Virtuoso German violin music of the 17th century
Johann ROSENMÜLLER (c.1619-1684)
Sinfonia for two violins and bc in D [3:51]
Carl ROSIER (1640-1725)
Sonata (Suite) for two violins and bc in e minor [3:33]
Johann Caspar KERLL (1627-1693)
Sonata for two violins and bc in F [6:11]
David POHLE (1624-1695)
Sonata for two violins and bc in A 'Nun danket alle Gott' [5:02]
Clamor Heinrich ABEL (1634-1696)
Bataille for two violins and bc in D [4:41]
Johann Heinrich SCHMELZER (c.1620/23-1680)
Lamento sopra la morte Ferdinandi III for two violins, viola
da gamba and bc [7:34]
Polnische Sackpfeiffen for 2 violins and bc [6:38]
Johann Michael NICOLAI (1629-1685)
Sonata for violin, two viole da gamba and bc in B flat* [5:16]
Musica Antiqua Köln (Reinhard Goebel, Hajo Bäß
(violin), Eva Bartos (viola da gamba), Jonathan Cable (viola
da gamba*, violone), Henk Bouman (harpsichord))
rec. 7-10 March 1977, St. Aposteln, Aachen, Germany DDD
VIRGIN CLASSICS 6025082 [42:50]
In 1973 Reinhard Goebel founded the ensemble Musica Antiqua
Köln. From the early days one of its main fields of interest
was German music for strings from the 17th century. At that
time this repertoire was largely unknown. Among the composers
who are represented on the present disc only Johann Rosenmüller
and Johann Heinrich Schmelzer were fairly well-known. Very few
people had ever heard of the likes of Carl Rosier, David Pohle
or Johann Michael Nicolai. Despite the fact that Musica Antiqua
Köln during the years of its existence has regularly returned
to this repertoire, these composers still belong to the echelon
of composers who seldom appear on concert programmes or CD.
"German violin music of the seventeenth century used to be thought
of simply as a prelude to the violin works of J.S. Bach. (...)
If the standard reference books on the history of violin music
are to be believed, then every instance of double-stopping,
every set of variations (or 'divisions') on a melody, and indeed
every piece for solo violin from that time paves the way to
Bach". That was 1977, when Goebel wrote the liner-notes to the
original recording. I am pretty sure that very few musicologists
and interpreters still hold that view. That is largely due to
the many recordings with 17th-century repertoire that have been
released since that time. It is now considered of musical substance
in its own right. Composers like Rosenmüller, Biber, Schmelzer,
Buxtehude or (Johann Jakob) Walther are rated among the great
composers of music for strings.
In his liner-notes Goebel explains how German music was derived
from the Italian instrumental music of the early 17th-century,
but also developed features of its own. Whereas the Italians
aimed at imitating the human voice, German composers liked to
exhibit an astonishing level of virtuosity. Performers were
required to reach up to the sixth position and violinist's bowing
technique was stretched to its limits. At the same time, instrumental
and vocal music were not disconnected: rhetorics which were
the basis of all music played its part in both genres. Instruments
were not so much expected to sing, such as in Italian music,
rather to speak. That explains the character of the pieces on
this disc.
These are all from a collection which was brought together by
Franz Rost, the Kantor to the Margrave of Baden-Baden.
Later it came into the hands of the French composer Sébastien
de Brossard, who was an avid collector of music from all regions
of Europe. To him we owe a large number of compositions not
found in any other source. That also goes for a large part of
the German string music in the collection. It includes 160 sonatas,
mostly for two violins and basso continuo. In some cases these
are adaptations, for instance where two viola parts are omitted.
This was common practice at the time, as one can conclude from
the preface in the collection Armonico tributo by Georg
Muffat (1682).
The programme includes examples of various genres of chamber
music for strings. The sonatas by Rosenmüller and Kerll
are in sections of contrasting character; the latter includes
two passages in which each of the two violins has a solo passage.
Carl Rosier was of Flemish birth, but worked mainly in Germany
and died in Cologne. His Sonata in e minor has the form
of a French suite, with various dances preceded by an Italian-style
prelude. David Pohle, a pupil of Heinrich Schütz, composed
the Sonata in A on the hymn Nun danket alle Gott,
probably for performance in a Vesper service. Pohle calls for
scordatura, a technique of retuning the strings of the
violin which was frequently used in Germany and Austria.
Musical illustrations are also an important part of music of
the 17th century. Biber composed several such pieces. So did
Schmelzer (Polnische Sackpfeifen - Polish bagpipes) and
Clamor Heinrich Abel (Bataille in D) who was the father
of the gambist Christian Ferdinand Abel, Bach's colleague in
Cöthen. The Lamento sopra la morte Ferdinandi III
is part of a tradition of writing music in the memory of a deceased
person. The second section is a musical depiction of funeral
bells. The disc ends with a piece for violin, two viole da gamba
and bc, the Sonata in B flat by Johann Michael Nicolai.
He was from Thuringia and worked for many years at the court
in Stuttgart. Its texture ranks it among the virtuosic and expressive
music for violin solo by the likes of Biber and Walther.
Since this recording was released many recordings of 17th-century
German instrumental music have appeared. Some of them are really
good, but not a few are more or less disappointing. That is
not so much a matter of playing technique, although I think
that the early music world has seen very few violinists as virtuosic
as Reinhard Goebel. It is his approach to this repertoire which
is essential to reveal its character. Among its features are
a sharp articulation, marked dynamic accents and a full exploration
of the contrasts within a piece. These characteristics I often
sorely miss in more recent performances. This recording may
date from 35 years ago, but it is just as good and as exciting
as it was at that time. In large parts of the baroque repertoire
- and certainly in this music - Musica Antiqua Köln has
set standards to which very few of today's ensembles measure
up.
This is not just a great disc for every music-lover, it is also
excellent study material for today's performers. Listen and
learn.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanveen
Just as good and as exciting as it was when first released.