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CD reviews
"Mr Charles the Hungarian - Handel's rival in Dublin"
Irish Baroque Orchestra
Dir: Peter Whelan
rec: April 27 - 29, 2022, Drogheda (IE), St Peter's Church
Linn Records - CKD 718 (© 2023) (64'52")
Liner-notes: E
Cover, track-list & booklet
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Lorenzo BOCCHI (?-1725):
Sonata X;
George Frideric HANDEL (1685-1759):
Concerto grosso in G, op. 3,3 (HWV 314) (arr John Walsh);
Giulio Cesare (HWV 17) (Va tacito, arr John Walsh);
Il pastor fido (HWV 8c) (overture);
Water Music (arr John Walsh) (allegro - andante - allegro; passepied; minuet; bourée; hornpipe; andante; ouverture; alla hornpipe);
Johann Adolf HASSE (1699-1783):
Concerto in F;
Signora Barbarini's Minuet (after Concerto in F, op. 4,1, minuet);
Mr CHARLES (c1705/10-1780?):
Chasse;
Jean-Baptiste LULLY (1632-1687):
Le Bourgeois gentilhomme (LV 43) (Marche pour la Cérémonie des Turcs);
Georg Philipp TELEMANN (1681-1767):
Napolitana (TWV 41,B4)
Sources:
Lorenzo Bocchi, A Musical Entertainment for a Chamber, 1724/25;
Georg Philipp Telemann, Der getreue Music-Meister, 1728-1729;
Miriam Kaczor, transverse flute;
Joel Raymond, oboe;
Leo Duarte, oboe, oboe d'amore;
Nicola Boud, chalumeau;
Anneke Scott, Patrick Broderick, horn;
Michele Fattori, bassoon;
Alida Schat, Claire Duff, Therese Timoney, Henry Tong, Huw Daniel, Anita Vedres, Beatrice Scaldini, violin;
Oliver Wilson, Joanna Patrick, viola;
Jonathan Byers, Carina Drury, cello;
Christine Sticher, double bass;
Malcolm Proud, organ
A large repertoire of music from the past has been preserved, and is brought to life by performers of our time. But who were the first performers? In the case of the music written in the classical and romantic periods, we often do know them, but the further we are going back in time, the lesser we know when, where and by whom pieces were performed. Among the exceptions are mainly opera singers, who were real celebrities in the 17th and 18th centuries. In comparison, only a few instrumental virtuosos are known, and often only by name; it is not always possible to identify them. Charles the Hungarian is a case in point.
It was one of the names with which a player of several wind instruments was known; he was also known as Monsieur Charle. He may be identical with Charles or Carlo Vernsberg, a horn player who was a member of the Royal Society of Musicians during the 1730s and 40s. He first appeared in England as a performer at the Haymarket Theatre in London; it was announced that he had arrived from Paris. Between 1733 and 1756 he performed in a number of cities in England and Ireland. In the early 1750s he was active as impresario of a theatre in Bristol. He also worked as a teacher in London.
Mr Charles not only played the horn, but also the oboe d'amore, the chalumeau and the clarinet. The latter was a new instrument, and Mr Charles was one of the first who played it in England. It is often thought that the clarinet was the predecessor of the chalumeau, but the fact that Mr Charles played both of them, proves otherwise; for some time they coexisted, until the chalumeau disappeared from the scene towards the end of the 18th century.
The programme that has been recorded by the Irish Baroque Orchestra attempts to give an impression of the kind of music that Mr Charles may have performed. The Dublin Mercury mentioned a concert in 1742 in Dublin, which included works by, among others, Geminiani, Handel and Hasse. In some cases only the name of the performer is mentioned, such as Mr Charles; it seems likely that the performers played their own music. Obviously, this makes any reconstruction of the concert impossible, as these pieces are not known. That is different in the case of the composers mentioned by the Dublin Mercury. As Handel took an important place in the programme, with music from Il Pastor Fido and the Water Music, he is also the main composer in the programme. However, rather than in the original scoring, these pieces are mostly played in arrangements as published by John Walsh. The Concerto grosso in G, op. 3,3 is performed as a flute concerto, and in the Water Music the trumpet parts are adapted for oboe and clarinet.
Walsh was also the first who published music by Johann Adolf Hasse in England. The Concerto in F is a quartet for oboe, chalumeau, bassoon and basso continuo. It may well appear here for the first time on disc. As the programme of the concert in Dublin also mentioned "A Solo on the Violoncello by Signior Pasqualino", we get here a sonata by a certain Lorenzo Bocchi, taken from a collection of his sonatas published in Dublin in 1724. Mr Charles himself is included with one of twelve duets for two horns. I would have liked a bit more from him, especially as the playing of the natural horns here - and in Water Music - is quite spectacular.
Not all arrangements common in the 18th century are worthwhile, but Handel's Concerto grosso in G is an interesting and musically valuable alternative to the original scoring; Miriam Kaczor is the excellent soloist. The fact that a composer is hardly known, does tell us little to nothing about the quality of his music; Bocchi's cello sonata is an example, nicely played by Jonathan Byers. Hasse's concerto is a real discovery, thanks to the lovely combination of instruments. The chalumeau was quite popular for some time for a reason.
Charles the Hungarian may have been quite a colourful figure. Unfortunately we know very little with certainty about him. This programme is a nice tribute to him, with thanks to the soloists, the Irish Baroque Orchestra and Peter Whelan.
Johan van Veen (© 2024)
Relevant links:
Irish Baroque Orchestra