ABEL Symphonies: in B?; in E?. Overtures: in C op 5/2 ; in G; in D; in C, op1/2 • Paul Dombrecht, cond; Il Fondamento (period instruments) • PASSACAILLE 903 (60: 33)


Carl Friedrich Abel (1723–87) is one of those composers who had an excellent reputation during his lifetime, achieved not only as a soloist on the viola da gamba but as an impresario of a public concert series in London along with his partner Johann Christian Bach and as a composer of solid, well-crafted compositions. Among these are some 40 or 50 symphonies, most of which were written both for publication and for performance at his own concerts. This group seems to have been chosen by conductor Paul Dombrecht for the disc, I would venture to say, based upon the works that appealed to him. Although the terms “overture” and “symphony” are used, in reality there is no difference whatsoever between the six pieces; all are in three movements conforming to the popular Italian model, and all were published during Abel’s lifetime. He seems to use the same formula for each work, two fast movements flanking a slow lyrical Andante. All movements are about the same length, averaging four minutes, although four of the works have a final movement that hovers about two minutes, sort of a fast-paced dessert.


Despite all of the similarities, these symphonies are not simply formulaic. Abel knows the popularity of the various mannerisms derived from the famed Mannheim orchestra—the sighs, the layered crescendos, the tremolo strings, and the rocketing split triads—but his use of them is quite varied. In the E?-Symphony, for instance, the theme takes a bit to start moving, in effect suspending time for a few moments, like a breath. In the first C-Major work, the first movement is in a ritornello style, vigorous and decisive, with the third rounding off the work in a peasant’s dance. The third movement of the G Major seems to have been inspired by a hunt, while the B?-Symphony’s first movement is a serious statement, very Sturm und Drang , again with a quasi-hunt to keep the mood a bit lighter. The D Major could have been written by Joseph Haydn, with its monothematic development and good cohesive structure. These show both Abel’s ability to write with talent and craftsmanship, as well as his awareness of what was popular at the time.


The recording itself is a bit dated, although the performance is fine, as these things go. It was done in 1994, about the same time as the crop of other available Abel symphonies recordings, including Anthony Halstead and the Hannover Band on cpo, Adrian Shepherd’s Cantilena on Chandos, and Michael Schneider with La Stagione on cpo as well. The difference is that all of these seem to focus on the usual six-work printed collections: Schneider on the op. 10, Halstead on the op. 17, and Shepherd on the op. 7. In this, Dombrecht chooses a more eclectic sampling; only the B?-Major work has been recorded before. The performances here have a good sense of phrasing and tempos, and the playing, particularly by the strings, is fairly secure. My only peeve is that there seems to be an inordinately long space between movements and works at times, but then I may be expecting less space. The horns can sound a bit forceful at moments, and I found the overall sound a touch hollow, perhaps even somewhat muffled. If you are collecting Abel, this recording will complement the other three, and you probably should include it, as it is fully up to the standards of the other three. Personally, I would love to see a more modern recording of a group doing the entire corpus of Abel symphonies in a series.


FANFARE: Bertil van Boer

The fame that he enjoyed in his lifetime clearly hasn’t served Carl Friedrich Abel well in the two centuries since his death. He was fêted all over Europe both for his supreme skills as a performer of the viola da gamba as well as for the quality of his compositions, and was responsible (along with JC Bach) for setting up arguably the first series of subscription concerts in the history of Western music, the “BachAbel-Concerts”. Even the prodigy that was Mozart benefited from Abel’s teachings (and was claimed as the composer of one Abel’s own symphonies). All this was known by keen minds of the time such as Charles Burney, JF Reichardt and Goethe.

Czech gambist Petr Wagner delivers here a scintillating rendition of Abel’s ever inventive music which ranges across Preludes, Adagios and sundry dance forms. Where to place this “late” music for the viola da gamba? Not Baroque and definitely heading in the direction of the classicism of Mozart, Haydn and even Beethoven.

Classical Music

The recently rediscovered, so-called Pembroke collection owned by the Abel-pupil Lady Elizabeth Herbert, Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery (1737-1831), contains 14 previously unknown viol works (ten sonatas and four duos for viola da gamba and cello) by Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-87), which he composed for himself and his talented pupil. Specifically, these expressive pieces are late works that show Abel’s special way of playing. For Coviello, viola da gambist Thomas Fritzsch presents the world premiere recording of these musical jewels.

Recorded in: Henry Wood Hall, Glasgow 3-4 August 1987 Producer(s) Ralph Couzens Sound Engineer(s) Ralph Couzens Philip Couzens (Assistant)

Carl Friedrich Abel was one of the few composers to be painted by a famous painter. Two portraits of the composer, done by Thomas Gainsborough, are preserved. This shows his status as one of the foremost composers of his day. This release features his Sonatas and Trios from the Ledenburg Collection. Many of these works are receiving their world premiere recording with this release. Thomas Fritzsch is one of the finest gambists of our day. Joining him on period instruments are pianist Michael Schonheit, violinist Eva Salonen, and cellist Katharina Holzhey.

Florian Klaus Rumpf’s new release A Mandolin’s Guide to Hamburg showcases music as lively and impressive as the port city in northern Germany. Florian Klaus Rumpf decided to put the mandolin at the center of his life at the age of seven. He studied under Professor Caterina Lichtenberg, Valerij Kisseljow, and Silke Lisko at the Wuppertal campus of the Academy for Music and Dance in Cologne (Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln). His solo work has focused on the versatility of the mandolin – from baroque mandolins through to the octave mandolin and liuto cantabile. Florian Klaus Rumpf works with composers, composes pieces himself, does research, and arranges in order to ensure that the literature for this array of instruments is constantly expanding.

This new release presents an absorbing portrait of Abel Carlevaro (1916-2001) through his music as performed by Cristiano Poli Cappelli, an Italian guitarist making his second album for Brilliant Classics. The first was of guitar music by another relatively forgotten figure, Alexander Tansman, and it was enthusiastically reviewed by Classical Guitar magazine: ‘Highly recommended!’ Like Tansman, Carlevaro studied with Andres Segovia, the father of the modern guitar, during the 1930s. However, he broke away from his master’s teachings in order to make his own experiments in both guitar manufacture and composition. His music caught the ear of Heitor Villa-Lobos, another South American innovator, and it embraces the widest stylistic range captured by Poli Cappelli on this album, from the delicate watercolours of the Preludios Americanos (1969-74) to the vivid brushstrokes and abstract form of Cronomias (1972). Carlevaro’s later music returned often to the milonga, a tango-related dance popularised in the classical sphere by Astor Piazzolla. Milonga para Ling (1999) is brief but saturated with melancholy, while to the Milonga Oriental (1994) belongs one of the composer’s happiest melodic inspirations. Later still, a pair of milonga suites describe a peaceful return to the composer’s heritage. An essential acquisition for guitar aficionados, but also a collection of beautiful South American melodies that deserve to travel more widely.

During his lifetime, Carl Friedrich Abel was fêted all over Europe both for his supreme skills as a performer of the viola da gamba as well as for the quality of his compositions, and was responsible (along with J.C. Bach) for setting up arguably the first series of subscription concerts in the history of Western music, the “Bach-Abel-Concerts”. Even the prodigy that was Mozart benefited from Abel’s teachings (and was claimed as the composer of one of Abel’s own symphonies). 12 years after his recording of pieces from the Drexel Manuscript (for solo viola da gamba), Paolo Pandolfo teams up with an exquisite ensemble to record a fine selection of Abel’s sonatas, many of them recently discovered and being recorded here for the first time. Often adding his own cadenzas and ornamentations, Pandolfo and his team offer a breathtaking and colorful display of virtuosity and sensibility. The contemporary painter Thomas Gainsborough wrote that Abel “excelled at feeling upon the instrument”, while the writer of one of his obituaries likened him to Laurence Sterne, famous as the author of Tristram Shandy: “The death of Abel occasions a great loss to the musical world. Sensibility is the prevailing and beautiful characteristic of his compositions. He was the Sterne of Music.” Thus, this recording is aptly entitled A Sentimental Journey– an exploration of the world of feeling paralleling Sterne’s unfinished novel A Sentimental Journey though France and Italy.

This is Lucile Boulanger’s first solo recital. The French gambist, universally praised for her natural and moving playing – BBC Music Magazine even described her as ‘the Jacqueline du Pré of the viola da gamba’ – juxtaposes Bach with Carl Friedrich Abel, a great master of the bass viol and a close friend of the Bach family. Although Johann Sebastian never wrote for solo viola da gamba, we know that he transcribed many of his works for other instruments. So Lucile Boulanger has chosen, for example, to transcribe three dances from the Sixth Suite, ‘because it sounds particularly good on the viol, being written for five-stringed cello (a step towards the six or seven strings of the viol?). It is in D, the viol key par excellence, and its style, already somewhat galant, is reminiscent of Abel… This album gives me the opportunity to showcase the viol as both a melodic instrument – with the grain of the bow, the fragility of tone – and a polyphonic one.’