The German violinist
and composer Johann Paul von Westhoff
is mostly mentioned only for having
influenced Johann Sebastian Bach in
his writing of his sonatas and partitas
for violin solo. His compositions hardly
get the attention they deserve. This
disc presents the very first recording
of his six sonatas for violin and basso
continuo, which were published in Dresden
in 1694.
Very little is known
about his early years. He was born in
Dresden at a time when the city was
one of the cultural centres in Germany
and attracted musicians from abroad.
Among the main figures in Dresden's
musical life was Carlo Farina, one of
Italy's most important composers for
the violin, whose works were published
in Dresden from 1620 onwards. His music
must on this evidence have had a strong
influence on Von Westhoff.
Von Westhoff wasn't
only active as a musician. He was also
known for his command of foreign languages,
which brought him an appointment as
professor of modern languages at the
university of Wittenberg in the 1690s.
This quality must have been very useful
during his frequent travels through
Europe, which were not only of a musical
nature but also involved diplomatic
duties. It was on one of these travels
that he visited Paris, where he played
for Louis XIV, who was so much pleased
by the sonata he played, that he had
to repeat it several times. This sonata,
in which Von Westhoff makes use of the
'stile concitato' - known from Monteverdi's
Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda
-, was nicknamed 'La guerra' by the
Sun King, and published by the journal
'Mercure galant'. The response was such
that, a little later, the journal published
another of Von Westhoff's compositions:
a suite for violin solo.
This visit took place
in 1682, and from the invitation to
play at Louis's court one may gather
that Von Westhoff was already a famous
performer at the time. Together with
Biber and Johann Jakob Walther he belonged
to the second generation of what is
called the 'German violin school', which
was founded by Johann Heinrich Schmelzer.
Although he was influenced by the Italian
style, his compositions are also very
German, which is apparent from the frequent
use of polyphony in these sonatas.
The six sonatas for
violin and basso continuo demonstrate
Von Westhoff's virtuosity as a performer
in a most impressive way. They are technically
very demanding, not only for the violinist,
but also for the players of the basso
continuo part, for instance in the second
movement (presto) of the Sonata II.
Although there are similarities with
the works of his colleagues Biber and
Walther, his musical idiom is in many
ways rather unconventional and personal.
For example, in contrast to Biber he
never makes use of the 'scordatura'
technique (which means that the strings
of the violin are tuned to notes appropriate
to the key of the piece).
Remarkable features
of this set of sonatas are the frequent
and very specific indications regarding
tempo and dynamics. A number of movements
contain sudden shifts from one tempo
to another, for example the opening
movements of the Sonatas III and IV.
An example of dynamic marking is found
in the third movement (adagio) of the
Sonata I, which contains a written diminuendo
to triple piano at the end. This is
immediately followed by the 'forte'
entrance of the next allegro.
The basso continuo
isn't merely supporting the violin.
It sometimes gets involved in a dialogue
with the violin (Sonata IV, first movement),
whereas in the opening 'grave' of the
Sonata III the musical material is equally
divided between the violin and the bass
part. Sonata VI begins with an aria,
which is a passacaglia; here it is the
bass part which starts and ends the
proceedings.
These sonatas contain
several passages for violin solo, without
the participation of the basso continuo.
They sound like improvisations, and
it isn't too far-fetched to assume that
we are given here a hint of what Von
Westhoff's skills in this department
may have been like.
The description of
the character of these sonatas could
give the impression that they are only
about virtuosity. Therefore I should
add that there is a lot of expression
in these sonatas, in particular in the
slow movements. The middle movement
of the Sonata VI (aria, with the indication
'largo') is a good example. Also very
expressive are the two movements which,
according to the fashion of the time,
are of a descriptive nature. Here we
find no depiction of fighting or wounded
soldiers (Biber) or imitations of birds
(Walther), but rather emulations of
the lute (Sonata II: Imitatione del
liuto) and of bells (Sonata III: Imitatione
delle Campane). Antonio Vivaldi must
have known the latter, as he incorporated
it almost unchanged in a violin concerto
he dedicated to Johann Georg Pisendel,
who was the most important representative
of the third generation of the German
violin school.
This is not only a
very important release from a historical
point of view, but it also has great
artistic merit. David Plantier gives
splendid performances. Technically his
playing is very impressive, and the
players of the basso continuo match
him. What is more important: this recording
is musically completely satisfying,
as it demonstrates that Von Westhoff
was a musical personality of his own,
not just a representative of the 'German
violin school', let alone the man who
influenced Bach. It is a composer whose
music deserves to be performed for its
own sake.
This is one of the
most important releases in recent times,
and definitely one of the strongest
candidates for the upcoming list of
recordings of the year.
Johan van Veen
Les plaisirs du Parnasse: David Plantier,
violin; Maya Amrein, cello; Shiruko Noiri, archlute;
Andrea Marchiol, harpsichord 
