Georg
Muffat could be labelled a 'multicultural' composer. He was
born in Savoye in France, where his family - which was of Scottish
origin - had settled in the early 17th century. He studied in
Paris under Lully, was appointed organist at Strasbourg Cathedral
- which was then under Molsheim - continued his studies in Rome
with the famous organist Bernardo Pasquini, where he also met
Corelli, and worked at courts in Salzburg, Vienna and Passau.
Although he considered himself a German composer he was one
of the earliest advocates of the 'goûts réunis', a mingling
of the French and the Italian styles. He also wanted to introduce
these styles into Germany. His educational purposes are reflected
in his collections of music, which not only show a mixture of
Italian and French elements, but were also preceded by introductions
in German, French, Italian and Latin. And his aims reached further
than just bringing the musical styles in Europe closer to each
other: "My profession is very far from the tumult of arms
and from the reasons of state that cause them to be taken up.
I occupy myself with notes, with words and with sounds. I exercise
myself in the study of a sweet symphony: when I mingle French
airs with those of the Germans and the Italians, it is not in
order to incite a war, but it is rather, perhaps, a prelude
to the harmony of so many nations and to amiable peace."
The
compositions which were first published under the title 'Armonico
Tributo' in 1682 were later revised and printed again, in 1701.
That same year these works were also published in the 'Ausserlesene
Instrumentalmusik' in a more thorough reworking. This is evidence
enough of the importance of these pieces in the perception of
the composer. They reflect the influences of Lully in that they
are written in five parts, which was common in France. But the
core of these pieces is the combination of two violins and bass
- the model of the Italian trio sonata. In his preface Muffat
underlines the many possibilities in regard to scoring and the
number of instruments involved. They could be performed with
three, four or five instruments, but also with a large orchestra,
split into a 'concertino' and a 'ripieno', just like Corelli's
Concerti grossi. While studying with Pasquini in Rome he had
the opportunity to hear and see Corelli direct his own Concerti
grossi and to play with him. He was deeply impressed: "I
first conceived the idea of this ingenious mixture while I was
in Rome, where I studied the Italian manner on the organ and
the harpsichord under the world-famous Signor Bernardo Pasquini;
I heard with the greatest delight and admiration several most
beautiful concertos [Suonate] by Signor Archangelo Corelli,
the Orpheus of Italy on the violin, played with the greatest
accuracy by a large number of musicians."
In
this recording the concertos or sonatas are performed with five
instruments: two violins, two violas and bc. In the preface
Muffat paid special attention to the contrast in dynamics and
tempo. "At the word piano, or the letter p.,
which means the same thing, everyone must uniformly play so
softly and with such precision that they can hardly be heard;
and at the forte, or f., everyone must be inspired
by so great a force and vehemence from the first note thus marked
that the listeners be astonished at so great a noise (...) And
it is the exact observance of this opposition of slowness and
of speed, of power and of sweetness and of the ampleness of
the full orchestra and the delicacy of the simple Trio that
ravishes the ear, inciting it to admiration, as is the eye by
the contrast of shadow and light."
It
is in regard to these aspects that I find this interpretation
unsatisfying. There are two ways to create a contrast in dynamics:
by the alternation of concertino and ripieno or the alternation
of piano and forte. The first is no option in
a performance with one instrument per part, and the second isn't
fully realised here. The players never play "so softly
... that they can hardly be heard". The choice of tempi
is also debatable. There is historical evidence that Corelli
himself performed his Concerti grossi with large contrasts in
tempo, and it is reasonable to assume that Muffat was also influenced
by this aspect of Corelli's performances. In this recording
sometimes the fast movements are a little too slow and the slow
movements a bit too fast.
The
Italian style - particularly present in the slower movements
- is better realised than the French, which is reflected in
the dance movements. But this recording shows the impressive
qualities of Muffat's music. These sonatas are unconventional
in their structure: Muffat doesn't hesitate to put three slow
movements in succession: grave, sarabande grave, grave (Sonata
II). And Sonata V has not even a single fast movement. Some
grave movements are very expressive thanks to bold harmonic
progressions. The 'aria' of Sonata II has a wonderful theme
moving over a walking bass. The collection ends with a magnificent
passacaglia, which takes almost half the time of the whole sonata.
I
am not aware of any other recording of these sonatas with one
instrument per part. That, and the fact that this interpretation
has enough to offer to convince any listener of the brilliance
of these works, make me recommend the disc. It is a shame the
presentation leaves much to be desired. Even the date and place
of the recording is omitted. For those who would like to hear
a recording with a larger ensemble I recommend the one by Chiara
Banchini's Ensemble 415 (Harmonia Mundi).
Johan van
Veen
Ars Antiqua Austria:
(Gunar Letzbor (violin, director), Ilia Korol (violin), Peter Aigner,
Susanna Haslinger (viola), Claire Pottinger-Schmidt (cello, viola
da gamba), Luciano Còntini (archlute), Norbert Zeilberger (harpsichord,
organ))
