musica Dei donum
CD reviews
German flute sonatas
[I] "Prussian Blue - Flute music at the court of Frederick the Great"
Sophia Aretz, transverse flute;
Alexander von Heißen, harpsichord
rec: [n.d., n.p.]
Hänssler Classic - HC22024 (© 2022) (56'17")
Liner-notes: E/D
Cover & track-list
Spotify
ANNA AMALIA of Prussia:
Sonata in F;
Carl Philipp Emanuel BACH (1714-1788):
Sonata in d minor (Wq 145 / H 569);
FREDERICK the Great: 1712-1786):
Sonata in e minor (SpiF 154);
Sonata in b minor (SpiF 83);
Johann Joachim QUANTZ (1697-1773):
Sonata in c minor (QV 2, Anh 5)
[II] Martin Friedrich CANNABICH (c1690-1773): "Sigr. Canaby - All flute sonatas by Martin Friedrich Cannabich"
Lorenzo Gabriele, transverse flute;
Matthias Bergmann, cello;
Seulki Bae, harpsichord
rec: Nov 22 - 27, 2022, Berlin-Wannsee, Andreaskirche
Aulicus - ALC 0118 (© 2024) (69'24")
Liner-notes: E
Cover, track-list & booklet
Scores
Spotify
Sonata in D, op. 1,1;
Sonata in b minor, op. 1,2;
Sonata in G, op. 1,3;
Sonata in e minor, op. 1,4;
Sonata in g minor, op. 1,5;
Sonata in D, op. 1,6;
Sonata in D (WoO)
Sources:
Sonate a Flauto Traversiere Solo e Basso Composte dal Sigr. Canaby Musico di S.A.E. Palatino del Reno. Opera Prima, 1741
In the Renaissance and the 17th century the recorder was the favourite instrument of musical amateurs. That lasted well into the 18th century, but in the course of the first half of that century it became strong competition from the transverse flute. Around the mid-18th century it had overshadowed the recorder. The reasons are musical. In the second quarter of the 18th century a change in musical taste took place. More and more music was written in the galant idiom, in which melody was the foundation of music rather than counterpoint. The recorder missed the light touch that was one of the features of the galant style. On the other side of the coin we see the Empfindsamkeit and Sturm und Drang, which aimed at expressing human emotions, which were supposed to be felt by performers themselves. Part of this style were (sudden) contrasts in dynamics, which were impossible to realise on the recorder, whose dynamic capabilities were limited.
Across Europe a large amount of music for the transverse flute or with at least a flute part was produced from the 1740s onwards. At first the repertoire largely consisted of sonatas for flute and basso continuo, linking up with a tradition going back to the 17th century. With time the harpsichord was given concertante parts, resulting in sonatas for harpsichord and a melody instrument, such as the flute. In the second half of the 18th century the transverse flute became part of a larger chamber music ensemble, such as trios, quartets and quintets, mostly with strings.
The first disc reviewed here is devoted to music written at and around the court of Frederick the Great. He himself was an avid player of the flute, which stimulated composers in his service to write music which he could play. The most prominent of them was Johann Joachim Quantz who was also the king's flute teacher. About 300 concertos and even more sonatas for flute flooded out of his pen, and the king himself also wrote music for his own instrument. All these pieces are written in the galant idiom. That also goes for the sonata by Frederick's sister Anna Amalia, who did not play the flute herself (she played the keyboard), and whose taste was rather conservative.
The programme recorded by Sophia Aretz and Alexander von Heißen offers an interesting portrait of the musical world of Frederick. Part of that world was also Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. It is not very likely that his Sonata in d minor was played at Frederick's court, let alone by the king himself. He did not like the music of his harpsichordist, who had to accompany him when he played the flute, but must have had mixed feelings about his employer's taste. His sonatas were often experimental, very much exponents of the Empfindsamkeit and Sturm und Drang. The sonata played here seems to have been included to show the differences between the galant idiom and that of CPE Bach. Karsten Erik Ose emphasizes these differences. "A good impression of what can be called "original", i.e. unique, in C.P.E. Bach can be gained by listening carefully to the last bars of the slow movement of his trio sonata in D minor on the present recording: the upper voices float up to heaven in an especially enraptured and spherical manner, in order to unite blissfully with one another - in an aural realm where contrapuntal art no longer
has anything to say, but where the expression of human nature and its emotional reactions are of the utmost importance. Compare those measures with the "worked", fugal final movement of the trio sonata in C minor by Quantz, and one understands the aesthetic discrepancy between art and nature that opens up between the two composers."
He is right, but one should not conclude that the rest of the programme is of mediocre quality. Music in the galant idiom had not the aim of disturbing the audience's feelings, and was much less 'personal'. And let us not forget that CPE Bach also composed music that was much more moderate, aimed at Liebhaber - amateurs for whom highly emotional pieces may have been difficult to understand. If played well, galant music can be very nice to listen to and entertaining, and they are played very well here. These are top class performances, and this is the way such music needs to be played in order to be enjoyed by an audience. It needs no saying that the two artists fully explore the particular features of CPE Bach's magnificent sonata. Both pay much attention to the surprises and sudden changes of mood.
This is a disc each lover of the transverse flute will enjoy.
With the second disc we meet a composer hardly anybody may have heard of. However, the name Canaby under which a set of six sonatas for transverse flute and basso continuo was published in Paris in 1741 is not the real name of the composer. The man behind that name is Martin Friedrich (or Matthias Franciscus) Cannabich. That name sounds familiar: Christian Cannabich was one of the composers who influenced the young Mozart, especially through his symphonies. Martin Friedrich was his father, who first appears as a flautist in the list of musicians of 1706 at the court of the Margrave of Baden in Rastatt. He later was active at the courts of Düsseldorf and Heidelberg, and in 1720 he moved to Mannheim, where he played in the court orchestra, which would become famous as one of the sources of a new style, known as the 'Mannheim school', of which his son Christian was a prominent exponent.
Martin Friedrich's only extant compositions are seven sonatas for transverse flute and one sonata for violin, all with basso continuo. Lorenzo Gabriele recorded the seven flute sonatas, which are a mixture of baroque and galant elements, and in that respect they mark the transition from the past to the future. A look at their construction attests to that.
All but one of the Op. 1 sonatas are in three movements. The exception is No. 2, which follows the Corellian model: in has four movements in the order slow - fast - slow - fast. The same goes for the Sonata in D, which has been preserved in manuscript. However, the other sonatas may be all in three movements: the order and nature of them is different. Three sonatas are in the order common in the late Baroque: fast - slow - fast. One of these closes with a tempo di minuetto, a typical feature of the galant style. The last two sonatas are in the order which was to become common in the mid-18th century, especially in Berlin: slow - fast - fast.
Listening to these sonatas reveals that they are quite virtuosic, which is confirmed by a look at the scores (available at the Petrucci Music Library). The flute part is very busy, with lots of (fast) runs, often of a wide range (up to one and a half octave), and appoggiaturas. This music may show features of the galant idiom, technically they are of a different level in comparison with what was produced by later exponents of that style. The brilliance of the late Baroque is very much present in these sonatas.
This is one of the cases where one wonders why it has taken so long before this repertoire has been recorded. These sonatas are top of the bill and deserve to be part of the standard repertoire. Lorenzo Gabriele and his colleagues deserve praise for their decision to record them. What makes this disc even more important is the way Cannabich's sonatas are performed. The tempi are perfectly chosen, reflecting the importance of the contrasts within these sonatas. Especially interesting, and contributing to the tension and dramatic features of these works, is the treatment of the tempo by Gabriele, now and then slowing down - also in the appoggiaturas - and then increasing the speed, very much in the way Jed Wentz and his ensemble Musica ad Rhenum use to perform baroque sonatas. In addition, Gabriele adds cadenzas, for instance at the end of the allegro from the manuscript Sonata in D, which suddenly and unexpectedly turns into the ensuing largo. In the Sonata No. 6 Gabriele opens the first movement with a cadenza. This is all brilliantly done. Matthias Bergmann and Seulki Bae strongly contribute to the excitement by way of their harmonic and rhythmic delivery of the basso continuo part.
In my view, this is one of the most interesting and compelling recordings of baroque flute music of recent years.
Johan van Veen (© 2024)
Relevant links:
Sophia Aretz
Matthias Bergmann
Lorenzo Gabriele
Alexander von Heißen