musica Dei donum
CD reviews
"Bachs Lübeck"
Cappella della Lettera
Dir: Andreas Kammenos
rec: July 26 - 27, 2022, Karlsruhe, Wolfgang-Rihm-Forum
Solo Musica - SM 453 (© 2024) (69'32")
Liner-notes: E/D
Cover, track-list & booklet
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Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750):
Trio super Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend (BWV 655);
Dieterich BUXTEHUDE (1637-1707):
Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott (BuxWV 184);
Herr Jesu Christ, ich weiss gar wohl (BuxWV 185);
Kommt her zu mir, spricht Gottes Sohn (BuxWV 201);
Passacaglia in a minor (BuxWV 272);
Prelude in D (BuxWV 139);
Sonata in D (BuxWV 268);
Suite in C (BuxWV 226);
Wir danken dir, Herr Jesu Christ (BuxWV 224);
Johann Jacob FROBERGER (1616-1667):
Partita auff die Mayerin in G (FbWV 606);
Petrus HASSE the Elder (c1585?-1640):
Sonata da chiesa in F;
Johann Heinrich SCHMELZER (c1620/23-1680):
Sonata I in C;
Franz TUNDER (1614-1667):
Canzon in G;
Prelude in g minor
Sources:
Johann Jacob Froberger, Libro secondo di toccate, fantasie, canzone, allemande, courante, sarabande, gigue et altre partite, 1649;
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer, Johann Heinrich Schmelzer, Sonatae unarum fidium, 1664
Andreas Kammenos, recorder;
Evnike Kammenos, violin;
Dmitri Dichtiar, cello;
Konstantina Lazaridou, harpsichord, organ
Arranging music for different scorings was a common practice in the baroque era, not only by performers, but also by composers. In the oeuvre of the main composers of the period one can find numerous examples. From that perspective there is no objection against performers doing the same in our time. Of all instrumentalists recorder players are particularly keen to arrange music for their instrument, as not that much music was specifically written for it. Moreover, the recorder was first and foremost an instrument of amateurs. In orchestral music, recorder parts were usually played by oboists.
The disc which is the subject of this review is nearly entirely devoted to arrangements of music for recorder, in collaboration with violin, cello and keyboard. The programme sheds light on the connection between Johann Sebastian Bach and Lübeck, which he visited in 1705, in order to listen to the famous Dieterich Buxtehude. The fact that he stayed there longer than he was allowed, says much about his admiration of Buxtehude and the musical climate in Lübeck, which was famous for its Abendmusiken. Rather than giving an impression of what Bach may have heard there - which is impossible to say, as it has not been documented - the programme offers a survey of the music by Buxtehude and his environment.
Part of the latter is Franz Tunder, his predecessor as organist at the Marienkirche, who founded the Abendmusiken. He was the pupil of Petrus Hasse the Elder, who is also included in the programme. Johann Heinrich Schmelzer was in the service of the imperial court in Vienna, and it is unlikely that he and Buxtehude knew each other. However, under Tunder the Marienkirche purchased a collection of trio sonatas by him, which Buxtehude may have known. He certainly did know the oeuvre of Johann Jacob Froberger. He was close with the main representatives of music life in Hamburg, where Matthias Weckmann was organist. The latter was a personal friend of Froberger, and through him Buxtehude may have known the latter's music. Froberger's influence is notable in Buxtehude's oeuvre.
As mentioned, all the pieces performed here are arranged for recorder and other instruments. The only exception is Buxtehude's Suite in C for harpsichord, which is also the most convincing item in the programme. Otherwise this recording leaves me unsatisfied.
Let me start with the track-list. It is rather odd that it does not include the name of any composer. Only the catalogue numbers BuxWV and BWV reveal who the composer of the respective pieces are. The composers of the remaining pieces are only mentioned in the tags.
The canzon and prelude by Franz Tunder were originally written for the organ, as were many pieces by Buxtehude and the only work by Bach. Andreas Kammenos, in his liner-notes, refers to the similarities between the recorder and the organ. This is the reason why performances of in particular organ works by Bach on recorders are often quite convincing, especially as they are dominated by counterpoint, which can perfectly be realized by a consort of recorders. However, here we have performances by a 'broken consort' - an ensemble of instruments of different families. And that works far less well. Buxtehude's Prelude in D is a case in point. It is played on recorder, violin and cello, and because of the differences in sound of these instruments, the piece falls apart. Something similar happens with several other pieces as well. Froberger's Partite auff die Maÿerin is a particularly awkward: in this performance on recorder and cello I would not have recognized it, if I had not known what it was.
The Sonata in D by Buxtehude is played on the bass recorder, taking the original part for viola da gamba. That may seem a quite convincing alternative, but as the two instruments differ in their dynamic range, it is not. The same problem manifests itself in the Sonata I by Schmelzer. The solo part is intended for violin, and although the ensemble includes a violinist, it was decided to play it on the recorder. Given the fact that this is music which really needs dynamic differentiation, this performance fails to do justice to the character of the piece.
The programme includes a number of organ works on chorales. Such works can certainly be played with the participation of an additional instrument. Bach's pupil Johann Ludwig Krebs composed several such pieces, in which the chorale melody is played on instruments such as the oboe or the trumpet. In such cases, the wind instrument works like an additional stop at the organ. With the combination of recorder and a small organ that is impossible. Buxtehude's Herr Jesu Christ, ich weiss gar wohl is even played by recorder and harpsichord, and is one of the least-satisfying chorale-based pieces here.
This recording also raises questions. Petrus Hasse the Elder is represented by a Sonata da chiesa in F. I can't identify it: the work-list in New Grove does not mention any work of this kind. It must be an organ piece, but which? The use of a cello in this programme is also questionable. This instrument - the baroque cello as we know it and as it is played in 18th-century music - came onto the scene in Italy in the last decades of the 17th century. It seems unlikely that it was used in Lübeck in Buxtehude's time. If a string bass was used, it was mostly the viola da gamba, probably alongside the bass violin.
All in all, I am rather disappointed by this recording. That is all the more regrettable as the members of the ensemble are excellent players. Andreas Kammenos (*2004) is an outstanding recorder player, who has already made a career despite his young age. That seems well deserved, and I hope to hear more from him, but then in a more convincing programme. The fine playing cannot compensate for the ill-judged programming and arranging of the present disc.
Johan van Veen (© 2025)
Relevant links:
Cappella della Lettera