CPE was something of a one-off. He was the second surviving
son of JS by his first wife. Like his elder brother, Wilhelm
Friedeman, he had an eccentric and almost wild side artistically
speaking. This was brought about by his own personality but
also by the ‘spirit of the times’.
The late 1760s and 1770s was the period in Germany in which
the concept of ‘Sturm und drang’ (Storm and Stress)
developed. The generation of JS - and even a little later -
had been one where beauty was attained through a sense of form
and structure over emotional content. In that brave new world
this was coupled with ‘Empfindsamkeit’ - often translated
as ‘sentimentality’ (I rather prefer ‘sensitivity’).
There stormy music - or the storm in the art-form - is contrasted
with an almost pathetic sadness and over-indulgence of emotion.
The rise of artists like Klinger who seems first to have used
the term and later by Goethe brought about a new phase, which
ultimately led to ‘Romanticism’ in which how one
felt emotionally and personally about an issue or a work of
art took hold. CPE’s earlier work at court or church often
demanded conformity but in Hamburg he found patrons who would
allow him his head. These symphonies and the concerto come from
this period.
What can we expect to hear? CPE wrote about eighteen symphonies
in all but the four ‘Hamburg’ ones are quite an
advance on those from the previous decade not least in the instrumentation.
This now includes flutes, oboes, bassoons and horns and in several
curious combinations which CPE is able to explore. The slow
movement of the E flat work should be noted. First movements,
especially those in a minor key - but also, as here, in major
keys like E flat - are often quite fast. Wide-ranging melodic
lines jump around jaggedly from high to low registers. There
is often a firm bass-line and even a strong pulse to counterbalance
these upper lines. There is much nervous energy with sudden
silences. Sequences are not common but can be strident and powerful.
The volume can be unrelenting but sudden dynamic contrasts ff
to pp are not uncommon and often unexpected. Trills are
expressive not purely decorative. Lines may be unexpectantly
broken off as in Goethe where sentences unfinished are often
left in mid-air both in poetry and prose. The slow movements
which quite often suddenly break in unannounced are often delicate,
almost fragile and sometimes feature flute solos. Finales (there
is never a Minuet and Trio) are strong and powerful often with
much work for horns and woodwind. Sometimes these disappear
off into remote keys without conventional preparation, The keyboard
concertos - although not the one recorded here - are virtuosic:
a reminder that CPE had written a treatise on keyboard technique.
In performances of CPE’s Symphonies and Hamburg Concertos
what one needs are a conductor and group who are not frightened
to indulge passions and let themselves go. So the question arises:
does this happen here?
I have possessed for some time a recording of these symphonies
by Gustav Leonhardt and the Orchestra of the Enlightenment.
This dates from circa 1990 - my version which may not now be
available is on Virgin Veritas (72435 6118225). I have enjoyed
it for some time so I listened to the two versions side by side.
‘Solamente Naturali’ uses period instruments as
does Leonhardt. Undoubtedly Leonhardt, especially in No. 1 and
in the first movement of No. 2, is more lumpy and heavy. The
new recording is always rather lithe with quicker, even brusque
tempi especially in first movements. This means that, for example,
the F major Symphony runs in at half a minute shorter overall.
The D major is over seventy seconds shorter. However I sometimes
feel that details are lost although the wind playing is clear
and suitably athletic, as in the Presto of the F major symphony.
Bach puts in many details, often between phrases, which are
delightful and important and which need to be heard. I prefer
the warmth of the sound quality on the Virgin studio recording.
Leonhardt's coupling is the symphony from the Wq 182 group of
six which is a fine work for strings of 1773. Talpain couples
the four symphonies with a four movement C minor harpsichord
concerto in the ‘sturm and drang’ style. It is played
with style and delicacy.
With the precision playing that Talpain can command comes a
tendency to exaggerate the faster tempi and make even slower
the slow tempi; this is however in the spirit of CPE. Even so,
I am sometimes left rather breathless. It is difficult to believe
that Bach’s Hamburg orchestra could have played with such
precision and dexterity; as good as they must have been. It
must be said that Talpain is certainly exciting and riveting
but for those of you who feel that performances of early music,
even of more modern pieces, is getting faster and less expressive,
then these Allegros and Prestos offer a confirmatory evidence.
I’m not sure whether I should ditch Leonhardt in favour
of this new version. There have been other recordings. The version
from the Chamber Orchestra of Berlin under Helmut Koch on Berlin
Classics has been well reviewed but I have not heard any others.
With certain reservations then this Brilliant Classics release
should please not least because it will not set you back many
pennies. Also because if you do not know these extraordinary
works then this as good a place as any to start. The booklet
has an excellent essay by Didier Talpain, colour photos and
artist biographies. In my copy the pages were printed in the
wrong order.
Gary Higginson
Solamente Naturali/Didier Talpain 
