musica Dei donum
CD reviews
Mrs Philarmonica - her time and her colleagues
[I] "Philarmonica"
Le Consort
rec: Feb 2023, Paris, Christuskirche
Alpha - 1011 (© 2023) (71'03")
Liner-notes: E/D/F
Cover, track-list & booklet
Spotify
Nicola MATTEIS (c1649-1699):
Diverse bizzarrie sopra la vecchia sarabanda o pur ciaccona;
Maniera italiana;
Suite in c minor;
Suite in g minor;
Suite in g minor (Andamento malinconico);
Suite in a minor;
Mrs PHILARMONICA (fl 1715):
Sonata III in G minor [3a];
Sonata IV in b minor [3a];
Sonata V in c minor [3b];
Sonata VI in G [3b];
Henry PURCELL (1659-1695):
Sonata in G minor (Z 807) [2];
The Prophetess, or The History of Dioclesian (Z 627) (Two in one upon a ground);
The Queen's Dolour (Z 670) (attr);
Trumpet Tune
Théotime Langlois de Swarte, Sophie de Bardonnèche, violin;
Hanna Salzenstein, cello;
Justin Taylor, virginal
with: Louise Ayrton, violin
[II] "Women4Baroque II - Komponistinnen des Barock"
Spirit of Musicke
rec: Oct 2018, Blaibach, Konzerthaus Blaibach
Spimus Records - 113 (© 2020) (78'13")
Liner-notes: E/D
Cover & track-list
Spotify
Anna BON di Venezia (1738-after 1767):
Sonata in F, op. 1,2 [4];
Sonata in F, op. 2,3 [5];
Elisabeth JACQUET DE LA GUERRE (1665-1729):
Sonata in d minor;
Isabella LEONARDA (1620-1704):
Sonata VII [1];
Sonata XII [1];
Mrs PHILARMONICA (fl c1715):
Sonata I in d minor [3b];
Sonata II in F [3b];
Sonata III in E flat [3b];
Sonata IV in e minor [3b];
Sonata V in c minor [3b];
Sonta VI in G [3b]
Maria Loos, recorder;
Christine Busch, violin;
Gabriele Ruhland, viola da gamba, cello;
Christoph Eglhuber, archlute, guitar;
Veronika Braß, harpsichord, organ
Sources:
[1] Isabella Leonarda, Sonate a 2 violini, violone e organo con una sonata a violino solo e organo, op. 16, 1683;
[2] Henry Purcell, 10 Sonatas in Four Parts, 1697;
[3a,b] Mrs Philarmonica, Parte Prima: Sonate a due violini col violoncello obligato e violone o cimbalo & Divertimenti da Camera a due violini Violoncello o Cembalo, c1715;
Anna Bon di Venezia, [4] VI Sonate da camera per il flauto traversiere e violoncello o cembalo, op. 1, 1756;
[5] Sei Sonate per il Cembalo, op. 2, 1757
At first sight, the two discs which are the subject of this review, have little to do with each other. The first focuses on the English musical landscape in the decades around 1700, whereas the latter's programme covers one hunderd years of composing by women from Italy, France and England. The latter is what connects them: one of the key figures in both recordings is the mysterious figure of Mrs Philarmonica. More about her later. Let me start with the recording by Le Consort.
The Restoration of the monarchy in England in 1660 was not only a political turning point, but it also resulted in a stylistic 'modernization' of the music scene. Charles II, returning from his exile in France, wished to copy the splendour of Louis XIV's court, and founded the 24 violins. They should play the kind of repertoire which was common at the continent, instead of the traditional English consort music. Whereas in the first years after the Restoration, the new music was mainly French in style, the arrival of Nicola Matteis made English audiences acquainted with the modern trends in Italian music, and this was quickly adopted across the country, and paved the way for the Corellimania which was to get England in its grip around 1700.
On its latest disc the French ensemble Le Consort has put together a programme of music written in England in the decades around 1700. Nicola Matteis is one of the key figures. He was born in or near Naples; nothing is known for sure about his musical education, but it seems possible that he received some of it in Rome. Around 1674 he arrived in London, where his playing caused quite a sensation. The English music lovers had never heard anything like this before. The violin was known and played in England, for instance by one of its leading composers, John Jenkins. However, until then it was mostly used as a consort instrument, as an alternative to the treble viol. In his later years Jenkins composed trio sonatas with two violin parts, but their technical requirements were not comparable in any way to what Matteis was bringing to the table. One feature of his playing was double stopping, a technique which was not employed by English composers. This may explain why Matteis in the third and fourth volumes of his Ayres for the Violin marked the double stops and a few flourishes in hollow dotted notation indicating that they could be left out by less advanced players.
It was one of the concessions he made to the musical culture in his new homeland. Another was that in later editions of his printed works he added a second or even a third part, in response to the tradition of consort playing. Le Consort selected some suites and separate pieces which give a good idea of Matteis's output and his style. The Diverse bizzarrie sopra la vecchia sarabanda o pur ciaccona is a piece based on a basso ostinato - a bass pattern which is repeated a number of times, over which the treble instruments play increasingly virtuosic parts of their own.
Such pieces were written all over Europe, and it was one of the devices that was also widespread in England. Matteis's contemporary Henry Purcell frequently wrote pieces on a ground, as such bass patterns were called. The Sonata in g minor is one of the many such works in his oeuvre. This is an example of a piece which attests to the strong Italian influence on his instrumental music. In the preface to the set of three-part sonatas of 1683 Purcell mentioned several Italian masters as his sources of inspiration. Matteis is not one of them, but Simon Jones, in his liner-notes, states that "London's musical world was surely too intimate for Purcell to have been unaware of his work, and the meteoric rise in popularity of the violin would have offered many creative possibilities to the young Purcell."
Le Consort is not the first which devotes a disc to English music of this period. Apart from recordings of the music by Purcell, in recent years quite a number of discs have included pieces by Matteis and some lesser-known masters from the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The present disc is unique in that it includes four works by a certain Mrs. Philarmonica, about whom nothing seems to be known. She has no entry in New Grove, and the booklet does not provide us with any information about her. We can only guess who she may have been. One thing is for sure: she must have had an intimate knowledge of Italian music, and especially the sonatas by Corelli. That is no surprise, as after the publication of the latter's works in England, especially the sonatas Op. 5, England had felt victim to a real Corellimania. His works were frequently played, published in all sorts of arrangements, and imitated.
Only one collection of pieces - scored for two violins and basso continuo - is known, published in London around 1715. It is divided into two sections: Parte Prima: Sonate a due violini col violoncello obligato e violone o cimbalo and Divertimenti da Camera a due violini Violoncello o Cembalo; each of those comprises six pieces, all of which are called sonata. It seems that the ensemble Spirit of Musicke was the first to record some of her compositions; their disc includes the complete second section, the Divertimenti. Two of them were also recorded by Le Consort, which added two sonatas from the first section. It is hard to understand why these pieces have received so little interest. They are excellently written and very fine and compelling examples of the influence of the Italian style in England. If I had not known that they were from the pen of an English composer, I would have thought that they were written by an Italian. Just listen to the vivace from the Sonata III in g minor, which at the end suddenly turns to a slow tempo, in preparation for the ensuing lento. The sonatas include several movements where the treatment of harmony very much smells after Italy.
This disc as a whole is great to listen to, thanks to the good selection of pieces and the brilliant and engaging style of playing. The use of a virginal in the basso continuo seems a bit anachronistic. However, given the general level of playing it is hardly an issue. Matteis's music is played in a creative manner, and the performance with two and three violins is something one will not find in other recordings. However, this disc's importance comes especially from the four sonatas by Mrs Philarmonica. One would like to know who she was. Maybe some musicologist or music historian will be able to bring some light into this matter. Le Consort deserves praise for bringing her to our attention, especially as the disc of Spirit of Musicke seems not to have found a wide distribution.
That is a real shame, because - as I already indicated - it includes six sonatas by Mrs Philarmonica, which deserve our interest. The liner-notes to this disc don't bring any light into the identity of the composer either. However, they make a suggestion: "Most likely, it was an educated woman in the circle of the publisher Meares, who, according to the title page, also worked as a viola da gamba teacher at St Pauls [sic] school".
These six pieces are included in a programme devoted to female composers of the baroque period. The programme is embraced by two sonatas from the pen of Isabella Leonarda, one of the better-known. She was from a prominent Novarese family, and in 1636 entered the Collegio di S Orsola, an Ursuline convent, where she remained for the rest of her life. At the last stage of her life she was head of her convent. She was a prolific composer; of the twenty collections of music she is known to have published, sixteen have been preserved. Obviously, she wrote music to be performed at her own convent. Most of her output consists of sacred vocal music, but the Op. 16 comprises twelve sonatas for two violins and basso continuo. Such sonatas were very much part of the liturgy, but could also be performed in secular surroundings.
Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre is one of the most famous female composers from the baroque era. She was a favourite of Louis XIV and impressed by her brilliance as a singer and harpsichordist. She was the first woman in France to write an opera. From early on she embraced the Italian style in her chamber music, as the Sonata in d minor included here shows. It is telling that all the movements have character indications in Italian. However, there are also French elements, especially in that the string bass part is intended for a viola da gamba. Although the title page does not indicate it, it sometimes takes an obbligato role, such as at the opening section of the third movement of this particular sonata.
Anna Bon di Venezia is also relatively well-known, although her oeuvre is rather small. It seems that the fact that two of her three collections of music are intended for one or two flutes has attracted the attention of performers, especially of recorder players, who are always looking for music. She was a pupil of the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice, and in the 1750s she and her family worked at the court in Bayreuth, in the service of Margrave Friedrich of Brandenburg Culmbach and his wife Wilhelmine, sister of Frederick the Great. All three collections of music were published in Nuremberg: six sonatas for transverse flute and basso continuo (op. 1, 1756), six sonatas for harpsichord (op. 2, 1757) and six divertimenti for two transverse flutes and basso continuo (op. 3, 1759). As the Margrave was an avid player of the flute, there can be little doubt that the Op. 1 and Op. 3 were intended for him. The sonatas Op. 1 are often played on the recorder, and that is the case here as well. It is rather surprising that very few recordings on transverse flute seem to be available. That is a shame, because as much as one may enjoy performances on the recorder, they were intended for the transverse flute, and at the time of publication, the recorder was on its way out.
The trio sonatas included here are all intended for two violins. Two of the sonatas by Mrs Philarmonica are performed by Le Consort and Spirit of Musicke, but because of the difference in line-up, it makes little sense to compare them. Let's be happy that they both explore the music of a composer who should be more than just a footnote in history books. Strictly speaking there is little to object against a performance on recorder and violin, as the recorder was still very popular in England in the early decades of the 18th century, especially among amateurs. Even so, I prefer a performance with two violins, in particular because their larger dynamic range. Whether Isabella Leonarda's sonatas were played with recorder is questionable; the combination of recorder and violin seems not to have been very common in 17th-century Italy.
Setting these issues aside, there is much to enjoy here, thanks to the quality of the music, but also the excellence of the members of the ensemble. Christine Busch is the best-known of them, as she has worked with, among others, Philippe Herreweghe and recorded Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for violin solo. The entire ensemble should be better-known, and I hope to hear more of them. This disc is definitely one that deserves its place in any collection of instrumental baroque music.
Johan van Veen (© 2023)
Relevant links:
Le Consort
Spirit of Musicke