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CD reviews
"Baroque Concertos with Recorder - Treasures from Swedish collections"
Emelie Roos, recorder
Höör Barock
rec: June 2021, Eslövs, Västra Sallerups Kyrka
Proprius - PRCD2091 (© 2022) (68'16")
Liner-notes: E/D/SE
Cover, track-list & booklet
Spotify
Bartolomeo BERNARDI (1660-1732) or Giuseppe TORELLI (1658-1709):
Concerto for [recorder,] strings and bc No. 2 in A;
Concerto for [recorder,] strings and bc No. 3 in D;
Concerto for [recorder,] strings and bc No. 4 in D;
Francesco GASPARINI (1661-1727):
Concerto for recorder (?)/transverse flute (?), strings and bc in a minor;
George Frideric HANDEL (1685-1759):
Sonata for recorder, violin and bc in b minor, op. 2,1a (HWV 386a);
Johan Helmich ROMAN (1694-1758):
Concerto for transverse flute [recorder], strings and bc in G (BeRI 54);
Giuseppe SAMMARTINI (1695-1750):
Concerto for recorder, strings and bc in G;
Antonio VIVALDI (1678-1741):
Concerto for oboe [recorder], strings and bc in C (RV 446)
Hannah Tibell, Kanerva Juutilainen, violin;
Rastko Roknic, viola;
Hanna Loftsdottir, cello;
Megan Adie, violone;
Dohyo Sol, lute;
Marcus Mohlin, harpsichord;
Benjamin Åberg, organ
Music of the baroque era is taken from three sources: autographs, printed editions or handwritten copies of one of these. The latter are sometimes identical with the original, but they can also be adapted in one way or another, for instance to serve the needs of the one who made the copy or of the person(s) for whom he made them. Private collections of music are particularly interesting, as they reveal which composers were popular, what kind of music was in demand and how music was adapted to personal needs.
The disc discussed here has "Treasures from Swedish collections" as its subtitle. Johan Helmich Roman was the first Swedish-born composer, and this explains why Swedish amateurs needed music from other parts of Europe to play. Roman himself played an important role in the import of foreign music. "In 1738, on an assignment from the Swedish court, Roman embarked on another musical journey to gather works by various composers and bring them back to Sweden. This trip lasted two years, with visits to England, Italy, Austria and Germany. Through his rich compositional style, teaching, arranging of the first official concerts in Sweden, the setting up of performances of large-scale works in the capital, and expanding musical repertoire in the Swedish language, Roman contributed greatly to Sweden’s musical life, earning him the title 'The Father of Swedish Music'." (booklet)
The programme of this disc is based on three sources: two are preserved at the Akademiska kapellet in Lund, and one at the Kungliga Musikaliska Akademi in Stockholm. The presence of pieces by Handel and Vivaldi cannot surprise. Their compositions were among the most popular in the first half of the 18th century. The copy of the Sonata in b minor by Handel is not unique; it has been preserved in many sources. However, it comes in different scorings. The track-list is incorrect in labelling it as Op. 2 No. 1 with the catalogue number HWV 386b. Emelie Roos, in her liner-notes, mentions that it was originally conceived for recorder (with violin), and later reworked for the transverse flute. As she obviously plays the original version, the track-list should have given the data connected to it: Op. 2 No. 1a and HWV 386a. These are the data used in the header here.
The Concerto in C by Vivaldi is mentioned in the catalogue with the scoring for oboe. In one of the collections from Lund, the solo part was originally marked with "flaut ameck", later replaced by "oboe". Emelie Roos suggests that "flaut ameck" may mean "flaut abeck", the Swedish equivalent of the French term for recorder, flûte à bec. That is the justification of playing it on the recorder. It does sound very well in this scoring.
Sometimes a collection includes pieces that are unknown from other sources. That may be the case - but the liner-notes don't mention it - with the Concerto in A minor by Francesco Gasparini, who has left a large oeuvre of vocal music, but has become known especially as a keyboard teacher; his most famous pupil was Domenico Scarlatti. The work-list in New Grove is long, but includes only a few instrumental works. This concerto is not mentioned; Emelie Roos calls it a "flute concerto", without indicating whether this refers to the recorder or the transverse flute. Given the year of Gasparini's death, both are possible.
There can be no doubt about the intended scoring of the two Concertos in G by Sammartini and Roman. Giuseppe Sammartini (whose first name is misspelled as Guiseppe) was a famous oboist, and also played the recorder and the transverse flute. He worked in England, and there Roman may have met him. It seems possible that the Concerto in G for recorder came in Sweden in Roman's luggagem when he returned to Sweden. It is one of Sammartini's best-known works.
Roman's concerto is for the transverse flute and is recorded here for the first time on the recorder. It is not clear whether this piece is included in one of the above-mentioned sources. It has been recorded here, because it may have been the Concert för Fleuttravers that was performed during the memorial service for Roman that was arranged by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1767.
Three pieces are taken from one collection preserved in one of the Lund sources. It is a set of six concertos for the so-called 6th flute, named klein flaut. Roman used this instrument, that was particularly popular in England, in his Drottningholm Musiken. As it also appears in other collections of music from Sweden, it must have been popular there as well. The indication of the composers is confusing. Two are mentioned: Bartolomeo Bernardi and Giuseppe (again erroneously spelled as Guiseppe) Torelli. The latter was from Verona, but has been mainly active in Bologna. In 1698/99 he was maestro di concerto at the court of the Margrave of Brandenburg in Ansbach. Bartolomeo Bernardi was from Bologna, but worked from 1703 until his death - with an interruption between 1705 to 1710 - at the court in Copenhagen. Five of the six concertos are arrangements of concertos for strings and basso continuo, which were part of a set of eight sonatas or concertos by various composers published in two volumes in Amsterdam around 1700. The title page refers to "M.rs Bernardi, Torelli, Mossi e autres fameux Auters", but the edition not specify which piece is written by whom. That makes it impossible to say which of the two composers has written the three pieces performed here. The liner-notes don't say why, for instance, Mossi was excluded as a possible composer.
Unfortunately that is a feature of this production. I would have liked more information about the sources and the scorings. That is especially useful when the music is taken from sources that are not that well-known and not easily available. That is all the more disappointing as the production as a whole is very interesting, as I have indicated at the start of this review, and the performances are outstanding. Emelie Roos is a highly skilled recorder player, who shows a great stylistic insight, for instance in her addition of ornamentation, and plays with verve and imagination. She is supported by a fine ensemble, which plays with esprit and dynamic differentiation.
The fact that several pieces have been recorded for the first time, is a further asset of this production. Not only lovers of the recorder will enjoy this disc.
Johan van Veen (© 2025)
Relevant links:
Emelie Roos
Höör Barock