Carl Philipp Emanuel BACH (1714-1788)
Complete Original Works for Violin & Keyboard
Violin Sonata in D, Wq.71 (H502, 1731) [12:11]
Violin Sonata in d minor, Wq.72 (H503, 1731) [8:42]
Violin Sonata in C, Wq.73/149 (H504, 1731) [15:08]
Sinfonia in D for keyboard and violin, Wq.74 (H507, 1754)
[9:53]
Violin Sonata in F, Wq.75 (1763) [24:02]
Violin Sonata in b minor, Wq.76 (1763) [18:44]
Violin Sonata in B-flat, Wq.77 (1763) [17:35]
Violin Sonata in c minor, Wq.78 (1763) [20:48]
Arioso con variazioni, Wq.79 (H535, 1781) [11:13]
Freye Fantasie
in f-sharp minor, Wq.80 (H536, 1787) [14:36]
Tamsin Waley-Cohen (violin)
James Baillieu (piano)
rec. Britten Studio, Snape Maltings, Snape, Suffolk, 10-12 September and
13-14 October 2018. DDD.
Reviewed as 24/96 download with pdf booklet from
hyperion-records.co.uk.
SIGNUM SIGCD573
[3 CDs: 153:06]
Purists may object to the combination of a modernised Stradivarius and a
modern Steinway grand piano in music originally intended for the
harpsichord (actually specified for the Sinfonia, Wq.74) or fortepiano. I would
normally find myself among their number: I originally decided to give this
set a miss until I heard an extract on BBC Radio 3 and changed my mind.
If you must have period instruments, Duo Belder Kimura on baroque violin
and fortepiano or harpsichord (Resonus RES10192) will do very well –
review.
For a shorter selection on period instruments, there’s Amandine Beyer and
Edna Stern on mid-price Alpha Collection (Alpha329, Wq.76, 77 and 78 and
H545 –
review).
Modern instruments these may be on the new Signum, but Tamsin Waley-Cohen
and James Baillieu play with a real sense of period style; the piano, even
when acting as the senior partner, is never allowed to get too
big for its boots. Readers may recall that, though I much prefer the
keyboard music of CPE’s father on the harpsichord, I make honourable
exceptions in the case of Glenn Gould and Angela Hewitt. Now Baillieu joins
their ranks and Waley-Cohen, whom I associate with music from a later
period, joins those violinists who, while not baroque or classical
specialists, plays the music of the period convincingly.
In fact, CPE’s music spans the baroque and classical styles, moving over a period of
more than
50 years from early works in the manner of his father and his godfather
Telemann, to anticipations of Haydn and Mozart. I’m not even sure that
‘anticipations’ is the right word for the Arioso, Wq.79 and the free
fantasy, Wq.80. The notes, jointly written by the performers, remind us
that Mozart hailed CPE as ‘the father of us all’ and that his works in the Empfindsamer Stil, with its emphasis on feeling, even anticipate the
romantic movement in many respects. After all, as O.A. Lovejoy’s essay On the Discrimination of Romanticisms (plural) reminded us long ago,
there are many forms of the latter, and F.L. Lucas counted over 11,000
definitions of the term, one of which might well be applied to CPE.
Even the early Wq.71, unusually in four movements, is made to sound
attractive here, but it’s the later works where both the music and
performances come into their own. I’m pleased to see that, unlike the
Resonus recording, Signum have given us the music in chronological order,
with Wq.79 and Wq.80 the logical conclusion. Originally composed for
keyboard alone, it’s not over-fanciful to compare Wq.80 with Beethoven’s
late piano sonatas and quartets. Here I’m even prepared to concede that the
modern Steinway not just equals the fortepiano on Resonus but makes more
sense. If the sonatas from 1763 reflect at least in part the conservative
tastes of his employer, Frederick of Prussia, by 1787 he was able to
compose in the much freer style specified in the work’s title, 'free
fantasy’.
The Duo Belder Kimura end the first of their two Resonus CDs with Wq.80. Though the
fortepiano on that recording is a copy of a Walter instrument of 1795, thus
post-dating by several years the Fantasie, it fails to make as much
impact as Baillieu’s modern instrument, even with the volume turned up. The
copy of another Walter fortepiano, as played on the Alpha selection would
have sounded better in this work; it’s a shame they didn’t include it there. Where the Resonus Duo’s lighter approach
to the music is marginally preferable in the earlier works, the new Signum
scores here and in the Arioso, Wq.79.
The Signum CDs are sold for around the price of two discs, about £19,
making them competitive with the 2-CD Resonus set. Beware, however, that
one dealer, who has currently reduced the CDs to £17.50, is asking £33.12
for the 16-bit download and £41.40 for the 24-bit. Follow the Hyperion link
(above) for a more reasonable £15.99 and £24.00 respectively. You may even
find the download for less elsewhere, but without the booklet.
The single-CD Alpha selection is well worth considering, but it doesn’t
contain CPE’s best works for violin and keyboard. Out-and-out advocates of
period performance will want the Resonus set but my money is on the new
Signum in preference to either.
Brian Wilson
