Classical Music

Includes work(s) by Johann David Heinichen. Ensemble: Il Fondamento.

I reviewed another pairing of these works, by Robert King and company for Hyperion, in 21:3. Dombrecht's set was actually recorded earlier (1995 and 1996), though there's no indication of the date of release or copyright on the disc (something to drive drudges and discographers mad). Dombrecht's group, after a debut on Accent, made two discs in 1994 for Vanguard's Passacaille collection. This seems to be their most recent issue. More's the pity.

The disc made an immediate impression. The warmth of the oboes and the liveliness of the trills in the opening of the F-Major suite from the Handel Water Music presaged a very pleasant hour ahead. Indeed, this is a most enjoyable recording, with high marks on every score. The breadth and liveliness of the sound for the Handel, combined with clarity of detail, is notable. Dombrecht leads a performance with much expression in the shaping of the lines. The melodies carry the listener forward, and the rhythmic punctuation from the accompanying ensemble is incisive. I particularly enjoyed the contributions of II Fondamento's horns, but the ensemble is strong all around.

The sound for the Telemann, recorded the following year, is not quite as present, and the contributions of the wind pair (flutes, recorders, oboes, depending on the movement) can be overmatched. The interpretation might also be a little freer rhythmically. I could hear more stamping from the shoes of the "merry sailors" who close out the suite, for example.

Nevertheless, this is a fine disc. I will wager that if it makes it in your door it will stay close by your CD player. Recommended.

-- Tom Moore, Fanfare

Classical Music

This year marks the 400th anniversary of Giovanni Gabrieli’s death, and this CD presents an unusual selection of organ pieces and other works in which cornets are used, either in elaborately ornamented higher voices or in dialogue with the organ.

Like Leopold Mozart, Johann Joseph Fux (c. 1660–1741?) is primarily remembered today not for his music but for a musical treatise. For the elder Mozart, it was his violin method that long outlived him and his reputation as a composer. For Fux, it was Gradus ad parnassam, an essay on the art of constructing counterpoint. This monumental work exerted an incalculable influence upon composers well into the 19th century. From his publication, we learn that Fux considered Palestrina the greatest master of the contrapuntal art; it was Fux’s work in counterpoint and his enormous quantity of sacred music that earned him the nickname “The Austrian Palestrina.”

In his Musicalisches Lexikon of 1723, Johann Gottfried Walther observes that the word Ouverture is a generic term for an opening, because it “ opens the door, as it were, to the following pieces. Its real place is at the beginning of an opera or drama, although it can also be found at the beginning of chamber and orchestral works.” The form of the ouverture that we find in the orchestral suites penned by Fux, Telemann, Bach, and others originated with Jean-Battiste Lully. A slow, solemn introduction characterized by a jerky rhythm is followed by a faster passage—generally fugal in nature with contrasting passages for solo instruments (usually two oboes and a bassoon, known as the “French Trio”)—before the salutatory material is recapitulated. Then follows a sequence of dances, some of which (especially in the cases of Lully and Telemann) are character pieces bearing names like “Someille,” “Les irrésoluts,” and “Harlequinade.” The structure here was not rigid and therefore left the inventive composer with an opportunity to toy with the architecture as he saw fit. In the case of Fux, he included only two character pieces, “Libertein” and “Der Schmidt” (whose meanings go unexplained in the notes), and varied the closing movement from suite to suite. One concludes with a Chaconne, one with a Passacaglia, another with a movement marked Aria, and the fourth with a Gigue.

Founded by oboist Paul Dombrecht, Il Fondamento is a house band of sorts for Passacaille, Frank Loosveldt’s Belgian label, well known for its audacious forays into the darker recesses of 17th and 18th century music. The ensemble has been around for a decade and a half, has participated in the most prestigious European early-music festivals, and has made significant contributions to the recorded early-music repertoire.

The once-prevalent opinion was that Fux’s music was dry as dust, but that was predominantly because it was held up to standards of greatness and inspiration that it could not meet. While not on the same level of inspiration or level of craft as the suites of Bach or even Telemann, these works are interesting and inventive; their merit is enhanced by these invigorating and atmospheric interpretations that perfectly juxtapose stylistic awareness and musical common sense. Brightly paced performances, not to mention a well-nourished ensemble, are always in evidence and prove to be just the sort of tonic needed to resuscitate this long-neglected music. Though far from monumental, these examples are certainly exceptional among those of the generation prior to Bach. One hopes there will be more to come.

-- Michael Carter, Fanfare [1/2005]

Classical Music

Francois Francoeur (1698-1787) was, besides Jean-Marie Leclair, one of the most important representatives of the French violin school. He was able to combine the technical virtuosity of Italian provenance with French elegance and smooth melody. The Deuxieme Livre de sonate a violon seul et basse continue was published around 1730. The baroque violinist Anais Chen presents, together with Daniel Rosin and Maria Gonzalez, six of the twelve sonatas, which, on their first hearing, make you want more music from Francoeur.

Xavier Diaz-Latorre presents Francesc Guerau's (1649-1722) delightful Poeme Harmonico, his complete works for guitar (including 30 two-piece Passacalles). Francesc Guerau penned the most important guitar treatise of the Baroque era. The Catalan musician Mr. Latorre, a world-class soloist, has performed most notably as a member of Jordi Savall's Hesperion XXI, La Capella Reial de Catalunya, and Le Concert de Nations.

Classical Music

Angelo Maria Fiorè (1660-1723) worked in Parma and Turin, where he was one of the first to compose works for the violoncello. The recording with baroque cellist Elinor Frey presents not only his brilliant and lyrical sonatas, but also operas for soprano and cello works by contemporaries who use the expressive possibilities of the instrument. Fascinated with the cello’s origins and the creative process of new music, Elinor Frey plays both period and modern instruments. Her prior albums have garnered her critical praise. Her first Baroque album was praised for its “careful scholarship and brilliant layering of moods and tempos” (Toronto Star) and for the “honest, reflective beauty of her music making” (Strings). Frey’s honors include a US-Italy Fulbright Fellowship where she studied baroque cello with Paolo Beschi, the SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship, American Musicological Society, and Canada Council for the Arts grants facilitating her work on Italian cello music. In recent seasons she has performed with Les Idees hereuses, Il Gardellino, Ensemble Caprice, Studio de musique ancienne de Montreal, Arion, Theatre of Early Music, Les Violon du Roy, and Arion, as well as with her quartet, Paliade Musica, grand prize winners of the 2012 Early Music America Baoque Performance Competition and second prize winners in the 2014 International Van Wassenaer Competition in Utrecht. Frey holds degrees from McGill, Mannes, and Juilliard.

Classical Music

Classical Music

C. P. E. BACH Oboe Concertos: in Eb, Wq 165 ; in Bb, Wq 164 . Sinfonia in e, Wq 177 • Paul Dombrecht (ob, cond); Il Fondamento (period instruments) • PASSACAILLE 982 (55:13)

A psychological study of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach could be as fascinating as his biography might be dull. He was the quintessential middle child/good son. Despite his illustrious father’s obvious favoritism toward the talented first son, Wilhelm Friedemann, Carl Philipp Emanuel, the gallant second son, never disavowed his father, even as his own music evolved stylistically and when his own fame had surpassed theirs. He was the loyal offspring who preserved his progenitor’s legacy, while the older sibling squandered away his own share. He toiled faithfully for 30 years in the court of Frederick (“the Great”), accompanying the regent’s nightly concerts, for a fraction of the stipend awarded to his less gifted cohorts, Johann Joachim Quantz and Johann Gottlieb Graun. At one point his pay was half that of his own assistant! Yet he persevered and eventually “escaped” to Hamburg and a position more in keeping with his abilities. His many admirers included Haydn and Mozart.

The two oboe concertos, products of the Berlin years, were both fashioned from existing harpsichord concertos, but the oboe versions are perfectly idiomatic for the instrument. They are in three movements and are fine examples of the emerging aesthetic of which C. P. E. Bach is the primary exemplar. The concertos are not exactly neglected, but there seems to be a tendency to overlook them. Heinz Holliger recorded both on an LP, but I don’t know whether it has been transferred to CD. Peter Pongráz (on Hungaroton many years ago) and Józef Kiss (Naxos) have recorded them on CD. Pauline Oostenrijk recently recorded the E?-Concerto for Challenge. I’m aware of just one other period-instrument recording, of the E? only, made by Paul Goodwin (Archiv). Fortunately Paul Dombrecht has stepped into the breach. Dombrecht, a pioneer in the period-instrument movement, brings high expectations to this release, and he meets them superlatively. One hopes that this release will remind other oboists of these wonderful concertos, but, if not, Dombrecht’s versions will fill the bill.

The Sinfonia, another Berlin product, separates the concertos on the disc. It is a more extreme example of the Empfindsamer stil, the volatile, subjective style that C. P. E. embraced. The performance shows that Dombrecht’s conducting is as adept as his playing.

This fine release deserves a warm recommendation.

FANFARE: George Chien

Arcangelo Corelli's Violin Sonatas, Op. 5 was a bestseller in the 18th century. The first episode of the recording by Enrico Onofri and the Imaginarium ensemble was celebrated by critics as a new reference recording. With the second volume the complete recording of this influential triumph of baroque solo sonatas is finished.