Andrea ZANI (1696-1757)
Divertimenti (1734)
Lena Neudauer (violin)
Martin Rummel (cello)
rec. 9-11 December 2014, 4tune Studio, Vienna, Austria
CAPRICCIO C5264 [42:56 + 44:31]
This release follows on from Martin Rummel’s recording
of Andrea Zani’s Cello Concertos (review).
Zani is largely unknown today and this is connected to a lack of publication,
his music having mainly been preserved in manuscript form and remaining hidden
in libraries throughout Europe, possibly with more yet to be discovered. Zani’s
origins were in the province of Cremona, and after a few years spent in Vienna
in the service of nobility – during which he would have written these
Divertimenti – he returned to his native Casalmaggiore. Collectors of
unusual deaths of composers can add Zani to their list, as he apparently died
as the result of an accident when the carriage in which he was travelling
overturned.
The claim made for these Divertimenti is that they are the earliest
works with this instrumentation in which the violin and cello parts enjoy
equal rights. The musical dialogue is indeed striking from the outset, with
a touch of Vivaldi’s influence around some of the music’s features
in the opening Ninth Divertimento but more in the sense of fashionable
style than in slavish imitation. Other reference points indicate that these
pieces inhabit that world between the Baroque and early Classical –
the fields occupied by Bach’s sons for instance – but more important
is the enforced economy of means with just two instruments. There are plenty
of sequences, repeated motiefs either rising or descending, but the ever inventive
Zani rises to the challenge of making this combination as interesting as possible
by making the parts a sheer delight to play. What one performer delivers the
other is sure to take up, and these lively interactions in the fast movements
contrasting with sublime simplicity in the slow make these works much more
entertaining than you might expect.
Lena Neudauer and Martin Rummel communicate their joy in performing these
works, and their vibrant and expressive playing makes for compelling listening.
The studio recording is very good, with plenty of detail but not too close
for comfort. There is presumably a light sprinkling of added reverberation
effect but even if this is the case it has been kept to a discreet minimum
and adds the barest hint of a halo around the instruments. Andrea Zani’s
Divertimenti may not shake your world to its foundations, but they
have been a delight to discover and should become a popular choice for this
instrumental combination.
Dominy Clements
Contents
Divertimento No. 1 in D Major [8:28]
Divertimento No. 2 in G Major [7:28]
Divertimento No. 3 in C Major [7:35]
Divertimento No. 4 in A Major [7:16]
Divertimento No. 5 in E Major [7:23]
Divertimento No. 6 in B Flat Major [7:22]
Divertimento No. 7 in G Minor [7:20]
Divertimento No. 8 in C Minor [7:02]
Divertimento No. 9 in A Minor [5:59]
Divertimento No. 10 in B Minor [6:05]
Divertimento No. 11 in D Minor [8:05]
Divertimento No. 12 in F Minor [7:11]
|
Support us financially by purchasing
this from
|
|
 |
|
 |
|