World Première Recordings

Giovanni Battista Sammartini attained a leading role in Milan’s music scene in the 18th century, his career extending from the height of the Baroque era to the Classical worlds of Mozart and Haydn by his death in 1775. Appearing here in world premiere recordings, these works appear to belong to Sammartini’s early period, including a four-movement example that recollects archaic church sonata form. Full of fascinating stylistic quirks, these sonatas reflect the refined taste for nuance found in the Milanese musician’s finest chamber works, with an easy melodic flow that expresses a mood for stylistic change.

Includes work(s) by Gio Battista Sammartini. Soloists: Gianfranco Iannetta, Roberto Noferini, Andrea Noferini, Bruno Canino.

Sammartini’s music is well worth hearing in these attractive performances.

Giovanni Battista Sammartini was the more famous of two musical Milanese brothers and one of the most influential agents in the development of the symphony. Roberto Gini has already recorded some of Sammartini’s Symphonies and Overtures for Dynamic (CDS414). This new recording presents nine of the symphonies from his early period (1724-39) as part of a planned project to record his entire symphonic repertoire. Though variously designated Overtura, Avertura, Sonata or Sinfonia, they all follow a three-movement fast-slow-fast format, with the exception of the Sinfonia in G, JC39, which has a four-movement format – not quite the precursor of the four-movement classical symphony, since the Minuetto forms the final movement, and is possibly tacked on from another work.

I am not sure why these recordings from 2005 have taken so long to be released. Everything about the finished product is inviting, from the moment one picks up the CD with its cover reproduction of Phaëton Driving Apollo’s Chariot. I mistook this for a Tiepolo at first, but it is by Nicolas Bertin, 1720, thus contemporary with the music. The painting is also reproduced on the label and on the front of the booklet, which is housed in a pocket in the well-designed triptych sleeve. The promise offered by the packaging is not belied by the music, the performance or the recording contained within.

I last encountered Sammartini’s music on a Virgin Classics recording entitled Improvisata: Sinfonie con titoli (3 63430 2 – see review). His Sinfonia in g minor, JC57, was one of the outstanding works on that recording, pre-dating (and influencing?) Haydn’s Sturm und Drang style – an energetic work which received an energetic performance from Europa Galante and Fabio Biondi. JW also found this an attractive work – see his review.

That same energy is apparent from the beginning of the new CD, as if Sammartini had taken the more vigorous aspects of Vivaldi and cranked them up a notch or two. If the Bertin painting on the cover leads the prospective purchaser to expect tame music in the galant style, it will prove misleading. Some of the music is not very different from Vivaldi – there are even odd echoes of passages from The Four Seasons and other works; the finale of JC36 offers several such instances – but much of it is so like early and mid-period Haydn as to make one wonder that he referred to Sammartini as a mere ‘scribbler’. Compare the opening movement of JC33, track 7, with Haydn’s mid-period symphonies.

Modern Italian interpreters of their own baroque legacy tend to prefer a more forceful style than such predecessors as I Musici, and Gini’s performances here are no exception. Not that the tempi are extreme: vigorous rather than breakneck – in fact, in the two works in common between the present recording and Kevin Mallon’s with the Aradia Ensemble on Naxos (8.557298), Mallon is the faster: a whole minute faster in JC36, 21 seconds faster in JC9. I am, in general, an admirer of Mallon’s performances, so I listened particularly intently to Gini’s version of JC36, to see where the discrepancy might arise. No sign of sluggishness in the opening vivace – a fastish opening, followed by a more relaxed but by no means slow tempo for the rest of the movement, with the music allowed to relax where appropriate (4:35 against Mallon’s 2:17).

The andante, too, seems to me to strike just about the right ‘walking’ tempo; this is Sammartini at his most charming and the charm – a wistful charm – comes over in Gini’s performance (3:36 against Mallon’s 5:00). The final allegro is as lively as I could wish it (1:38 against Mallon’s 1:35). I can only assume that the huge discrepancy in the times for the first movement is due to differences over the observation of repeats. The brief extract available on the classicsonline website indicates that Mallon’s tempo for the movement is lively, but the extract is too short to judge and I cannot locate a review of this recording on MusicWeb.

The notes in the Dynamic booklet single out the opening of JC9 as an example of sonorous attack in Sammartini’s style, an observation neatly exemplified by the performance. I might have liked just a shade sharper opening but as the movement develops the playing is all that it should be. The affetuoso slow movement of this work is one of the most affective on this CD and it, too, receives a performance to match without trying to squeeze too much emotion out of it. The final allegro is a good example of Sammartini’s impetuous style; no complaints about Gini’s interpretation. As with JC36, for all my respect for those performances of Kevin Mallon’s which I have heard, I cannot imagine that he betters Gini’s interpretation of this work.

The recorded sound is good – a little heavier than we are used to for period ensembles. The illustration in the gatefold shows Roberto Gini with a harpsichord in the background. If there is a harpsichord on this recording, it is virtually inaudible.

The notes are adequate but their multi-language format means that they are rather brief. The English translation is generally idiomatic but tends to assume that the reader will understand without further explanation such expressions as ‘ternary’. These Dynamic notes could usefully be supplemented by Keith Anderson’s for Naxos – generously made available free of charge on their website.

The quality of this recording encourages me to investigate Gini’s other Sammartini CD, to which I have referred above, and perhaps also his three Monteverdi recordings advertised in the packaging of the present CD. Sammartini’s music may not be as profound as the music of his pupil Glück and the composers who followed him, but it is unfailingly attractive and often engaging at a deeper level. If you like Vivaldi and want to see where the next generation took his music, you ought to try it.

-- Brian Wilson, MusicWeb International

A pleasant sampler of Giuseppe Sammartini.

We shouldn’t forget that the British have something of a share in the music of Giuseppe Sammartini, in much the same sense that we have a share in that of Handel. It was in London that Sammartini died in November 1750. The Whitehall Evening Post of Saturday 24 November 1750 reported that “Last week died at his Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, Signior S. Martini, Musick Master to her Royal Highness and thought to be the finest performer on the hautboy in Europe”. Sammartini had lived and worked in London since the summer of 1728. His greatest fame, as this brief obituary implies, was as a performer, in which capacity he was recorded – and praised – as a member of the orchestra in works by both Bononcini and Handel. He was appointed music master to the family of Frederick, Prince of Wales in 1736 and held the post until his death. During his years in London his chamber music was quite well known; his concertos were, for the most part, published after his death.

Of the concertos to be heard on this disc, it appears that the two flute concertos were probably relatively early works, written before Sammartini’s departure for London. The harpsichord concerto and the oboe concertos - which latter certainly speak of the composer’s own mastery and understanding of the instrument - belong to his years in London and, indeed, suggest how attentively he had listened to Handel.

Of the two concertos for flute, that in A major turns out, after a promising start, to be a relatively dull affair. The initial allegro contains some pleasant melodies and has a charming gracefulness; however, the ensuing andante (especially) and allegro are somewhat pedestrian. Invention is better sustained in the D major concerto, not least in the central siciliano which, though short, sings out delightfully. In the outer movements the music could surely benefit from a good deal more vivacity and punch than the present performers bring to it.

The harpsichord concerto was one of four published posthumously in London in 1754 ( Concertos for the Harpsicord or Organ with the Instrumental Parts for Violins, etc. Opera Nona, Printed for I. Walsh). It is an impressive piece, made up of a stately opening movement (marked andante spiritoso), an allegro assai which has some attractive writing for the harpsichord, an andante which has an attractive sense of spaciousness and contains much attractive interplay between orchestra and soloist, as does the closing allegro assai, characterised by an unfussy playfulness. The whole is well-played by Donatella Bianchi - an assured soloist I don’t remember encountering before - and I Musici Ambrosiani.

The two oboe concertos which close the disc are preserved in a manuscript ( RM23b8) in the British Library. The manuscript contains twelve concertos, only the last four of which make use of the oboe. The first of the two heard here has some striking writing for the oboe in its first movement, but the following andante and allegro grab the listener’s attention rather less than forcefully; there is a degree of ponderous stolidity in the way the andante is played - though the marking is andante ma non tanto - and the closing movement (tempo di menuetto) is a bit short on ideas. The second of these concertos is altogether more successful. Again in three movements, Sammartini’s writing is far more than merely well-crafted - the sense one has in listening to the first of these concertos; here there is consistent panache, expressed in solo writing of some virtuosity. Sammartini doubtless had his own abilities in mind when writing it, and he presumably performed it during his years in London. The brief central andante is richly expressive and the closing allegro is infectiously lilting. Francesco Quaranta is heard at his best here – and so is Sammartini.

Not all the music here is completely persuasive – but the best is very much so. The performances are always decent – sometimes much more than that.

-- Glyn Pursglove, MusicWeb International

World Premiere Recording During his own lifetime, Sammartini was considered to be one of the most talented composers of his generation. John Hawkins wrote in 1776: "His singularities can only be ascribed to that boldness and self-possession which are ever the concomitants of genius." He ranked Sammartini's concertos and overtures at the same level as those of Arcangelo Corelli and Francesco Geminiani - and even held them in higher esteem than Georg Frideric Handel's. Yet, through an inexplicable twist of history, Sammartini has remained an unknown quantity for the general public. Les Muffatti have made a careful selection from among the plethora of Sammartini's masterworks in order to fully reflect their quality. They hope that this world-première recording of works in Sammartini's widely varying styles can do justice to this genius, and share the ensemble's enthusiasm for this unjustly underrated composer.

As a performer on the hautboy, Giuseppe Sammartini, 'Londinese', was undoubtedly the greatest that the world had ever known. He contrived to produce such a tone as approached the nearest to that of the human voice. His Concerti grossi and his later sets of Concertos have a breadth of invention and sureness of purpose second only the music of Handel. (General History of the Science and Practice of Music, 1776). This album presents neglected works by the lesser-known, younger brother of Giovanni Battista Sammartini, Giuseppe Sammartini.

Classical Music

Sammartini’s first concerti grossi, those of his Op. 2, are considered to be among the composer’s masterpieces. These intensely inspired pieces, composed with such vigorous spirit, sometimes hardly seem to fit the measured form of the concerto grosso. Sammartini’s themes enjoy a pliant lyricism, at times melancholic, at others passionate and vehement. The contrapuntal development is always masterful, both learned and extraordinarily subtle in nature, taking unexpected and thoroughly expressive turns, often through refined chromaticism and an original use of harmony. The continuous, inexhaustible variety of Sammartini’s thematic invention leaves no room for predictable developments; it constantly introduces new elements, with often truly beautiful results. I Musici, founded in 1951, is the oldest chamber ensemble still active today. Over the years, they have become world-renowned for their promotion of 18th century Italian music, most notably Vivaldi and his Four Seasons, which they first recorded in 1959, and which has sold over 25 million copies in various editions, the last of which was for Dynamic in 2012.

Classical Music

Giovanni Battista Sammartini (St. Martini, San Martini, etc.) is another of those almost countless composers whose names have more or less fallen into the cracks in the floor of music history. Born in late 1700 or early 1701 in Milan, Sammartini?an oboist?spent all his life in the city. He was the seventh of eight children born to a French father, Alexis St. Martin, an oboist who emigrated to Italy, and an Italian mother.


Sammartini was well established in his hometown by the time he was 25. His Christmas oratorio, Gesu bambino adorato dall? pastori , was composed in 1726 and performed to unanimous critical and public acclaim, although the German flutist and composer J. J. Quantz wrote in less than complimentary terms of Sammartini?s musical gifts; apparently Quantz had been possessed by the proverbial Green-Eyed Monster.


The 1730s saw a steady stream of well-written symphonies, concertos, sonatas, and dramatic works from Sammartini?s pen. His music also began to receive recognition outside of Italy; his initial foray into the genre of opera, Memet , was performed in Lodi in 1732 and possibly in Vienna the same year. It wasn?t long before Sammartini had become the leading figure in the earliest symphonic school in Europe. It included such now-obscure names as Brioschi, Galimberti, Giulini, Lampugnani, and Chiesa.


In spite of his reputation in Italy, Sammartini?s music was better known beyond its borders. Publishers such as Leclerc (Paris) and Walsh (London) engraved Sammartini?s music, and one of his symphonies was performed in Amsterdam in 1738. In Paris, the Concert Spirituel performed a Sammartini symphony in 1751; his music was equally popular in England, being admired and praised by the Duke of Cumberland, brother of George III.


Sammartini?s 67 surviving symphonies exhibit the gradual but dramatic stylistic shift from the Baroque to the Classical idiom; the six recorded here stem from his early period (1724?39) to around 1750. In addition to the obvious and expected stylistic progression, Sammartini also increased and strengthened the orchestra in his later symphonies by adding parts for oboes, horns, and trumpets. Most of the early symphonies omit violas; the middle symphonies employ trumpets and horns, and the late symphonies?none of which are offered here?include independent parts for oboes.


Kevin Mallon and his exceptional little band have a string of fine recordings on Naxos, including instrumental music by Boyce, Wassenaer, and Boismortier; there are also recordings of choral and vocal music by Caldara and Wanhal. Furthermore, they have begun a cycle of Vivaldi?s sacred music. Mallon?s musicians are well tuned to the repertoire they have recorded, and in each and every CD from Naxos they demonstrate an exceptional command of their period instruments. Stylistic idiosyncrasies are bypassed; instead, Mallon opts for sound musical judgment, resulting in a release that is leisurely paced, but never lacking in vitality, excitement, or commitment. The running time of the disc?just over an hour?is somewhat stingy and could have allowed for the inclusion of one of the later symphonies and a broader picture of Sammartini?s work in the genre, but I won?t complain in excess, for what is here has delighted this auditor repeatedly.


FANFARE: Michael Carter