musica Dei donum
CD reviews
Music by Frederick the Great's composers
[I] "Music at the court of Friedrich II, King of Prussia - The transverse flute in Potsdam"
Gabriele Formenti, transverse flute, flutea;
Gabriele Toia, harpsichord
rec: July 2019, Pavia, Studio Classica Viva
Da Vinci Classics - C00323 (© 2020) (59'56")
Liner-notes: E
Cover & track-list
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Carl Philipp Emanuel BACH (1714-1788):
Sonata in G (Wq 123 / H 550);
Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750):
Musicalisches Opfer (BWV 1079) (Thema regium - Canon perpetuus);
Sonata in G, arr Gabriele Toia (after BWV 1027/1039);
Carl Heinrich GRAUN (1704-1759):
Sonata in D (GraunWV B,XVII,54);
Johann Joachim QUANTZ (1697-1773):
Sonata in b minor (QV 1,168);
Gabriele TOIA (*1967):
Abschied von Potsdam (Passacaglia)a
[II] "The Oboe in Berlin"
Xenia Löffler, oboe, oboe da cacciaa;
Michael Bosch, oboeb;
Daniel Deuter, violin;
Katharina Litschig, cello, cello piccoloc;
Felix Görg, violone;
Györgyi Farkas, bassoon;
Michaela Hasselt, harpsichord
rec: Oct 5 - 8, 2020, Blaibach, Konzerthaus
Accent - ACC 24377 (© 2021) (63'21")
Liner-notes: E/D/F
Cover, track-list & booklet
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Carl Philipp Emanuel BACH (1714-1788):
Sonata for oboe da caccia, cello piccolo and bc in F (after Wq 163 / H 588)ac;
Sonata for oboe and bc in g minor (Wq 135 / H 549);
Wilhelm Friedemann BACH (1710-1784):
Symphony in A (F 70 / BR WFB C 6) (siciliano);
Johann Gottlieb JANITSCH (1708-1762):
Sonata da camera for oboe, violin and bc in b flat minor;
Carl Ludwig MATTHES (1751-?):
Sonata for oboe and bc in E flat;
Christoph SCHAFFRATH (1709-1763):
Quartet for 2 oboes, violin and bc in E flat (CSWV D,6)b
Under Frederick the Great the Prussian chapel, first in Rheinsberg, then in Berlin, developed into one of the best in Germany in the mid-18th century. Frederick's musical taste is often described as rather conservative and unimaginative, but he certainly recognized talent in the players and composers around. As a result, his chapel included some of the finest and most brilliant musicians of his time, such as the Graun and Benda brothers, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Johann Joachim Quantz. The latter was his flute teacher, as the King was a fanatical player of the transverse flute, who loved to perform the sonatas and concertos of his teacher.
The first of the two discs that are the subject of this review, is entirely devoted to music for Frederick's favourite instrument. It fittingly opens with a piece from Johann Sebastian Bach's Musicalisches Opfer, which is the result of the composer's visit to Frederick in 1747. The story goes that the King gave Bach a subject on which to improvise, which the composer later used as the starting point of the Musicalisches Opfer. There can be no doubt that Frederick greatly admired the old master, and therefore it is appropriate to include here one of his chamber works. The Sonata in G has been preserved in two versions: one for viola da gamba and harpsichord, the other for two transverse flutes and basso continuo. Here we get an arrangement for harpsichord and flute.
Frederick may have admired Bach, his relationship with the latter's second son Carl Philipp Emanuel was not without trouble. He undoubtedly recognized Emanuel's talent, which explains the latter's appointment to court harpsichordist. However, he did not really appreciate his compositions, which were too modern and too experimental for his taste. Therefore it seems questionable that he often played some of Emanuel's sonatas for his instrument. The Sonata in G included here may have been to his taste, though, as it is written in the galant idiom, which Frederick liked. This sonata dates from Emanuel's time in Frankfurt/Oder (1734-38). It was in particular his teacher Quantz who wrote the music the King liked to play. The Sonata in b minor is a good example: it is written in the galant style, but is technically challenging enough to tickle Frederick's ego. The last movement includes some wide leaps and staccato passages. Interestingly we also get one of Frederick's own compositions. These were part of the repertoire he used to play during his evening performances at his court. They are generally considered rather mediocre, but in my view there is little wrong with his Sonata in a minor. It is certainly not inferior to much other stuff in the galant idiom that was written in his time.
One of the composers which were in Frederick's service was Carl Heinrich Graun, one of two brothers, the other being Johann Gottlieb. The latter was mainly active as a violinist and a composer of instrumental music, whereas Carl Heinrich was a singer and focused on the composition of vocal music, including operas. He has become mainly known for his Passion oratorio Der Tod Jesu. Even so, it would be wrong to suggest that all the instrumental works were written by Johann Gottlieb. The numbers (GraunWV) refer to a catalogue of the oeuvre of the Grauns, put together by Christoph Henzel. He made a clear distinction between pieces which can be attributed to Johann Gottlieb (A), Carl Heinrich (B) or one of them (C). The Sonata in D included here seems to be for sure a piece by Carl Heinrich. It is in three movements in the order that was common in Berlin in the mid-18th century: slow, fast, fast. It is another specimen of the galant style.
The disc ends with a piece by Gabriele Toia, Abschied von Potsdam (Farewell to Potsdam), written to mark CPE Bach's move from Berlin to Hamburg, where he was going to succeed his godfather Georg Philipp Telemann as Musikdirektor. Here Gabriele Formenti plays a modern flute, whereas in the other items he plays the copy of a flute once owned by Frederick the Great himself. This disc is a nice mixture of familiar and lesser known stuff, which gives a good impression of the world of Frederick and the music practice at his court. Formenti delivers fine performances, which do justice to the style of the respective pieces. I only had wished a sharper articulation here and there. I tend to think that these performances may be more Italian than German. Gabriele Toia is a reliable partner at the harpsichord, but his contributions are overshadowed by the flute due to the recording technique. The balance between the instruments is generally rather unsatisfying.
Whereas the music on the first disc may have been performed at Frederick's court, most of the repertoire recorded by Xenia Löffler and her colleagues was performed in Berlin, in concerts given in domestic surroundings, but open to everyone interested, known as 'academies'. The best-known of them were the Freitagsakademien in the home of Johann Gottlieb Janitsch. He was born in Schweidnitz in Silesia (now Swidnica in Poland) and was educated at the bass viol. After having been a law student in Frankfurt an der Oder where he also played a major role in local musical life, he joined the chapel of Frederick, then still Crown Prince of Prussia, in Ruppin, later Rheinsberg. He was especially famous for his quartets; his colleague Johann Wilhelm Hertel considered them "the best specimens of the genre". Here we get a trio sonata, the Sonata da Camera in B flat for oboe and violin. All three movements are opened by the violin; in the first and second movement it plays a passage of considerable length before it is joined by the oboe. The sonata includes both imitation and episodes in parallel motion.
The genre of the quartet is represented here by the Quartet in E flat by Christoph Schaffrath. Not much is known about him before the 1730's. He was born in Hohenstein, but whether he came from a musical family or who his first teacher was is not known. In 1733 he applied for the position of organist at the Sophienkirche in Dresden, but he was rejected - Wilhelm Friedemann Bach received the post instead. In 1734 he entered the service of Frederick; after the latter's ascension to the throne he was appointed court harpsichordist, alongside Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. In 1741 he entered the service of Frederick's sister Anna Amalia. It seems this resulted in Schaffrath leaving the court, as he isn't mentioned in a list of musicians of the chapel from 1754. In Schaffrath's oeuvre the keyboard obviously takes an important place, but he also wrote chamber music for different combinations of instruments. In the quartet recorded here the two oboes and the violin are treated on strictly equal footing. It includes episodes in which he juxtaposes them: two oboes vs violin.
Janitsch and Schaffrath are not unknown quantities, even though the largest part of their output is still waiting to be rediscovered and recorded. The only unknown composer in the programme is Carl Ludwig Matthes, who has no entry in my edition of New Grove. He is also one of two who was never in the service of Frederick. He was rather active as oboist in the ensemble of the Margrave Frederick Henry of Brandenburg-Schwedt. Only two pieces from his pen have come down to us, both published by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. Here we get the Sonata in E flat. The first movement includes quite some coloratura, whereas the middle movement, largo, is expressive, partly due to the composer's treatment of harmony.
The second composer who was not part of Frederick's musical establishment was Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. However, as he was for some years organist in Dresden, he undoubtedly was in close contact to the composers who worked at the court. Only the middle movement of his Symphony in A has survived; it is scored for oboe, bassoon and basso continuo.
Lastly, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. He only wrote three works for oboe, two solo concertos and the Sonata in g minor. The latter may date from his time in Leipzig, which makes it likely that it was written under the guidance of his father. The opening adagio includes chromaticism, whereas the two fast movements are leaning towards the galant idiom. The programme also ends with a piece by Emanuel: the Sonata in F is one of his most remarkable chamber music pieces because of its unusual scoring for bass recorder and viola. These parts are played here by oboe da caccia and cello piccolo.
Xenia Löffler is one of today's most brilliant oboists. She has made quite a number of discs with all sorts of music from the 18th century. I only mention here her excellent recording of CPE Bach's two oboe concertos. Here we get the remaining piece for oboe by Emanuel, which also receives an outstanding performance. The whole programme is excellently performed, by Löffler herself and by her colleagues. There are some fine solo contributions by Daniel Deuter on the violin and Katharina Litschig on the cello piccolo. The ensemble is impeccable. This disc also attests to the quality of what was written in Berlin in the mid-18th century. It is nice that this repertoire is now taken seriously and receives much more attention than in the past.
Johan van Veen (© 2022)
Relevant links:
Xenia Löffler