The Trio Sonata in 18th-Century England
John (Giovanni) RAVENSCROFT (?-c.1708)
Sonata in G, op. 1,8 [5:43]
George Frideric HANDEL (1685-1759)
Sonata in g minor, op. 2,5 (HWV 390) [10:40]
Charles AVISON (1709-1770)
Sonata in d minor, op. 1,1 [8:01]
William BOYCE (1711-1769)
Sonata in D, [op. 1],5 [7:46]
Thomas Augustine ARNE (1710-1778)
Sonata in G, op. 3,2 [9:20]
George Frideric HANDEL
Sonata in D, op. 5,2 (HWV 397) [8:38]
Carl Friedrich ABEL (1723-1787)
Sonata in G, op. 3,1 (WKO 80) [9:49]
Thomas ERSKINE, Earl of Kelly (1732-1781)
Sonata VI in G [9:31]
London Baroque (Ingrid Seifert, Richard Gwilt (violin), Charles Medlam (viola
da gamba), Steven Devine (harpsichord))
rec. March 2009, Länna Church, Sweden. DDD
BIS CD-1765 [70:58]
In the first half of the 17th century the Italian style quickly disseminated
across Europe. Two countries offered strong resistance: France and England.
When that resistance broke down around 1700 composers and audiences completely
fell for it. Italian music, and especially the oeuvre of Vivaldi, became very
popular in France. In England it was Corelli's music which was frequently
played by the amateur music societies across the country. The liner-notes
to this disc quote Roger North: "It is wonderfull to observe what a skratching
of Corelli there is everywhere - nothing will relish but Corelli ...". The
programme of this disc demonstrates his influence on the style of composing
in England in the 18th century. At the same time we can observe the shift
from Corelli's style in which counterpoint dominates. The movement was toward
the galant idiom which emphasizes the melody played in the upper voice, with
the second treble part reduced to a supportive role.
The programme opens with a sonata by the English composer John (or Giovanni)
Ravenscroft, who lived in Rome and was probably a pupil of Corelli. Very little
is known about him; we don't know where he came from and when he was born,
neither has the year of his death been established. He was one of the first
composers to write sonatas of the Corellian type with a sequence of four movements,
slow-fast-slow-fast. Like Corelli he included fugal movements. Around 1735
some of his sonatas op. 1 were reprinted as Corelli's op. 7 which bears witness
to their stylistic similarities.
In the first half of the 18th century the English music scene was dominated
by Handel who had also embraced the Italian style. The programme includes
two sonatas from his collections of trio sonatas which were published as op.
2 and op. 5 respectively. The form of the trio sonata was particularly popular
and publishers tried to take advantage of that. John Walsh first printed the
trio sonatas op. 2 under the name of the Amsterdam publisher Roger, and made
sure the publication was riddled with errors in order to infuriate Handel
in such a way that he was only too happy to allow Walsh to publish an 'authorised'
edition. This appeared around 1730, but it is likely that the six sonatas
were composed much earlier, well before 1720. The second set was printed as
op. 5 in 1759 and includes mostly arrangements of orchestral and operatic
music. The third movement from the Sonata No. 2 in D is based on music
from the ballet at the end of act one of the opera Ariodante.
One of the strongest advocates of the Italian style was Charles Avison. He
had a huge admiration for Francesco Geminiani, whom he rated higher than Handel.
His trio sonatas op. 1 follow the model of the Corellian sonata da chiesa.
In the first sonata the opening movement is split into two sections: a very
short and dark adagio is followed - after a general pause - by an andante.
The complete set has been recorded by The Avison Ensemble (review).
English-born composers such as William Boyce and Thomas Augustine Arne have
remained more or less in the shadow of the towering figure of Handel. They
played their own role in English musical life, though, which is still not
fully appreciated. The Sonata in D by Boyce is from a collection of
twelve which were enthusiastically received. More than 600 copies of the first
edition of 1747 were sold by subscription, and it was followed by two further
editions. The complete set was recorded by The Parley of Instruments (review).
They follow the Corellian model; four of them are in three movements, though.
The Sonata No. 5 in D is one of them and ends with a fugue.
Arne will always be associated with the song Rule Britannia, from his
masque Alfred. It was in particular music for the theatre that held
his interest, and his contributions to the genre are substantial. His instrumental
oeuvre is relatively small; the Eight overtures in 8 parts are among
his most frequently performed works. Very little of his chamber music has
been recorded. In 1757 a set of seven sonatas for two violins and bc was published.
Here we hear the shift from the contrapuntal style of Corelli to the galant
idiom. In the last movement the first violin dominates whereas the second
mostly plays an accompanying role.
The galant style takes over in the last two pieces on this disc. Carl Friedrich
Abel was a gambist by profession and settled in England in 1758/59 where he
became an important figure in the music scene. This was not only as a performer
and composer but also, together with Johann Christian Bach, as one of the
organisers of the Bach-Abel concerts. The six sonatas op. 3 were printed in
1761 and scored for two violins or flute and violin with basso continuo. The
Sonata No. 1 in G has recently been recorded in the latter scoring
by Georgia Browne and Nordic Affect (review).
They recorded some other trio sonatas as well.
The disc started with a rather curious composer, it ends with another: Thomas
Erskine, Earl of Kelly. He came from a Scottish landowning family, learned
to play the violin and went on a Grand Tour across Europe. He may have
been a pupil of Johann Stamitz for a while. Like Abel's op. 3 Erskine's six
sonatas which were printed in 1769 were scored for either two violins or for
flute and violin with basso continuo. The first treble part is totally dominant,
with the second providing harmonic support.
This disc is part of a series devoted to the trio sonata in various European
countries in the 17th and 18th centuries (see below). The playing of London
Baroque is, as always, stylish and engaging, with perfect ensemble. The tempi
are well chosen, with enough contrast between the various movements. There
are various good recordings of Handel's sonatas, but the rest of the programme
is far less well-known and some pieces are probably recorded here for the
first time. That makes this disc even more worthwhile.
In short, another very fine release in this interesting series.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanveen
Another very fine release in London Baroque's series devoted to the trio sonata.
Reviews of other releases in this series
Germany
17th century (BISCD1545)
France
18th century (BISCD1855)
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