Tag: Baroque

Fantasticus
88:57 (2 CDs in a single jewel case)
Resonus RES10222

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t would be a veritable statement to say that G. P. Telemann helped popularise the quartet form in the French capital with his elegant, well-crafted Nouveaux Quatuors or Paris quartets of 1738. But there was no shortage of home-grown talent that felt the creative impetus to add their contributions to this genre. One such person was Louis-Gabriel Guillemain, born in Paris in 1705, and after some basic violin studies in the capital, went off to Turin, as did J.-M. Leclair and J.-P. Guignon, to study under a star pupil of Corelli, G. B. Somis. At just 24, Guillemain was working at the opera house in Lyons. After some 13 years as first violinist at Dijon’s Academie de Musique, he finally returned to the capital in 1737!

He was said to have possessed a dazzling facility on the violin (“main petillante”) rivalling, even surpassing Leclair. His Caprices may have inspired those of Paganini. These exuberant, elegant and sprightly chamber sonatas, live up to their soubriquet “Conversations galantes et amusantes” (also given to his Opus 17), exuding a kind of vibrant, imitative loquacity, yet never losing the scintillating thread of the musical discourse! This Opus 12 set of six does also have passages which seem to nod and wink in a quasi-Telemann mode, but then zip along to some uniquely challenging twists and turns in the music. Published in 1743, they were performed in the swankier salons as one might expect, and at the famous Concert Spirituel, to great acclaim and approbation. The extremely attentive players in Fantasticus and guest flautist, Wilbert Hazelzet, respond to the many challenging “twists and turns” after the “Allegro moderato” beginning all six sonatas. This quartet of finely-honed musicians captures the vivacious galanterie and witty discourse in these excellent pieces of exemplary French Baroque. The lively and skilled contours of this music belie the tragic end to this bright, highly virtuosic (shooting) star of the capital, who was said sometimes to be too shy and over-sensitive to perform his own works; despite the bouts of profligate spending which kept him in constant debt, his “dazzling” hand left a fine musical legacy.

David Bellinger

Camerata Bachiensis
69:12
Brilliant Classics 95621
Telemann: TWV43:F1, G12, C1 d2, TWV51:D (Premiere!)
Molter: MWV 9.19, 9.30, 9.16

[dropcap]O[/dropcap]ccasionally, we stumble across a recording which perfectly reflects a dream selection, or notion of a splendid, imaginary concert. This is just such a recording. These fine works have been well chosen to display the qualities of the two composers’ artistic strengths and abilities, plus there’s a neat timeline conjunction too, where they passed each other a couple of times; particularly through Eisenach. Each would have been well aware of the other’s activities; indeed, a large number of Telemann’s cantatas were sent to Eisenach, even after his tenure there (1708-12). It is widely assumed in musicological circles that Telemann’s so-termed 4th Book of Quartets, published by Charles-Nicholas Le Clerc in Paris 1752, are actually revised versions of earlier quartets for strings, from the composer’s Frankfurt or early Hamburg period. Replacing the first violin with a flute turns these finely crafted works into a more familiar instrumentation for the Parisian ears and market, yet they exude some exuberant and delicate Italianate qualities. These are the best flute versions I have ever come across! Dazzling performances of three of the six quartets. (The original string versions can be found on MDG Label splendidly performed by Musica Alta Ripa)

The interspersed works by Molter give a most favourable impression of this oft-overlooked master, clearly a very competent exponent of the baroque musical idioms and forms. The Siciliana from the e-minor Sonata (MWV9.19) is quite beautifully defined, and the other works are most pleasing to the ear. The whole CD has caught the distilled refinements of each composer’s works and brought them together in a very fine programme of euphonic delights and melodious progressions, capped by the final concise Oboe Concerto TWV 51: D6, a nice premiere to boot! Highly polished, brilliant gems! (Pun intended!)

David Bellinger