Padua, comes at the end of a long period which saw continental composers, and in particular violinists, flocking to London. Whether Hellendaal found London already too crowded with musicians and therefore competitive for his taste, he continued into the provinces, coming to rest in Cambridge, which seems to have suited his nature much better. Either due to his provincial environs or through natural inclination, his surviving music is rather conservative for its time and two sets of violin sonatas (published in Amsterdam in the 1740s) and a set of Concerti Grossi (1758), judged to be the equal of Handel’s and bold and confident compositions indeed (available on Channel Classics CCS3492), must have seemed a little ‘old hat’ as the 18th century advanced. A later set of Cello Sonatas (1780) shows little concession to modernity. The present sonatas, the first six of a set of eleven preserved in manuscript in Cambridge, are imaginative and display a thorough understanding of the violin. Perhaps living and working in Cambridge allowed Hellendaal to ‘do his own thing’ rather than being overshadowed by the growing reputation of Handel in London. These performances are wonderfully expressive, and soloist Johannes Pramsohler’s virtuosic violin playing is sympathetically supported by his excellent continuo team. There is a feeling that this is music at the end of a long and noble tradition, but it constitutes a rich, late flowering of a school of violin playing and composition, which had begun in Italy more than a century previously and spread so fruitfully throughout Europe. These are all world premier recordings, and perhaps provide a gateway into the composer’s neglected oeuvre – I note with sadness a lost clarinet overture and a clarinet trio.

D. James Ross

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Recording

Illumination

CD cover Illumination Ensemble Bet Hagat

Early Jewish-Italian Spiritual Music
Ensemble Bet Hagat, Ayela Seidelman
43:14
Stradivarius STR 37124

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This CD opens and closes with ‘conventional’ Baroque instrumental music by Salomone Rossi, accounts on viols and lute of Songs to Solomon setting Hebrew texts and referencing Jewish chants. Also featured are a couple of Hebrew melodies and elaborations from Benedetto Marcello’s Estro Poetico-Armonico. These latter movements are rather imaginatively rendered on a selection of Baroque instruments, one of them with an underlying drum rhythm. These tracks prepare the way for a selection of traditional Jewish melodies sung by a group of traditional singers and accompanied mainly by atmospheric drones on a selection of Baroque instruments including a Baroque clarinet. It strikes me that these are heavily arranged and very much through the lens of contemporary traditional performance. I have mentioned the penchant for drones and prominent rhythms, to which should be added a dash of Kletzmer (surely a much more recent development) as well as the use of the wind instruments in multiple octaves – all in relatively modern taste. As such, these are very speculative accounts of how this music may have been performed in previous centuries. Having said that, the performances are beautifully idiomatic and sensitive. It crossed my mind that rather than extracting the Jewish melodies from Rossi and Marcello, it would be really nice to hear complete and authentic performances of Rossi’s Songs to Solomon and Marcello’s Estro Poetico-Armonico with these melodies in place – there is something perverse in ‘unravelling’ the textures so carefully constructed by these Italian masters. But I guess that is a whole other CD. Thanks to the imaginative approach and considerable musicality of the present performers, and the richness of the seam of music they are exploring, the CD that they did make is engaging and enjoyable, if at under 45 minutes a little brief.

D. James Ross

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Recording

Chamber Music of Clara Schumann

Byron Shenkman and Friends play Clara Schumann

Byron Schenkman, Jesse Irons, Kate Wadsworth
58:02
www.byronandfriends.org BSF 191

A CD devoted to music by Clara Schumann is always welcome, and there are some genuine treasures here. The most substantial work is her op 17 Piano Trio in C minor, a work of genuine originality and consummate craftsmanship. Unsurprisingly, to us, her music sounds very similar in style to that of her husband with perhaps more than a passing flavour of Mendelssohn, but it is important that more of her music be recorded so that we may begin to identify her unique voice. Her op 22 Romances for violin and piano, composed in 1853 after she had met and been influenced by the young Brahms, hint at the originality she is capable of. The CD concludes with the Romance from the op 7 Piano Concerto, which again gives us a tantalising glimpse of Clara’s potential. After the untimely death of her husband, Clara devoted her life to editing, transcribing and performing his music, a decision which eclipsed her own compositional talents. It is perhaps a pity that the present performers devote about a third of the present CD to Robert Schumann’s op 15 Kinderszenen, music already familiar and which. unfortunately to my ear in its ease of composition and its visionary qualities. slightly outshines Clara’s music. There is a lot of extant and largely unexplored music for solo piano by Clara, including transcriptions of her husband’s music, which could have completed the programme and further informed our understanding of her oeuvre. Having said that, there is an engaging freshness about these performances, with a particularly evocative sound coming from Byron Schenkman’s 1875 Streicher piano. I found the portamento of Jesse Irons’ violin playing a little overdone – the study of contemporary descriptions of performance style will undoubtedly have informed these accounts, but the universal concept of ‘less is more’ might also have been applied. This CD is a valuable part of the current exploration of the music written by female composers which has been unjustifiably overshadowed by that of their male contemporaries – time indeed to let more of the flowers in the garden bloom.

D. James Ross

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Sarah Willis : Mozart Mambo

CD cover Sarah Willis Mozart Mambo

Sarah Willis, Havana Lyceum Orchestra, José Padrón etc
54:45
Alpha 578

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I suspect your reaction to this CD will depend on your response to the question posed on the back of the package ‘Mozart combined with traditional Cuban music: do these two go together?’ The answer given is unsurprisingly ‘Absolutely!’ As someone who loves and plays Mozart frequently, as well as loving and playing mambo music, I would never dream of mixing to two, and I’m afraid this CD confirms my decision. We have Sarah Willis playing modern horn with the Havana Lyceum Orchestra in inoffensive performances of the K 370b movement and the K371 Rondo for Horn and Orchestra, as well as the complete K447 Concerto. We also have spirited accounts of orchestral arrangements of actual mambos, which have the usual pros and cons of such reworkings, but then we have further mambos based on Mozart melodies from Eine kleine Nachtmusik and the K447 Concerto. If this is your kind of thing, then you will undoubtedly be happy sashaying along to this – I wasn’t and I didn’t. Sometimes such genre-blurring can be a revelation, but I fear this CD seems a bit of an indulgence. I was left wondering who is going to buy it. Fans of Mozart’s horn music can easily find more convincing and thought-provoking performances, while serious mambists are surely going to feel the performances here rather tame.

D. James Ross

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Recording

The Mystery of the Natural Trumpet

CD Cover Mystery of the Natural Trumpet

Krisztián Kováts, L’arpa festante
66:57
cpo 555 144-2
Concertos by Lang, Otto, Riepel, Sperger & Stamitz

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The mystery alluded to by the title of this CD is perhaps why nobody now performs any of the many trumpet concertos to survive from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, with the exception of the ubiquitous concerti by Haydn and Hummel. In many ways, these two concerti are aberrations, composed as they were for the keyed trumpet, and it is fascinating to hear the other concertos here by Johann Stamitz, Johann Sperger, Johann Lang and Johann Otto as well as the Sinfonia by Joseph Riepel written for and performed on the valveless (and keyless) trumpet – it should be said that the instrument used is in the Baroque style but with four finger-holes, which puts it some way along the route to the now ubiquitous keyed trumpet. The solo trumpet playing of Kristián Kováts is simply superb, ranging with flawless tuning and tone over a vertiginous range and he is ably supported throughout by L’arpa festante. It has to be said that the quality of composition here is not of the top level of inspiration – even as a fan of the music of the Stamitz family I would have to admit that they are prone to cliché, and this is also the case with much of the rest of the music here. Coupled with the fact that this period saw the beginning of a process which would lead to the trumpet being emasculated from Baroque magnificence to Classical conformity, I found myself increasingly reliant on the soloist’s virtuosity and musicality to hold my interest. Having said that, it is important to be able to put the Haydn and Hummel concerti in some sort of context, and this repertoire and these performances are never less than enjoyable.   

D. James Ross

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Recording

Devienne: Trios

Devienne Chamber music

Le Petit Trianon
71:36
Ricercar RIC416

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Devienne is one of these composers who is more often cited than performed, working in France at the crucial transition between the Baroque and Classical styles – his influence can be heard in the ‘pre-classical’ music composed in Mannheim and even in the early music of Mozart. A wind player who played flute and bassoon expertly as well as being acquainted with the other wind instruments, Devienne was an early champion of the clarinet. He composed in a wide range of genres, including large-scale sacred music and opera, as well as ground-breaking symphonies concertants, but is perhaps most admired for his chamber music, represented here by three of his op 66 flute trios and two of his op 17 bassoon trios. These are works of apparently effortless originality, which reflect the composer’s intimate understanding of the respective wind instruments. A notable workaholic, who combined eight hours of composition a day with regular performances, official duties as a professor at the Conservatoire and even found time to compile an influential method for playing the flute, Devienne eventually burned himself out, spending his final months in an asylum, where he died in his mid-forties. The present selection of chamber music is played with consummate expertise and considerable musicality bringing out the unique qualities of Devienne’s compositions. This was music which looked to the future, and it is fascinating to hear how his influence flowed down through the ensuing generations. It is good to see young French musicians exploring so sympathetically the music of such an important French composer, once considered ‘the French Mozart’ and whose music and career have slipped mysteriously into relative obscurity.

D. James Ross