Every year a large number of new discs with early music are released. Some
of them contain music which is little known, but there are also many which
offer more of the same. That includes music for keyboard. Over the last two
years at least four recordings of the complete harpsichord works of Rameau
have appeared. One wonders why harpsichordists don't look beyond the
obvious. There is still a large repertoire to be discovered. One
doesn't necessarily have to go into the archives and to transcribe
hard-to-read manuscripts. The present disc proves that even music which is
available in a modern edition is sometimes ignored.
The suites which Lydia Maria Blank has recorded are part of a collection
of fourteen partitas included in a manuscript which is preserved in the
library of the Göttweig monastery about 80 km from Vienna. The manuscript
mainly includes keyboard works by Johann Caspar Kerll, who worked as an
organist in Munich and at the imperial court in Vienna. However, these
partitas are anonymous; one of them was given to Emperor Leopold I by Franz
Matthias Techelmann. He was an Austrian composer of Moravian birth who was
active in Vienna by 1678; from 1685 until his death he was organist of the
Hofkirche. The fact that he gave this partita to the Emperor suggests that
he may also be the composer of the other partitas. However, that is
impossible to prove. In her liner-notes Lydia Maria Blank mentions several
other composers - Kerll, Pachelbel, Ferdinand Tobias Richter (first organist
of the Imperial chapel from 1690 until his death in 1711) and Poglietti -
but for different reasons they all seem unlikely candidates. She points out
that these suites are important as music of this type from the south-German
and Austrian regions is unknown for the period between the death of
Froberger (1667) and the flowering of composers such as Johann Joseph Fux
and Gottlieb Muffat.
The partitas vary in the number of movements: among the six recorded here
four have five movements, one has six and one comprises seven. The movements
come without a title, and the titles used here are given by Herwig Knaus who
edited the partitas as long ago as 1966. The titles refer to the dance
rhythms, such as alamanda (allemande), courant, saraband and gigue. These
four are the heart of the keyboard suite as it had been developed by
Froberger. The partitas are modern in that they include a menuet and
sometimes also a gavotte (
Partita XIII). In some cases Ms Blank
gives movements a different title, for instance the opening movement from
Partita XII. Unlike most other partitas it doesn't open with
an
alamanda; Knaus calls it an
intrada but Ms Blank
prefers
aria & variatio. It is one of the movements which is
followed by a variation. That is also the case with every sarabanda, except
that in
Partita I; the sarabanda in
Partita VII comes with
two varations. This results in these sarabandes being the longest pieces in
every suite.
In this recording the partitas are given a number according to their place
in the manuscript rather than in Knaus' edition. Ms Blank makes an
interesting observation in regard to the
Partita XIII with the
remarkable key of b minor. It is a rather dark piece, and that has been the
reason for adding the description
Lamento to the opening alamanda.
She suggests that this may be connected to the number 13: "According to
the symbolism of numbers the number 13 is the traditional number of bad luck
and death. Not only does the Allemande have a pretty lamentable character
with some harmonic adventures, the Courante and Gigue also reveal a sober
expression. So I suspect that the order of this piece is not a
coincidence". The number 14 may refer to the stations of the Cross.
However, she admits that this is impossible to prove; it is not even certain
that the number of partitas did not exceed 14. This is an example of the
scrupulousness with which Lydia Maria Blank treats the musical material and
its historical context.
Two previous recordings by Lydia Maria Blank were devoted to repertoire
which belongs outside the mainstream. With this new disc - recorded in 2008
but released in 2014 - she continues her policy of turning our attention to
repertoire which is unjustly neglected. These partitas are recorded here for
the first time, and that is important from a historical angle as has been
explained above. However, they are also of musical value. This is very good
music with a character of its own. I have heard many nice things, and
without suggesting that the other partitas are mediocre the
Partita
XIII is definitely the most intriguing. It seems to belong to a
tradition of music of a mournful character as we know it, for instance, from
the oeuvre of Froberger, who composed a lament on the death of Emperor
Ferdinand III.
Ms Blank plays an Italian harpsichord which comes closest to the type of
harpsichords used in southern Germany and Austria. It turns out to be a most
suitable medium for this repertoire which receives here a very fine
performance. This is no spectacular music, but has a rather intimate
character, and that is exactly what comes off perfectly here. This disc is
worth investigating.
Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
