Listening to this disc
I was wondering what it was aiming at.
It presents a number of pieces from
the baroque period, apparently chosen
at random, without being connected to
each other in any way.
This could be used
as an introduction to the world of baroque
music, but I can't see the need for
that in our time. It could be used as
a guide to the world of baroque instruments.
But those instruments are so common
today that I don't see the need for
that either.
The guiding principle
of the Leipziger Baroque Soloists seems
to be, as Katrin Seidel explains in
the liner notes, to take account of
"the 'ad libitum' instrumentation that
was still normal until the middle of
the 18th century in that, in some of
the works recorded here, they consciously
structured the ensemble differently
from the way that was usual up to now."
This means that - with the exception
of the sonata by Finger and the closing
Fanfare - the instrumentation in this
recording is different from what the
composer has prescribed.
In principle this is
a legitimate approach. Composers were
often flexible as far as the instrumentation
is concerned, and sometimes themselves
suggested alternative scorings. Sometimes
the titles of collections of sonatas
left the choice to the performer. A
good example is the French composer
Joseph Bodin de Boismortier. The sonata
played here comes from a publication
of sonatas 'pour un Dessus & deux
Basses', for one descant instrument
- which could be flute, recorder, oboe,
violin, whatever - and two bass instruments,
one of which has an independent part,
whereas the other is playing the basso
continuo. The bass parts can be played
by cello, viola da gamba or bassoon.
The ensemble has chosen the combination
of violin and bassoon as solo instruments.
The performers may
have the freedom to choose the instrumentation,
that freedom isn't unlimited. One has
to pay attention to the character of
the pieces to be played. And the first
item on this disc is an example of an
unlucky choice. Corelli's Sonata for
trumpet and strings seems to be the
only piece he has ever written for any
other instrument than the violin. It
is therefore rather strange to play
the second violin part on the oboe,
an instrument which otherwise doesn't
play any role in Corelli's whole oeuvre.
And it doesn't work here: the oboe is
hardly audible as soon as the trumpet
plays.
It is true that Telemann,
in his Quartet in d minor, suggests
to replace the recorder with the cello
or the bassoon. That is what happens
here. So far so good. But Telemann didn't
suggest an alternative for the two transverse
flutes. Could it be that he valued the
combination of these two instruments
that much that he didn't want those
to be replaced? Here they are played
by oboe and violin. As a result the
close connection between these two parts
has disappeared.
The Concerto a 5 by
Hertel is a piece for wind band, scored
for trumpet, 2 oboes and 2 bassoons,
in which all five instruments are equally
important. But in the performance by
the Leipzig Baroque Soloists, one of
the oboe parts is played on the violin,
and one of the bassoon parts has been
turned into a basso continuo part. This
undermines the nature of the work and
takes away its typical features – the
fanfare motifs don’t come across very
well.
Perhaps one could accept
this and take this recording as it presents
itself, without paying too much attention
to historical considerations. But that
is only possible if the playing is exceptionally
good. But it isn't. On the whole the
performance is rather boring and colourless.
There is a lack of differentiation between
the notes. The vibrato of the violinist
in some pieces is unstylish (Corelli,
Boismortier), and as soon as he keeps
it in check, is tone is rather flat.
I am not happy with
some of the tempi as well. The largo's
in the sonata by Fasch are too fast.
Like I said, I don't
see the need for a recording like this.
The decisions regarding the scoring
of the works on this disc is questionable
at best and in many cases doesn't lead
to a convincing result. And the playing
isn't of a level which justifies a CD
recording.
I should add that the
intonation of the trumpeter is excellent.
But that doesn't tell much about his
technical abilities. I am sure that
his instrument has been tampered with,
in that fingerholes have been added
to make it easier to play. It is a common
feature these days, fortunately often
openly admitted by the players. But
the fact that it happens more often
than not doesn't make it right. An instrument
can't be considered a 'period' instrument
when it has been adapted to the capabilities
of modern players, which are apparently
considerably inferior to those of their
18th-century colleagues.
Johan van Veen