Now the first thing
to say is do not get this Walther muddled
up with Johann Gottfried Walther (1684-1748)
who was a distant relative of Bach and
preliminary and organist. Our Walther
is primarily a violinist and obviously
a superb one at that. This collection
‘Hortulus Chelicus’ is primarily of
violin music accompanied as it were,
by a backing group, a lute or theorbo,
or a harp, sometimes a chamber organ
or sometimes a chitarrone; whatever
the performers fancy adding into the
mix. Nevertheless this is, more often
than not, virtuoso violin music.
The main weight of
the performances falls squarely on the
shoulders of David Plantier who has
been making quite a name for himself
on the baroque violin in the years since
1997 when he graduated from the Schola
Cantorum. I find his playing quite ravishing,
but I did turn the treble down a little
as the recording, to my taste, seemed
to be overly bright. He is superbly
supported by Maya Amrein, Andrea Marchiol
and Shizuki Noiri.
Walther’s printed collection
is one of the most outstanding of its
period but, until now, very little known.
Think, for example, of the significance
of Biber’s ‘Rosary Sonatas’ and of Corelli’s
Op. 6. This publication is in that league.
This is not just virtuoso
music written by a baroque Paganini;
it can be also very expressive and even
good fun. The most expressive pieces
tend to be the opening Preludes, which
can be quite substantial. For an example
listen to the wonderful start of the
E minor Sonata. The Aria in G minor
is also a most melodic and emotional
piece. The happiest items tend to be
the closing ‘Giga’ movements and the
‘Correntes’. The form of the five suites
selected here are similar but there
is some variety. They are in five movements
and include four dances, sometimes with
variations. These are an Allemande,
a Corrente, a Sarabande and a Giga.
The ‘Serenata’ is a
highly original work and falls into
six movements. To give it its full title
it is for ‘Violino solo, Chittarrino,
Due Trombe e Timpani, Lira tedesca e
Harpa smorzata’. It’s worth saying immediately
that these mysterious instruments like
timpani are merely imitated by the composer
and not specially imported for this
curious work. In the ‘Aria-Chitarrino
– Piva’ he creates a violin-and-drone
effect which reminds me of Biber’s ‘Battaglia’
mixed with a repeated pizzicato passage.
The timpani is imitated by double-stopping
percussively on the bass strings of
the cello. The next movement is a gentler
‘Tedesco’ which is twice interrupted
by a raucous peasant dance complete
with drone. Harp effects are created
by the theorbo and harpsichord. The
strings are especially convincing in
this regard in the ‘Harpa smorzata’
movement as they pluck their way through
in a mood of light-hearted frolic.
I cannot speak too
highly of the performances from David
Plantier and his group, particularly
the colour and expression these musicians
generate. It has been worth the wait
for this music to be presented to the
general listening public. These are
pieces that need to be played with aplomb
and style if they are it to heard to
full benefit. That is exactly the treatment
they receive here.
The disc comes with
a detailed booklet the font of which
is somewhat microscopic. There are notes
by David Plantier on the composer and
the music. Watch out though: there is
no pocket for the booklet within the
folding cardboard case and it can easily
fall out.
Walther in his preface
to the collection stated that he hoped
that his music "would charm a public
seeking melodic pleasure". Well
without a doubt he certainly achieves
this. This is fine and highly civilized
music and we are fortunate indeed that
it has been so wonderfully researched
and executed.
Gary Higginson
for
details
Maya Amrein (cello); Shizuko Noiri (theorbo);
Andrea Marchiol (clavecin; organ) 
