musica Dei donum
CD reviews
"enSuite"
Korneel Bernolet, harpsichord
rec: Jan 30 - 31, 2023, Antwerp, Museum Vleeshuis
Ramée - RAM 2304 (© 2024) (80'22")
Liner-notes: E/D/F
Cover, track-list & booklet
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Carl Philipp Emanuel BACH (1714-1788):
Sonata in g minor (Wq 65,17 / H 47);
Georg Anton BENDA (1722-1795):
Sonata No. 4 in F;
Jacques DUPHLY (1715-1789):
'Sonata' in D (La Victoire; La De Villeroy; La Félix; La De Vatre);
Joseph-Hector FIOCCO (1703-1741):
Première Suite (adagio; allegro; andante; vivace);
Francesco GEMINIANI (1687-1762):
'Sonata' in g minor (tendrement; vivement; menuet)
Sources:
Joseph-Hector Fiocco, Pièces de clavecin, op. 1, 1730;
Francesco Geminiani, Pièces de clavecin tirées de différens Ouvrages, 1743;
Jacques Duphly, Second livre de pièces de clavecin, 1748;
Georg Anton Benda, Sei Sonate per il Cembalo Solo, 1757
The Museum Vleeshuis in Antwerp is the proud owner of a precious instrument: a harpsichord built by Johannes Daniel Dulcken, dated 1747. Korneel Bernolet, professor for harpsichord and in this capacity the harpsichord's guardian, presented the instrument in a recital released by Ramée in 2021. The programme focuses on music from the high Baroque; among the composers are Bach and Handel. However, there was already a hint towards a new style, with Rameau's last harpsichord piece, La Dauphine.
The second disc devoted to the Dulcken harpsichord moves forward, so to speak. We get some pieces firmly rooted in the baroque style, but also several items which reflect a new idiom. The programme is not ordered chronologically, and that makes much sense, as this way one gets a good idea of the aesthetic developments if one listens to the disc from start to finish.
The first piece is a 'sonata' by Joseph Hector Fiocco. He was born in Brussels; he was the eighth child of Pietro Antonio, who was from Venice and whose presence in Brussels is documented as early as 1682. In 1731 Joseph Hector settled in Antwerp, where he took up the position of choirmaster at the Cathedral, as successor to Willem de Fesch, who had moved to England. In 1737 he returned to Brussels, where he succeeded Pierre Hercule Bréhy as choirmaster of the collegiate church of St Michel and Ste Gudule. He died at the young age of 38. Fiocco's oeuvre comprises almost exclusively sacred music. The Pièces de clavecin op. 1 are his only known keyboard works; they were published in 1730. The book consists of two suites, each including a few dances, but mostly character pieces, as had become the fashion in France. That is the style in which his keyboard works are written. There are a few exceptions, though: the first suite ends with four pieces with Italian titles, in the order slow - fast - slow/moderate - fast. Together they have the form of a sonata, and that is how they are mostly played, as is the case here. As the titles - adagio, allegro, andante, vivace - indicate, they are written in the Italian style, but include French ornaments. The Dulcken harpsichord has a strong sound, and that suits these pieces perfectly. The chords in the adagio come off to full effect.
This 'sonata' is followed by a real sonata, from the pen of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. The Sonata in g minor dates from 1748 and has been preserved in manuscript. The fact that it was not published may well be an indication that it was mainly meant for Bach's own performances. The style seems to confirm this. In his collections for Kenner und Liebhaber he included a 'popular' rondo, mainly intended for Liebhaber (amateurs), whereas he offered the Kenner (professionals) a fantasia. His pieces with this title are his most personal works, which are not easy to grasp. He is there at his most experimental, and the Sonata in g minor is a good example. Like the fantasias it has marked improvisatory traits; one sometimes gets the impression that the music is invented on the spot. This sonata includes many dynamic markings, and it is the challenge to realize them on this harpsichord, which has only one manual. Bernolet does so by using the many pauses - which are especially frequent in the third movement - to change the registration. Bach may have had a double-manual instrument in mind, or a clavichord, which is able to create dynamic contrasts. The fortepiano had not established itself yet at the time of composition.
Jiri Antonin (Georg Anton) Benda, the brother of the famous violinist Franz Benda, worked for most of his life at the court in Saxe-Gotha. He has become famous for his Singspiele and melodramas. In 1778 he resigned as Kapellmeister in Gotha, and started to travel around. His hope of another engagement didn't materialize. He retired and concentrated on sorting out his compositions and preparing them for publication. The Sonata in F is taken from a set of six, printed in 1757. It shows strong similarity with CPE Bach's sonata, for instance in its improvisatory features. That certainly goes for the middle movement, which Bernolet, in his liner-notes, compares with a fantasia. However, the fast movements are certainly not devoid of the capriciousness which is typical of the keyboard music written in Germany in the mid-18th century. If there is a limitation with regard to the use of a single-manual harpsichord, it is probably in the slow movement, which has the indication largo, sempre piano. The piano may have been more effective on another instrument.
With Francesco Geminiani we return to the baroque style. He is mainly known as a violinist, who claimed to be a pupil of Arcangelo Corelli, whose sonatas Op. 5 he arranged as concerti grossi. He mainly worked in England, but also visited France a few times. His first visit lasted from the end of 1732 until September 1733. This resulted in the odd work out in his oeuvre, the Pièces de clavecin, which were printed simultaneously in London and Paris in 1743. One may wonder about the composer's skills at the harpsichord. It is generally assumed that he was strongly influenced by the music of the French harpsichord composers which he heard during his stay in Paris. At that time there were many French composers who embraced the Italian style, Geminiani was one of the few Italians who adopted elements of the French taste. His sonatas op. 4 for violin and basso continuo bear witness to that, and it can't be a coincidence that he took movements from this collection for keyboard arrangements. The French influence is already clear from the title, and the French language is used throughout the collection in his indications for the interpreter. The 'sonata' Bernolet is playing, comprises three pieces from the collection. The last, a minuet, is a particularly unusual piece, which was previously published separately with the title of Celebrated Minuet. It is a series of variations, the first of which includes dissonant arpeggios.
The recital ends with Jacques Duphly. He was born in Rouen and was educated by the Cathedral's organist François d'Agincourt. In 1732 he became organist of the Cathedral in Evreux, and moved to Saint-Eloi in Rouen two years later. In 1740 he was appointed organist of Notre-Dame-de-la-Ronde in the same town, but left his job two years later. He settled in Paris where he concentrated on the harpsichord. There is no sign of his taking any official job. He probably made a living as a teacher among the upper echelons of society. Contemporaries state that he was one of the greatest keyboard players of his time, alongside Rameau and Balbastre. In the last decades of his life he led more or less a secluded life, and soon he was almost forgotten. Whereas the first book included seven dances and seven character pieces, in the second book of 1748 we only find two dances. All the other pieces are character pieces, apparently devoted to people from the composer's environment. This book also shows an increasing influence of Rameau and of the Italian style. Bernolet plays the first four pieces from this book in the form of a sonata. The two most spectacular items are the second, La De Villeroy, and the fourth, La De Vatre; both have the character indication hardiment: "bold, daring". My favourite is La Félix, a beautiful rondeau, which receives an excellent performance, with some subtle and well-judged rubato.
Korneel Bernolet and the Museum Vleeshuis are very proud of this harpsichord, and rightly so. It is remarkable how well it serves a variety of pieces: French, Italian and German, baroque and post baroque. That is also due to the player: Bernolet's familiarity with the instrument and his thorough knowledge of the repertoire results in a compelling recital. Like the first disc, this one should be part of the collection of each lover of early keyboard music. Let's hope for more.
Johan van Veen (© 2024)
Relevant links:
Korneel Bernolet