Tag: Baroque

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Bach: Harpsichord music

Tilman Skowroneck plays Bach CD cover

Tilman Skowroneck harpsichord
69:03
TYXart TXA19133

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This recital by Tilman Skowroneck, a former pupil of – amongst others – Gustav Leonhardt, marks his homage to a fine instrument built by his father Martin Skowroneck in 1976 and to Leonhardt himself.

The harpsichord was first installed in a mansion in Baltimore, where the teenage Tilman remembers seeing it set up on temporary cavaletti, but then bought back after its owners’ demise by Martin in 2009 and re-installed in what was Martin’s (and is now Tilman’s) music room in Bremen. It is a copy of a Christian Zell now in Hamburg’s Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe dated 1728. It was re-quilled before this recording, and the light voicing of I suppose the upper rank makes it a very suitable choice for the version of the E-flat lute sonata BWV 998, which Bach marked ‘for lute or harpsichord’ on the title page of the autograph and can be dated around the mid 1730s. As well as the sixth of the English Suites, Skowroneck plays a transcription of the violin partita in D minor (BWV 1004) taking it down a fifth into G minor, which was a favourite piece of his for recitals. Leonhardt made these transcriptions in the spirit of Johann Sebastian arranging some earlier violin concerti for harpsichord for performance at the Leipzig Collegium Musicum evenings and Bärenreiter now publishes them; but Tilman made and plays his own version, transcribing Leonhardt’s published recording, for performance at a series of memorial concerts for Leonhardt after his death in 2012.

The instrument is certainly very easy to listen to. It is pitched at A=415 and tuned to a ‘modified Temperament Ordinaire’. This tuning certainly favours the flat keys of the chosen pieces. There is an odd resonance to the tenor F sharp, which I find rather distracting; at first, I thought it was my mobile phone buzzing in my pocket, but it is definitely that particular note on the instrument.

Tilman plays persuasively, and is a member of the stroking rather than hammering brigade, so his CD is easy to listen to, and a fine tribute to his father’s craftsmanship and his mentor’s musicianship. The music he has chosen is not frequently recorded, which makes the CD of more than usual interest. His website contains further information and has clips of more recent recordings of French music.

David Stancliffe

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Sonar in Ottava

Carmignola and Bruenllo play Bach and Vivaldi an octave apart CD cover

Double Concertos for violin and violoncello piccolo
Giuliano Carmignola, Mario Brunello, Academia dell’Annunciata, directed by Riccardo Doni
69:58
Arcana A472

I admire Mario Brunello and Giuliano Carmignola, and their playing, together with that of the Academia dell’Annunciata is elegant and stylish, but I cannot pretend that I like these fine concerti played with the solo instruments playing in different octaves.

Unlike the sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord, or some other of Bach’s works which he clearly arranged and rearranged for different combinations of instruments, I find that the intertwining and tossing to and fro of melodic lines at different octaves distracting and unappealing. This is particularly the case in the D minor double violin Concerto BWV 1043. In the opening vivace, the violin line doubled at an octave below just sounds un-Bachian to me, and quite unlike the only other instance I can think of where there is something similar – the central section in D major of the alto aria in the Johannes-passion, Es ist vollbracht. It is like a baritone singer doubling ‘the tune’ an octave lower in a four-part SATB chorale. In the middle movement, too, the canonic writing with its intersecting and overlapping lines surely needs instruments at a similar pitch? In other concerti, even when there are earlier versions of what Bach later presented as concerti for two or more harpsichords, a distinction in timbre as in BWV 1060 has often been reconstructed as a concerto for violin and oboe for example – but always by instruments in the same octave.

The reimagining of the music for these two instruments is served better by the less melodically variegated music of Antonio Vivaldi, with its highly arpeggiated figuration. Here, difference of texture sometimes provides a welcome variation to the texture.

The two colleagues, whose musical friendship goes back a long way, have – I suspect – been seduced by the intriguing possibilities of Brunello’s new violoncello piccolo, strung exactly an octave below the violin, on which he played the Sei Soli for violin so plausibly last year.

But, while you might be curious to hear what their concerti at an octave sound like, I doubt if you will want to keep this CD in your library.

David Stancliffe

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Froberger: Complete Fantasias and Canzonas

Terence Charlston plays Froberger on clavichord CD cover

Terence Charlston clavichord
62:04
divine art dda 25204

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I had not heard Froberger played on a clavichord before and wondered how it might work, but in the capable hands of Terence Charlston this recording is a resounding success. While one might miss the variety of registrations possible on the organ, letting the player build up the texture in successive sections, the clavichord compensates by allowing for subtle dynamic differences and providing the ability to hear individual voices clearly. Charlston plays on a copy of a South German fretted clavichord from c. 1700, in its putative original configuration, by Andreas Hermert; this is reasonably close to the time of the composition of the music and provides Charlston with what he thinks is the ideal clavichord for the job. The instrument is well recorded, with just a small amount of instrument noise to give it a ‘live’ feel. He concentrates on the fantasias and canzonas from Froberger’s 1649 manuscript, which bridge the gap nicely between the ricercars and canzonas of Frescobaldi and the contrapuntal music of Bach. Both genres are sectional, showing off Froberger’s remarkable ability to create extended pieces out of minimal material, varying the metre while keeping a steady tactus, something Charlston brings out very successfully. He uses subtle ornamentation to keep the sound going, including the vibrato-like Bebung which also changes the pitch slightly. He exploits the unequal semitones of his mean-tone temperament in a number of pieces with chromatic subjects. Sleeve notes are very informative. Charlston’s joy in bringing this music to life shines through and I can strongly recommend this recording.

Noel O’Regan

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The Grand Mogul

The Grand Mogul Vivaldi Barthold Kuijken CD cover

Virtuosic Baroque Flute Concertos
Barthold Kuijken, Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra
65:27
Naxos 8.573899

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‘Il Gran Mogul’, the title which Vivaldi gave to his flute concerto RV431a and similarly to his RV208 Violin Concerto ‘Il Grosso Mogul’, and which in turn is borrowed for this CD of virtuoso flute concertos, is something of a mystery. There are no perceptible hints of eastern musical flavours, and the Mogul may simply refer to the ostentatious nature of the solo parts in both concerti. As such, it is a suitable epithet for this collection of showy flute concerti by Michel Blavet, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Jean-Marie Leclair and Georg Philipp Telemann, all of whom contributed significantly to the new Baroque sensation, the solo concerto. It is fascinating to hear the distinctly ‘national’ flavours of these Italian, French and German concertos. As Barthold Kuijken makes clear in his excellent programme note, many of the composers didn’t seem to care particularly for the difficulties they created for their flautists – in some cases, the flute is just one of the options suggested for the solo instrument – and some passages are particularly challenging and even unidiomatic. Of all the composers represented here, only Blavet actually played the flute, and the finale of his A-minor concerto reaches considerable heights of virtuosity. Fortunately, Kuijken on his one-keyed Rottenburgh copy Baroque flute makes light work of even the most demanding writing, whether idiomatic or not. One of the musically gifted Kuijken family who dominated the early music scene in the 1980s, Barthold is both a stunning technician and a fine musician and is ably supported here by the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, who produce a wonderfully light, nimble sound, playing one to a part.

D. James Ross

D. James Ross

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Kinderman: Opitianischer Orpheus

Chamber and vocal music by Erasmus Kindermann CD cover

Lieder nach Gedichten von Martin Opitz
Ian Siedlaczek soprano, Jana Kobow tenor, United Continuo Ensemble
66:57

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Erasmus Kindermann spent most of his 39 years of life in Nürnberg, and unfortunately for him it coincided largely with the Thirty Years War. He was lucky to spend the worst of it studying in Venice, and also enjoyed the considerable artistic upswing which greeted its conclusion, which saw the publication in 1642 of his settings of poems by Martin Opitz for solo, dialoguing or duetting voices with instrumental accompaniment. This coincided with the foundation of various literary societies in Nürnberg in which new literature was encouraged, but also the poetry of Opitz from 20 years earlier was read, performed and appreciated. A key figure in all of this was Georg Philipp Harsdörffer, whose ‘Poetic Funnel’ also of 1642 through which he boasted the art of German poetry (freed of Latin) could be poured in just six hours! Although Kindermann’s surviving portrait shows a man aged and haggard before his time, his Opitz settings are delightfully cheery, bucolic affairs with perky short-phrased tunes that seem to relate to the simplicity of folk music. The performances here are completely charming, with both singers instilling just the right amount of drama and expression into these beguiling songs. The cover of the first volume of Kindermann’s “Opitianischer Orpheus” depicts a small consort grouped around a table in a domestic setting presumably performing the contents of the publication, and the present forces evoke this delightful scene to perfection. The United Continuo Ensemble comprises two violins, gamba, harp, harpsichord and organ, and independently contributes a couple of violin sonatas by Kindermann to the programme. It is indeed a shame that Kindermann survived plague, war and financial ruin only to die just after peace promised a genuine cultural Renaissance in his home city. Remarkable too that his music seems genuinely so optimistic and without the shadow of the desperate times he had lived through. The same could be said of the poetry of Martin Opitz, regarded by many as ‘the father of German literature’, who died in 1639 at the age of just 43, having misguidedly demanded change from a beggar, who turned out to be suffering from the plague – a lockdown lesson for us all perhaps!

D. James Ross

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Amor, Fortuna et Morte

Amor Fortuna et Morte CD cover

Madrigals by de Rore, Luzzaschi, Gesualdo & Monteverdi
Profeti della Quinta
64:21
Pan Classics PC 10396

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This collection of madrigals has been compiled for the excellent reason that the singers of the Profeti della Quinta love singing them. Interestingly the composers they choose span the 16th and the first half of the 17th centuries – Cipriano de Rore was born in 1515/6 and died in 1565, while Monteverdi was born in 1567 and died in 1643. While there is considerable variety here, various musical and thematic threads run all the way through the programme. The five male voices, joined in the later works by lute, achieve a remarkable blend and purity of intonation, and sing these madrigals with intense expression and musical intelligence. In addition to some very familiar material, we have an extraordinary madrigal by Scipione Lacorcia, who manages to outdo his model Gesualdo in harmonic eccentricity and melodic waywardness! The recording of Monteverdi’s “Lamento della Ninfa” (13) is a hair-raising aberration, as one of the group’s male altos hideously droops and swoops around Monteverdi’s melodic line in a style verging on caricature. Famously, Monteverdi asks the soloist to sing ‘at the beat of the emotions’ – however, this clearly means singing with a degree of mensural freedom rather than approximating the actual notes in a sort of anachronistic Sprechgesang. Just awful, but mercifully unique on the CD. Interspersed among the madrigals, we also have a number of pieces for solo lute, some of them very effective arrangements of madrigals. Founded in Galilee by the eminent singer/harpsichordist/director/composer Elam Rotem, Profeti della Quinta is now based in Basel.

D. James Ross

 

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Locatelli: L’Arte del Violino Op. III

Locatelli op 3 Diego Conti CD cover

Diego Conti, Gli Archi di Firenze
212:04 (3 CDs in a card triptych)
Tactus TC 691280

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This comprehensive 3-CD set presents the twelve violin concertos of Locatelli’s op111 Art of the Violin recorded in a variety of venues over a period of ten years from 1988 to 1998 by Diego Conti and Gli Archi di Firenzi. Locatelli was one of a handful of violin virtuosi who completely revolutionised the musical world of the 18th century, and his 24 eye-wateringly virtuosic capriccii ad libitum published along with the concerti serve as cadenzas. From the outset, Diego Conti’s sparkling and showy playing seems to summon the ghost of Locatelli, and, if the liberties he takes with tempo must have driven his Archi di Firenze to near distraction over the years, I am quite sure that the flamboyant Locatelli would have done exactly the same! It is of course in the wild capriccii that Conti’s full virtuosity is put to the test, and he comes out of these with flying colours. If the playing of the ensemble sounds a little lacklustre by comparison, this is maybe inevitable and perhaps even part of Locatelli’s original design. Of all the achievements of HIP performers over the years, I find the recreation of the music of these violin virtuosi perhaps the most revelatory and remarkable – to master a period instrument, bow and technique so thoroughly as to be able to rival these extraordinary virtuosi of the past is truly amazing! If Locatelli’s capriccii never quite go in the direction you would expect, neither did his life – having spent his career doing the unexpected, he then retired to Amsterdam in his mid-twenties in mid-career and seemed satisfied with a life of luxurious solitude, enjoying the financial fruits of his previous concert life and his publications. 

D. James Ross

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The Early Horn

Ursula Paludin Monberg, Arcangelo, The Early Horn CD cover

Ursula Paludan Monberg, Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen
78;32
hyperion CDA68289
Music by Graun, Haydn, L & W A Mozart, Telemann & anon

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After dropping apparently fully-formed into its role as an orchestral instrument in Handel’s Water Music, the horn very soon became an indispensable part of the Baroque and Classical orchestra. This CD explores its parallel pivotal role in 18th-century chamber music and illustrates how quickly composers cottoned on to the horn’s musical potential, while at the same time the technical developments instigated by players extended the instrument’s range. The opening track is a beautiful sinfonia da camera for horn and strings by Leopold Mozart, while a concerto and a trio by Graun, two anonymous Concerti from a Swedish source, a concerto by Telemann, a divertimento by Haydn and the E-flat-major horn quintet by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart all chart the horn’s development from Baroque to Classical instrument. The music selected for this CD shares the feature of being delightfully entertaining, while the anonymous concerti for horn, oboe d’amore and continuo and for horn, two oboes and continuo are particularly charming. The concerto for recorder, horn and continuo by Telemann is also predictably accomplished and engaging. Playing a wonderfully coiled Baroque horn, Ursula Paludin Monberg produces a beautifully rounded tone and displays a consummate playing technique. She is ably supported by the players of Arcangelo directed from the harpsichord by Jonathan Cohen. There is a wonderful inevitability about the thoroughly classical strains of the familiar Mozart quintet (K407) with which the CD concludes – we feel we have been informatively conducted from the horn’s early years in serious music to one of the pinnacles of the repertoire.

D. James Ross

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Vitali: Sonate op. 5, 1669

Vitali op 5 CD cover

Italico Splendore
66:42
Tactus TC 632205

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CD cover of Vitali op 5 sonatas

Italico Splendore are exploring the riches of the Ducal Library of the Este family in Modena, and the present CD is devoted to the chamber music of Giovanni Vitali, who worked as maestro di cappella at the court there from 1674. Himself a virtuoso on the ‘violone da brazzo’, a forerunner of the cello/double bass, Vitali’s influence on the role of the violin as well as the standard Baroque musical forms was considerable. It is fascinating to observe in his opus 5 sonate side by side with standard trio sonatas, sonate a due (without an independent part for violone) but also sonate a quarto and a cinque. As with many composers of the second half of the 17th century, Vitali displays a freedom of thinking and a musical imagination which found itself somewhat tamed in the following century. Italico Splendore play with an easy spontaneity, with suitable episodes of bravura alternating with intensely expressive passages. The blend of solo instruments and continuo team is pleasing, and the overall sound vivid and engaging. When we reach the four- and five-part sonatas, the increasing richness of the texture is welcome. Each of the sonatas bears the name of a local aristocratic family, surely an astute way of attracting financial support for Vitali’s musical activity.

D. James Ross

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Monteverdi: Madrigals Book 9

Monteverdi Madrigals book 9 Longhini CD cover

Scherzi Musicali
Delitiæ Musicæ, Marco Longhini
74:37
Naxos 8.555318

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As Marco Longhini reaches the last of Monteverdi’s Madrigal Books, the posthumously published 9th Book, I find I still have many of the same reservations that I had at the start of the series. The use of an all-male ensemble entails the group’s countertenors being cast as a range of lovelorn maidens, nymphs and shepherdesses, and for all the gusto with which they throw themselves into these roles, I remain unconvinced, particularly as there is no evidence that there was any sort of restriction on women singing this music. I’m afraid I am also less than convinced by Longhini’s countertenors themselves, who in contrast to the other male voices never seem entirely comfortable vocally. I remain similarly unconvinced by the prominent participation of harpsichord in the accompanying textures – often a madrigal is beautifully introduced by a continuo ensemble comprising various plucked instruments and cello only for a harpsichord to muscle in on the texture. Having voiced my main reservations, Longhini’s instinct for the potential drama in this music has not diminished during the project, and if it could occasionally be accused of being a little over-theatrical, it is certainly never dull. The singing is generally good, with only occasional intonation lapses, and is musically pretty convincing and delicately ornamented. The madrigal performances are introduced by a lovely instrumental Sinfonia by Biagio Marini, and the balance of the CD is made up of the Monteverdi’s Scherzi Musicali, a collection of ariettas published in 1632 and of which only a single copy survives. Interestingly, Longhini makes plausible use of a number of instrumental ritornelli which appear in the original publication, and which are normally ignored by performers, to link in conclusion a selection of the ariettas together. I found myself wondering how much the oddly immediate acoustic was to blame for my discomfort with some of the singing – although the recording was made in the Chiesa di San Pietro in Vincola, there is little hint of any bloom in the performance. This ‘in-your-face’ ambience is emphasised by the opening madrigal, in which the countertenor soloist emerges from a resonant distance abruptly to jump out of your speakers at you! Certainly theatrical, but oddly unsettling. I wanted to enjoy this CD more, and can only hope that some listeners derive more consistent pleasure than I did from what is clearly an important complete account of the Monteverdi Madrigals.

D. James Ross