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| Ashley Solomon (J.A.) |
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| Jochewed Schwarz (Lauren Pressler) |
Starting the journey in England, Jochewed
Schwarz invited the audience to experience some fine early keyboard playing
with three lively, archetypal English pieces - corantos (short, dance-type
pieces, characterized by short running passages) from the
Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. (This pivotal historic tome includes keyboard pieces
from 25 named- and anonymous composers from the late Renaissance and very
early Baroque). Of George Frideric Handel, who settled in London in 1712, where
he spent most of his career (becoming a naturalised British subject) the
artists performed Flute Sonata in E minor (HWV 359b). Originally written for
the violin, London music publisher John Walsh transposed it (and others)
into suitable keys for the flute, presumably in order to improve their sales
potential. Solomon reminded us that the flute was an instrument played by kings;
this score was in King George II's library. Schwarz's elegant exploration
of the original figured bass practice moved hand-in-glove with Solomon's
melodiously lush, buoyant, expressive and tastefully ornamented playing.
Crossing the Channel to France, to where
the transverse flute was one of the most popular instruments in the first half
of the 18th century, we heard two works of Jacques-Martin Hotteterre. Of the
Hotteterre family, important in the musical life of France under the
"ancien régime", we know of thirteen members who were woodwind
instrument makers, players and composers. Court musician Jacques-Martin was the
most famous of them for his treatises, his teaching, as a composer of works for
flute and recorder and as a brilliant player. Hotteterre's instruction was that his Suite No.1 be played on the transverse flute. Solomon and Schwarz gave subtle
meaning to each of its different moods, with melodic lines abounding in
"notes inégales" and displaying French techniques of
ornamentation. Also, by Hotteterre, the artists gave wistful, embellished
delivery of Hotteterre's setting of the song "Pourquoy doux
rossignol" (Why, sweet nightingale.) Exactly what François Couperin le Grand
was referring to in his keyboard piece "Les Barricades Mystérieuses"
(The Mysterious Barricades) remains obscure. Navigating the rondeau's course of
skilfully dovetailed motifs written in the arpeggiated "style brisé"
(broken style) with its driving, teasing rhythmic schemes and “unexpected”
harmonies, Schwarz's playing of this small gem was captivating. French composer
and renowned court flautist Michel de la Barre is recognized as being the first
person to publish solo flute music. The Chaconne from his Suite
"l`Inconnue" for flute and basso continuo in G major ("The
Unknown Lady," the specific lady remaining unnamed, ties in with Baroque musical traditions of evocative titles rather
than direct portraiture) made for a delightful concert piece. Zesty yet
courtly, refined yet effervescent, rhythmically decisive and presenting a
variety of different instrumental flute techniques, it was beautifully handled
by both artists, with Schwarz effectuating the skeleton figured bass harmonic guidelines.
The artists performed works by two giants
of the German Baroque. Ashley Solomon spoke of Georg Philipp Telemann as
writing idiomatically for the flute. Whether the Twelve Fantasies for flute
(solo) without bass were written for didactic purposes or to accommodate the
virtuoso performers of his day is unclear. What is clear is that, groundbreaking as they were when written, they remain some of the most original
and inventive pieces in the entire flute repertoire. Solomon chose to play
Fantasie No.12 in G minor, his spontaneity calling attention to the piece's
formal freedom, to the contrasting moods of its miniature movements and to
the composer’s ingenuity in creating "false" polyphony and interior
dialogues. Sharing the same tonality, we heard what has been known as Johann
Sebastian Bach's Sonata in G minor BWV 1020. (Current scholarship now names the
author as Johann Sebastian’s son C.P.E. Bach.) The artists underscored the
charm and beauty of the work, presenting the depth and equal interest written
into both instrumental roles, their dialogue real, subtle and engaging, with a
lovely sense of balance between the parts. Their sparing use of flexing and
rubato added to the sense of spontaneity.
And to Italy, known as the "land of
the violin." The bulk of Pietro Antonio Locatelli's oeuvre consists of
sonatas and concertos for his own instrument, the violin. Of Locatelli's
virtuosity on the instrument, a contemporary of his, Charles Henri de
Blainville, remarked that he "was able… to make a caged song bird fall
from its perch in a swoon of pleasure." Like those he wrote for the
violin, Locatelli's Flute Sonatas Op 2 (published in Amsterdam, where the music
publishing industry was lucrative) make considerable demands on the soloist's
technique. Boding the emerging “style galant”, they contributed much to the
genre of the solo sonata, which was now gaining prominence over the trio
sonata. There was much to enjoy in the artists' performance of Sonata in C
major - fine teamwork, virtuosic playing, the music's variety of expression,
its rhythmic manoeuvres and the small surprises it (and the artists) had in
store, these including, for example, just a few small, suspenseful halts in the 3rd movement.
Many of us have played Francesco Barsanti's Recorder Sonatas Op 1. In 1735, the
Italian composer and wind player left Italy in 1714 for London, where he played
in Handel’s opera orchestra. In 1735, he moved to Edinburgh for eight years.
There, he produced "A Collection of Old Scots Tunes", settings
he dedicated to a certain young Lady Charlotte Erskine. The evening's program
ended with Jochewed Schwarz and Ashley Solomon performing three pieces from the
collection, their delivery appealing, charmingly sentimental and songful, the
pieces indeed stylistically very Scottish coming from the pen of an Italian
composer!
It was an evening of warm hospitality,
interesting explanations and fine music. For many in the audience, it was their
first encounter with this repertoire and with period instruments. The artists
very much enjoyed the audience’s curiosity, their attentive listening, the
questions they asked and the genuine dialogue with them. Jochewed Schwarz
(Israel) played an exquisitely beautiful spinettino built by William Horn, inspired by a 16th-century Italian trapezoidal
spinet in the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna). Ashley Solomon (UK) brought with him two flutes - a boxwood flute by
Rod Cameron after J.Denner (Germany, 1720) and an ebony flute by Martin Wenner after C.Palanca (Italy, 1750).
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| The Italian trapezoidal spinet (William Horn) |
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