musica Dei donum
CD reviews
WF Bach: 6 Duets for 2 flutes (F 54 - 59), arranged for 2 bassoons
Satyros
rec: April/October, 1999, Berlin, Kirche Adlershof
Talis Records - TR 1001 (66'16")
Duet I in g minor (orig. in e minor) (F 54); Duet II in B flat (orig. in G)
(F 59), Duet III in F (orig. in E flat) (F 55); Duet IV B flat (orig. in F)
(F 57), Duet V in F (orig. in E flat) (F 56), Duet VI in g minor (orig in f
minor) (F 58)
Adrian Rovatkay, Christian Walter (bassoon)
These six duets for two flutes have never been published during Wilhelm
Friedemann's lifetime. That was his own fault. During his time in Berlin he had
a very strong relationship with both Johann Philipp Kirnberger and his superior,
Anna Amalia of Prussia, the sister of Frederick the Great, who admired Wilhelm
Friedemann's organ playing and was paying for his living. But that
relationship broke down after Wilhelm Friedemann seemingly tried to
outmanoeuvre Kirnberger and take over his position.
During the middle of the 18th century in Berlin the view was held that the
mastery of polyphony was the 'art of leaving out'. The secrets of harmony and
counterpoint were revealed to their full extent in strictly two-part pieces,
which were nevertheless logical and pleasant to the ear. In 1759 Johann Joachim
Quantz published a set of six duets for two flutes. He claimed they were so
logical that it was simply impossible to add a third part. Kirnberger took the
challenge: during a service, where Quantz was present, he played one of these
duets on the manual of the organ and improvised a third part on the pedal. It
led to a fervent musical debate.
These six duets by Wilhelm Friedemann are an attempt to meet the ideal described
before. That doesn't mean these works are dour illustrations of a musicological
theory. On the contrary, they are pleasant to the ear and full of surprises and
rhetorical gestures. This is hightly entertaining music, which is reflected by
the fact that they have been recorded several times before. But this is the
first recording on bassoons. They have been transposed into other keys to make
them playable on bassoons. In his short notes on the performance Christian Walter
refers to other composers of duets, like Telemann and Boismortier, who were
flexible as far as the instrumental scoring was concerned, and to Quantz, who
wrote in the preface to his duets that it was hardly necessary to explicitly
stating that performances on other instruments than flutes were possible.
The result is very well worth hearing. Both players, using baroque and
classical bassoons, are doing an excellent job. Phrasing and articulation are
very natural and logical, the ensemble playing is immaculate. Maybe one shouldn't
listen to this CD in one session: more than one hour of bassoon playing isn't
to everyone's taste.
Johan van Veen (© 2002)
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