Sinfonien der Klassik
François-Joseph GOSSEC (1734-1829) Symphony in B flat, Op. 6,
No 6 [21:27]
Johann Baptist VANHAL (1739-1813) Symphony in G minor [17:48]*
Antoine MAHAUT (c.1720-c.1785) Symphony No. 4 in C minor for
strings [8:12]+
Joseph Martin KRAUS (1756-1792) Symphony in C minor [22:36]+
Capella Coloniensis/Hans-Martin Linde
rec. Lindlar, Kulturzentrum, *February 1982 and +September 1986; no data for
Gossec
PHOENIX EDITION 174 [70:35] 
Besides presenting a well-played selection of pleasing, unfamiliar music,
this program offers an overview of the symphony in transition. Karsten Erik
Ose's booklet note, as translated by Uwe Lukas Jäger, refers to these four
composers as "Mozart's most famous coevals," but their diverse,
more conservative styles exemplify various points in the form's gradual metamorphosis
from the single contained instrumental movement of the Baroque to the multi-movement
structure perfected by Mozart and Haydn.
Antoine Mahaut's C minor symphony for strings doesn't really escape
the Baroque at all, adhering to the fast-slow-fast form of the sonata da
chiesa. Fugal writing dominates both the outer movements, while the central
Adagio, sturdy and tonally weighted as it is, is recognizable as a
sort of siciliana - though I'd hardly describe it as "wallowing,"
as the annotators do!
François-Joseph Gossec's B flat symphony, also for string orchestra,
sits on the cusp of the transition, incorporating both forward- and backward-looking
elements into its five movements. The vigorous tremolos that drive the opening
Allegro molto point the way to what we think of as Mozart's "operatic"
symphonic style, though these gestures make quite a different effect in Gossec's
solid C major. A Larghetto poco lento alternates pizzicatos with stark
octaves before settling into a flowing cantabile. A brief Largo
con sordini serves to preface the fourth movement, a fully-fledged fugue
in the Handelian manner, capped with two ambivalent half-cadences; the finale,
an extended series of contrasting minuets, restores the work's Classical veneer.
The scores by Johann Baptist Vanhal and Joseph Martin Kraus,
however, are the genuine article. Vanhal's symphony is laid out in four movements
to Kraus's three, but both are rooted firmly in the Classical style. Both
composers add horns and oboes to the string orchestra, with Kraus eliciting
unusually full-throated chording from them. And both scores betray the influence
of the period's two great models: Haydn, in the prominent solo violin in Vanhal's
Andante; Mozart, in Kraus's weighty Larghetto introduction and
agitated, tensile outer movements. On the other hand, the appealing, listenable
themes don't approach Haydn's memorable infectiousness or Mozart's ambivalent
emotional layering, though I like the way Vanhal's finale maintains an aristocratic
demeanour amid its anxious drama.
The Capella Coloniensis, a period-instrument ensemble, plays with spirit,
alert rhythm, and solid tone under Hans-Martin Linde. The horns can be indiscreet
in the Vanhal - their role is supporting, after all - but the strings deliver
the runs in Mahaut's finale with real zest. The recording places the players
in a pleasing ambience that doesn't compromise detail. The booklet note is
informative but, given the program's historical interest, might well have
included dates of composition.
Stephen Francis Vasta
A well-played selection of pleasing, unfamiliar music.