Benedetto Marcello was the youngest of six children to a family in the
Venetian nobility. His brother Alessandro was also known as a great
composer. Benedetto is best known for his hundreds of cantatas and
remembered for a satirical pamphlet, ‘Téatro alla moda’, which targeted
Antonio Vivaldi and decried a decline in composition and quality of
performance.
The twelve Op 2 sonatas are almost entirely ‘Church Sonata’ in form and
derive from the beginning of Benedetto Marcello’s career. These
aren't filled with famous tunes, though you can easily hear how this
Italian style influenced Handel. Marcello introduced variety in the form of
dance movements which include gavottes, minuets, sarabandes and gigues. The
Sonata No. 12 has an extended
Ciaccona which became one of
his most widespread works in the 18th century in its version for solo
harpsichord. As is common for these kinds of pieces the actual
instrumentation is quite free. For this recording the Grenzing organ in
Saint-Cyprien-en-Périgord forms a delightful backdrop to Jacques
Vandeville’s oboe. The rich acoustic is perfect for these translucently
notated pieces.
There are a few minor negatives about this otherwise highly attractive
recording. Each sonata appears on a single access point, and I can imagine
most students of these works appreciating the separate movements being
cue-able separately. The other point is one which may not affect the very
casual listener, but I was on occasion slightly discomforted by some dodgy
moments in more technically demanding movements. Vandeville can be a little
inconsistent rhythmically, and passages such as from the 7th minute on in
the
Sonata No. 2 keep you on the edge of your seat, and not
entirely for the best of reasons. Organist Jean-Michel Louchart is alert and
the two musicians hold everything together for the most part.
While this CD may not be entirely blemish free, the organ/oboe combination
works very well. There is plenty of variety in colour from the
accompaniment, making for a very pleasant listen indeed. Slower and more
expressive movements are performed with sensitivity, and Jacques
Vandeville’s oboe sound has an appealing vibrato - two words which rarely go
together, and even less so in music of this period. The solo line sounds
natural and is unaffected by over-florid ornamentation. In terms of
comparison I haven’t found any with comparable instrumentation. Recorder and
harpsichord are somewhat dryly presented by the Accademia Claudio Monteverdi
Venezia on the Arts label (
review), and preferable to this might be the Lyremar
Trio on Centaur if they weren’t so pedestrian. More lively is Il Rossignolo
on Tactus (
review), though the surging breathing of recorder player
Martino Noferi in the slow movements reminds me of a very badly warped LP.
These are all with harpsichord and not really in the same ball-park. Having
this Op. 2 on a single disc is a treat, and despite my technical quibbles
this fuss-free organ and oboe account has now become my first choice.
Dominy Clements
