Carl Philipp Emanuel BACH (1714-1788)
Concerto for oboe, strings and basso continuo Wq165 H468 E flat major [19.36]
Symphony for winds, strings and basso continuo Wq181 H656 F major [11.35]
Concerto for oboe, strings and basso continuo Wq164 H466 B flat major [19.49]
Symphony for 2 oboes, 2 horns, strings and basso continuo Wq180 H655 G major [12.05]
Xenia Löffler (oboe)
Akademie fűr Alte Musik Berlin/Georg Kallweit
rec. 2018, Teldex Studio, Berlin
HARMONIA MUNDI HMM902601 [63.12]
The oboe soloist on this disc, Xenia Löffler, wasn’t even born when the version of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s Wq165 on my shelves was recorded. I bought it around 1990, so I thought it would be well over 30 years old.
But in fact, when I look closely, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi's Editio Classica GD77061 (no longer available, I fear) is a compilation album, and the oboe concerto was actually recorded in 1968, more than fifty years ago. It was, however, a classic of the early instrument movement, featuring luminaries like Gustav Leonhardt, Alan Curtis, Collegium Aureum and – on oboe – Helmut Hucke.
It’s instructive to compare this with the new version by the Akademie fűr Alte Musik Berlin, aka Akamus; we’ve come a long way in 50 years. The heavy string sound and reedy oboe is replaced by lighter and faster string sound, with, paradoxically, a fuller and more expressive oboe.
Just the first two notes played by the oboe on the new disc says it all. Fifty years ago, it was a wonder that the notes on the unpredictable original instrument were even and clean. But Xenia Löffler actually injects expression as well. She plays the second note more quietly than the first, to give an echo effect; quite lovely.
Although this disc is labelled “Oboe concertos”, there are in fact only two oboe concertos, interspersed with two symphonies, neither of which are at all well known and seem to date from CPE Bach’s final years in Berlin before he went to Hamburg.
The contrast between concertos and symphonies makes for delightful variety; you can listen to this disc straight through without strain. I did, several times, and it continues to delight.
Both the symphonies consist of three shortish movements in the fast-slow-fast format of the eighteenth century (though there’s no actual break between movements and the follow-on is cleverly prepared for). Both follow the CPE Bach formula of sharp dynamic contrasts, musical leaps and sudden pauses.
The first symphony, for winds, strings and basso continuo, Wq 181, is a thing of lovely juxtapositions, exciting outbursts and extreme dynamics, here performed with the lightest of touches by Akamus.
It’s followed by another oboe concerto, Wq 164. It starts with a long intro featuring insistent note repetition and dynamic echo effects. It has a lovely yearning slow movement, made the most of by the orchestra and soloist.
The other symphony, Wq 180, brings in two horns for a bigger, fuller sound, backed by scurrying strings. This big sound ends the disc on an exultant note.
The recording of all the works is exemplary, allowing individual instruments to shine while blending them into the thrilling sound of a vibrato-less old instrument band.
According to the booklet, audiences in mid-eighteenth-century Berlin could not get enough of these original and unpredictable works. CPE Bach himself, however, considered his twenty years at court as a time of frustration and hardship, even though his generous contract meant he only had to perform every other week. Like Berlin audiences, you too will be surprised and enchanted, and may even play this disc more frequently than that.
Chris Ramsden
