John JENKINS (1592-1678)
Fantasy Suites
Aria in A [02:54]
Suite in a minor [10:50]
Sonata in d minor/D [04:40]
Divisions in A [09:11]
Suite No. 17 in e minor [09:24]
Pieces in A (ms Goëss) [06:17]
Suite No. 11 in c minor [08:44]
Suite in g minor [10:47]
Hamburger Ratsmusik (Christoph Heidemann (violin); Simone Eckert (viola da
gamba); Ulrich Wedemeier (theorbo); Michael Fürst (organ))
rec. 14-16 May 2008, Siemensvilla, Berlin, Germany. DDD
PHOENIX EDITION 141 [63:03]
John Jenkins is one of the most remarkable English composers of the 17th century.
He reached the exceptional age of 86 which means that he experienced the many
trials and tribulations in politics and society including the Commonwealth
and the Restoration. He also saw the aesthetics change from the late Elizabethan
era to the period we call 'baroque'. And these changes left their mark on his
oeuvre.
He left over 800 compositions, but that is practically all we know about him.
No portrait, very little biographical detail - he didn't even make efforts
to get his music printed. Apart from pieces which were included in contemporary
collections his music was not printed before the 20th century. From what was
written about him one gets the impression he was a very modest character. His
pupil Roger North wrote: "Mr Jenkins was a very gentile and well bred
gentleman, and was allways not onely welcome, but greatly valued by the familys
wherever he had taught and convers't. He was constantly complaisant in every
thing desired of him ..."
When after the Restoration he became part of the Private Musick at court he
was paid until his death, even though he wasn't able to play any more due to
his age - another sign of the high respect he enjoyed.
This disc gives a nice overview of the change in style which can be traced
in his oeuvre. The programme contains four so-called 'Fantasy-suites', a modern
term for a fantasy which is followed by two shorter movements. The Suites Nos.
11 and 17 are from a collection of 17, in which the opening fantasy is followed
by an almain and an ayr. These pieces are rooted in the consort music of the
renaissance era. It is nevertheless remarkable that the treble part is written
for the violin rather than the treble viol. At the time these suites were probably
written the violin was a new and still relatively unknown instrument in England.
He must have known the violin from his childhood as in this parents' household
there were "Seven Vialls and Violyns". John Jenkins was the first
composer in England to write for the violin.
The other two suites are stylistically different as they make use of the diminution
technique which had become very popular on the continent and was used in England
in particular by Christopher Simpson. The parts for the violin and the viola
da gamba have become considerably more virtuosic and are treated in a more
individualistic way. The whole range of the viola da gamba is explored up to
its limit. In addition, whereas the organ part in the early suites was written
out, here the bass consists of a genuine basso continuo part.
Also late compositions are the Aria in A and the Sonata in d minor/D. The Aria
is a beautiful melodious piece showing Jenkins' "lyrical inventiveness" as
Andrew Ashbee describes one of the composer's features in his article in New
Grove.
This disc also contains two pieces for the 'lyra viol'. The first is the Divisions
in A with basso continuo, which according to Simone Eckert are putting even
Christopher Simpson in the shade. I don't know about that but it is certainly
right to bracket them together.
The four pieces in A are written for viola da gamba solo, and come from a manuscript
called "ms Goëss" which is preserved in Ebenthal in Austria.
It is very likely this manuscript was put together by Dietrich Steffkin, a
close friend of Jenkins, who had worked in England but lived in the Netherlands
during the Commonwealth period and not only collected music but also sent Jenkins
the newest music from the continent. The manuscript contains a number of pieces
by both Jenkins and Steffkin.
As one may gather from this description of the programme this disc is highly
interesting and contains a good variety of styles and compositional genres.
And thanks to the interpretation by the Hamburger Ratsmusik it is also a very
entertaining and captivating disc. The four players are all excellent musicians
who impress with their impeccable technique. They have also captured the spirit
and the style of Jenkins' music very well. I know some older recordings of
English 17th-century music by German musicians which were too rigid and too
stiff, but nothing of that is noticeabe here. The interpreters play with great
vitality and rhythmic precision. The sound of the violin and the viola da gamba
is brilliant and the balance within the ensemble is also very good.
Simone Eckert has written lucid programme notes in German. Unfortunately the
English translation is not always correct and sometimes misses the mark.
This is an outstanding disc which makes Jenkins shine and sheds light on the
unique talent of this English master of the 17th century. And as he left more
than 800 compositions there is definitely still a lot of work to do.
Johan van Veen