Johann ROSENMÜLLER (1617/19 - 1684)
Sonate a 2, 3, 4 è 5 stromenti, da arco & altri
Sonata X à 5 in F [5:25]
Sonata IX à 5 in D [5:19]
Sonata VIII à 4 in B flat [6:08]
Sonata I à 2 in g minor [6:19]
Sonata VII à 4 in d minor [6:18]
Sonata VI à 3 in F [6:14]
Sonata IV à 3 in C [5:38]
Sonata V à 3 in g minor [6:47]
Sonata III à 2 in d minor [4:59]
Sonata XI à 5 in A [4:32]
Sonata II à 2 in e minor [8:49]
Sonata XII à 5 in d minor [4:21]
Ensemble Masques (Sophie Gent, Tuomo Suni (violin), Kathleen Kajioka
(viola), Mélisande Corriveau (viola da gamba, cello), Benoît
Vanden Bemden (violone), Olivier Fortin (harpsichord, organ))/Olivier
Fortin
rec. November 2011, Église Saint-Agustin, Mirabel (Québec),
Canada. DDD
ATMA ACD2 2660 [72:11]
Sonatas 1682
Sonata IX à 5 in D [5:03]
Sonata V à 3 in g minor [5:25]
Sonata XII à 5 in d minor [3:32]
Sonata VII à 4 in d minor [6:30]
Sonata VI à 3 in F [5:14]
Sonata II à 2 in e minor [8:48]
Sonata VIII à 4 in B flat [5:44]
Sonata III à 2 in d minor [4:37]
Sonata XI à 5 in A [4:42]
Sonata I à 2 in g minor [5:25]
Sonata IV à 3 in C [5:31]
Sonata X à 5 in F [5:35]
Musica Fiata (Roland Wilson, Frithjof Smith (cornett), Detlef Reimers,
Peter Stelzl (sackbut), Adrian Rovatkay (dulcian), Anette Sichelschmidt,
Christine Moran (violin), Christiane Volke, Andreas Pilger (viola),
Olaf Reimers (basso viola), Axel Wolf (chitarrone), Christoph Anselm
Noll (harpsichord, organ))/Roland Wilson
rec. no date, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, Germany. DDD
CPO 777 688-2 [67:59]
In the 17th century a large part of Europe was under the spell of the
Italian style. In Germany it was especially welcomed: most composers
integrated one or several features of the latest trends in Italian music.
One of the most enthusiastic advocates was Johann Rosenmüller.
In his earliest works the influence of Heinrich Schütz, in the
mid-17th century Germany's main composer, is clearly noticeable. Schütz,
on his part, had already embraced some elements of the Italian style.
Rosenmüller showed his leanings towards that style well before
he actually settled in Italy. That was in Venice, to be precise, where
he took refuge when he was accused of a pederastic offence in Leipzig.
In Venice he became a sackbut player in San Marco and probably also
worked as a teacher. At the same time he continued to compose, especially
large amounts of sacred music. A large part was on German texts and
obviously intended for the German market. There he was held in high
esteem since the publication of two collections of sacred concertos
under the title of Kernsprüche, printed in 1648 and 1652/53
respectively. These found a wide dissemination in Germany. He also composed
sacred works in Latin, for instance in honour of the Virgin Mary. These
were probably performed in San Marco. They also have given food to the
speculation that Rosenmüller might have converted to Catholicism.
However, there seems to be no documentary evidence of that.
Rosenmüller also contributed to the genre of instrumental music.
In the first half of the 17th century German composers mostly wrote
dances, often put together in suites. Examples are Johann Hermann Schein
(Banchetto Musicale, 1617) and Johann Vierdanck (two collections
from 1637 and 1641). In 1645 Rosenmüller published a collection
with dance suites of his own. In contrast to Schein he added a basso
continuo part. It was followed in 1654 by the Studenten-Music,
which is harmonically and melodically more developed. The two collections
which have attracted most interest in our time date from 1667 and 1682
respectively. The former is called Sonate da camera and is for
five instruments and basso continuo. The latter is the subject of the
present recordings, the Sonate à 2, 3, 4, è stromenti
da arco & altri. They were both printed in Germany, and it is
therefore plausible to assume that they were first and foremost aimed
at the German market. This has some consequences in regard to the scoring.
Both collections refer to strings or other instruments. François
Filiatrault, in his liner-notes to the ATMA disc, writes: "The title
indicates that though other instruments may play them, these pieces
are primarily intended for strings". In the liner-notes to the CPO recording
Jörg Hillebrand states that "the instrumentation with various instrumental
types is again left up to the preference of the performers". It is impossible
to decide who is right. The fact that strings are mentioned first doesn't
necessarily indicate the preference of the composer. It seems more likely
that strings were more common than instruments such as cornetts and
sackbuts. The performance by the Ensemble Masques reflects the practice
of playing such music in domestic surroundings and the private rooms
of aristocrats. A performance with wind could well have taken place
at public occasions. In this scoring they take on the character of representational
music. Both approaches seem perfectly legitimate.
It is the character of the music which is decisive. Some sonatas are
played with strings by Musica Fiata as well, such as Sonata II, Sonata
IV and Sonata VII. In other sonatas the instruments are used
in various ways. Some are played with cornetts and sackbuts (Sonata
XII), others with a mixture of violin and cornett (Sonata I),
violin and three wind instruments (Sonata VIII) or with several
wind and strings, which sometimes alternate and then play colla parte
(Sonata IX). The latter option has a chiaroscuro effect
through a contrast between soli and tutti. The scoring in the performances
of the Ensemble Masques is the same throughout, with the exception of
the string bass. In some sonatas the viola da gamba is played, in others
the cello. Considering that these sonatas were aimed at the German market
the latter option seems questionable: at the time of publication the
cello hardly played a role in Germany. Musica Fiata uses an instrument
which is called basso viola. I have not been able to identify
this instrument. An internet search reveals that this term only indicates
the pitch of the instrument, not whether it is of the viola da gamba
or part of the violin family.
These sonatas are not only often quite virtuosic, they also have a strongly
theatrical character. They usually comprise a number of movements of
contrasting tempo, but these movements are sometimes divided into short
sections, some not longer than a couple of bars. An example is the Sonata
XI which lasts four and a half minutes, but has no fewer than six
movements. The first comprises five sections, alternating allegro and
adagio, the fourth movement also has five: adagio-presto-adagio-presto-adagio.
Sometimes the transition from one movement to the next can be very abrupt.
That comes off a bit better in the performances by the Ensemble Masques.
That could well be due to the fact that strings are just a little more
flexible and responsive to changes in the texture than cornetts and
sackbuts. On the other hand, Musica Fiata's performance has slightly
stronger dynamic contrasts; these could have been more pronounced in
Ensemble Masques' recording.
In most cases I would regret the release of two recordings of the same
pieces; not here. The approaches are quite different, and the performances
are both very good in their own right. I see these releases as complementary
rather than competitive. Everyone who likes Rosenmüller's music
will feel tempted to acquire them both.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanveen
