The Dresden Album - Chamber Music from the Dresden Court
George Frideric HANDEL (1685-1759)
Trio sonata in g minor (HWV 393) [10:27]
Johann Joseph FUX (1660-1741)
Trio sonata in A (K 340) [9:12]
Johann Friedrich FASCH (1688-1758)
Trio sonata in D (FWV N,D4) [11:50]
František TŮMA (1704-1774)
Trio sonata in c minor [5:38]
Georg Philipp TELEMANN (1681-1767)
Trio sonata in E flat (TWV 42,Es1) [15:00]
George Frideric HANDEL
Trio sonata in E (HWV 394) [10:58]
Ensemble Diderot (Johannes Pramsohler, Varoujan Doneyan (violin), Gulrim Choi (cello), Philippe Grisvard (harpsichord))
rec. 2013, Auditorium Marcel Landowski, Paris, France
AUDAX RECORDS ADX13701 [63:11]
One of the main music centres in Germany in the first half
of the 18th century was Dresden. Its court chapel has an illustrious history
which goes back to the mid-16th century when Dresden embraced the Reformation.
It was in its prime when Heinrich Schütz was Kapellmeister. It always
had brilliant musicians and composers in its ranks. These included the violinists
Carlo Farina, Johann Jacob Walther and Johann Paul von Westhoff and the organist
Matthias Weckmann. A second flourishing period started with the accession
of Elector Friedrich August I of Saxony (1670–1733) who in 1697 converted
to the Catholic faith in order to acquire the Polish crown. From that date
he was known as August 'The Strong'.
This disc doesn't include anything by Johann Georg Pisendel, the most
brilliant violinist of his time in Germany. Even so, he plays a significant
role in the background as Reinhard Goebel explains in his liner-notes to the
present disc. In 1712 he became a member of the court chapel and soon started
to travel across Europe, mostly in the retinue of Crown Prince Friedrich August
II during his grand tour. He visited Paris where he met Jean-Féry Rebel and
François Couperin. In Venice he became acquainted with the likes of Albinoni
and Vivaldi. Both gave him some of their violin sonatas as presents. Officially
he studied with Vivaldi, but the Italian master considered him his friend
and musically his match rather than his pupil. Pisendel not only took with
him the music which was given to him but also actively collected pieces for
the court chapel. Throughout his career he copied music which came into his
hands. Today the fruits of his labour are preserved in the so-called Schrank
II (cupboard No. 2) in the Sächsische Landesbibliothek - Staats- und
Universitätsbibliothek. This includes a large amount of music by composers
who were for some time officially connected to the court in Dresden but also
by composers who sent pieces to the court. Italian music takes a specially
important place, among them pieces by Vivaldi, This is the direct result of
Pisendel's stay in Venice which kindled his interest in the Italian
style.
The music on this disc bears witness to that influence. The Italian style
is embedded in the German tradition one of whose features is the importance
of counterpoint. The programme opens and closes with trio sonatas by Handel.
That may seem rather strange. However, Handel visited Dresden in 1719 on the
occasion of the marriage of Friedrich August II and Maria Josepha, eldest
daughter of the Habsburg emperor Joseph I. Cupboard II includes several orchestral
scores by Handel, especially overtures from his operas and early versions
of his concerti grossi op. 3. The authenticity of the two sonatas played here
is questioned, especially because they don't sound very much like Handel
and in the rest of his oeuvre there are barely any reminiscences of these
pieces. Goebel argues that the music written for Dresden was not allowed to
be copied. That seems hardly a convincing argument: Handel surely didn't
need to copy what he had written himself in order to reuse some of the thematic
material. The question whether these sonatas are indeed by Handel will probably
never be definitively answered.
Another composer who was present in 1719 in Dresden was Telemann, a personal
friend of Handel and of Pisendel. The latter was one of those who subscribed
to Telemann's Musique de table. That is the reason the Sonata
in E flat from the first Production is included here. Johann Friedrich
Fasch was one of the most respected composers of his time, and regularly wrote
music for the court in Dresden. Cupboard II includes a considerable number
of pieces from his pen, among them the Sonata in D (FWV N, D4) which
includes an especially expressive affettuoso. The Sonata in A
(K 340) by Fux was included in the collection through Johann Joachim Quantz
who had entered the chapel in 1716 and went to Vienna the next year to study
counterpoint with him. He may also have been responsible for the inclusion
of the Sonata in c minor by Tůma, another pupil of Fux. This
work was used for liturgical purposes.
Pisendel was very much a representative of the goûts réünis which
was dominant in Germany. Goebel suggests that he didn't like modern
fashions, such as the style of Giuseppe Tartini. That could explain why the
compositions on this disc are dominated by counterpoint, and that includes
the Sonata in E flat by Telemann - himself a composer who always
embraced new trends - and Handel. The latter is not immediately associated
with counterpoint, but Handel would not be Handel if he was not willing to
adapt his style to what was required. He must have been very well aware of
the dominant taste in Dresden.
The Ensemble Diderot was founded in 2009 and this is their debut disc. A very
fine disc it is, as the playing is excellent, and does ample justice to the
style of the repertoire. It is fitting that Reinhard Goebel wrote the liner-notes.
He has an intimate knowledge of music life in Dresden in Pisendel's
time and the ensemble plays in the style we know from his former ensemble
Musica antiqua Köln, although the sound is a little less penetrating. The
main thing is that rhetoric and Affekt which were such important
features of the German style, are the leading principles here.
Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
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