Christlieb Siegmund BINDER (1723-1789)
Sei Suonate per il Cembalo op. 1
Sonata I in F, op. 1,1 [15:47]
Sonata II in D, op. 1,2 [17:36]
Sonata III in c minor, op. 1,3 [21:04]
Sonata IV in E, op. 1,4 [20:06]
Sonata V in a minor, op. 1,5 [19:21]
Sonata VI in B flat, op. 1,6 [19:29]
Paulina Tkaczyk (harpsichord)
rec. 15-17 September 2012, Music Academy (Concert Hall), Kraków, Poland. DDD
DUX 1153/54 [54:28 + 58:56]
"In the Dresden circle Binder held the same position
as Philipp Emanuel Bach in Berlin", according to a scholar in a book
on music in Dresden in the time of Viennese classicism. That said, Christlieb
Siegmund Binder has remained an unknown quantity, not only in our time, but
also in his own. Very little of his music was published in his lifetime and
his influence was virtually confined to Dresden. This is all in strong contrast
to Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach who strongly influenced the main representatives
of Viennese classicism: Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Binder was soon forgotten
after his death.
He was born in Dresden as the son of an oboist and spent his entire life there.
As a choirboy he received lessons from Pantaleon Hebenstreit, who was famous
across Europe as a player of the pantaleon, a large sort of dulcimer.
Hebenstreit died in 1750 and the next year Binder was appointed pantaleonist
at the court. In 1772 the English music historian Charles Burney visited Binder
in Dresden and found his pantaleon being unplayable. "[The] strings were
all broken, for the present Elector has never wished to consent to the payment
of a replacement". Binder's employer, Friedrich August III, was
far more interested in the harpsichord. His personal library included 343
harpsichord concertos. Binder once stated that he possessed "taste and
an extraordinary gift for music, an admirable skill on the harpsichord".
This explains that music for harpsichord - concertos and sonatas - takes a
central place in his oeuvre which comprises exclusively instrumental music.
In 1768 he dedicated a collection of 18 harpsichord concertos to his employer.
The sonatas op. 1 were printed in 1759 and dedicated to Maria Antonia Walpurgis,
the wife of the then elector Friedrich Christian. They consist of three movements;
most of these - and all of the fast movements - are divided into two sections
each of which has to be repeated. They are technically demanding and certainly
reflect Binder's own skills as a keyboard player. During his visit
to Dresden Burney heard him play the organ and was very impressed, especially
by his command of the pedals. The sonatas are a mixture of elements of the
baroque style and that of the Empfindsamkeit and Sturm und Drang.
Among the former is the use of counterpoint, for instance in his writing of
fugues. The Sonata V opens with a movement in two sections. Each
of them consists of two subsections. The first is called grave and
is dominated by arpeggios. It is reminiscent of the French prélude non
mesuré, although one could probably also see the influence of Binder's
playing of the pantaleon here. There are many scales across the keyboard and
virtuosic figurations in baroque manner. However, there are also many dynamic
indications. Some of them are used to create an echo, another device of the
baroque style, such as in the tempo di minuetto from the Sonata
IV. In other movements the use of dynamic contrasts is much more in the
style of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. That is the case, for instance, in the
andante from the Sonata I where the dynamics sometimes change
from one bar to the other: in the first 30 bars there are no fewer than eight
indications of forte and piano. In un poco lento
from the Sonata II there are even single chords which are required
to be played forte. That same sonata opens with an allegro which
is interrupted several times by an adagio of only a couple of bars.
The opening movement from the Sonata III has the indication moderato
- presto, and these two alternate throughout the movement. It is especially
these features which justify the comparison with C.P.E. Bach. Whereas the
fast movements of these sonatas are technically brilliant, the slow movements
are certainly not devoid of expression. A good example is the cantabile
alla pastorale from the Sonata III.
One issue in keyboard music of this time is the choice of instrument. It seems
pretty clear that Binder had the harpsichord in mind. In the 1750s the fortepiano
had not yet established itself. This means that the dynamic indications have
to be realized by switching from one manual to the other. That is how Paulina
Tkaczyk plays these sonatas. Unfortunately her harpsichord is not identified.
Binder's music is hardly known; very few of his works are available
on disc. I have been able to find recordings of two keyboard concertos, a
cello sonata and three organ chorales. From that angle this set is a major
contribution to the discography and considerably enhances our knowledge of
Binder's compositional style. Paulina Tkaczyk is an outstanding interpreter
and an eloquent defender of this set of sonatas. They arouse my curiosity
about the rest of his oeuvre. It seems definitely worth exploring.
Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
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