When one thinks
of the so-called ‘classical period’ - which school pupils normally
compartmentalize as from c.1750-1810 - the names of Mozart and
Haydn leap to mind. After them you think of Gluck (the Reformer
of German opera), then might come the somewhat maverick genius,
C.P.E. Bach and only after that J.C. Bach. Yet having heard
all six hours or more of this set I am again convinced that
he is in many ways the archetypal composer of
the classical period.
In the booklet to
the sixth volume in this part of the CPO J.C. Bach series (there
are 22 CDs in all of which these six address the Symphonies
Concertantes) there is an extra essay by Peter Wollny entitled
‘Orchestral Music by Johann Christian Bach’. In it he quotes
C.P.E. in 1768 as saying “There is nothing behind my brother’s
present manner of composing”. This reminded me of Oscar Wilde:
“On the surface he seems possibly to be profound, but fortunately
once underneath one soon realizes that that he is entirely shallow”.
That’s pretty much how I perceived J.C.’s music. However Leopold
Mozart, not without wisdom, reminded Wolfgang Amadeus that “What
is slight becomes great when it is written with a natural flow
and in a light hand”. Not surprisingly Mozart went to London
and studied with J.C. and was possibly present when J.C. gave
the first known piano recital in London.
Each disc in this
series of six has the same introductory essay by Ernest Warburton.
His conscientious scholarship and research has in recent years
discovered scores and parts long thought lost. His reconstructions
of the scores have brought much of this music to our attention
but only comparatively recently. He offers biographical notes
on J.C. and then on the Symophonia Concertante as a form. Each
work is described and sometimes lightly analysed. Only in the
sixth booklet, as indicated, does Peter Wollny add an analytical
essay.
Anthony Halstead
who has obviously devoted so much loving care on the conducting
also makes a literary contribution. A 22 disc assignment to
record the music of just one composer - and not a great one
- takes a huge commitment and monopolises a massive chunk of
your life. Sadly Ernst Warburton died just a short time before
the recording project was completed in 2001, it having started
six years before that.
Now this collection
of six discs of the Symphonies Concertantes have been gathered
together having previously been released separately. They allow
us a real chance to delve into the mind of this still little-known
composer.
The worry I had
when confronted with this set was ‘Would all twenty works be
exactly the same, in form, style, performance and texture?’.
Well that fear proved unfounded almost from the start. As you
can see from the above listings each CD is slightly different
in type and content. For example, several ‘Symphonies’ are in
three movements, fast(ish)-slow-fast (probably a Rondo). However,
on disc 4, (the tracks are carelessly printed in the booklet),
the first Symphonie in C has an opening elegant Andante in the
French style (gallante) followed by a lively Allegro and that’s
it. The following Eb work is similar in form whilst the later
G major piece is in three movements. That particular disc features
variation in texture. Two violins and cello - the most common
instrumental grouping used by J.C. - are featured in the first.
In the second the flute is added and in the Eb we have the flute
with an oboe and bassoon. In between comes a Violin Concerto,
the complex reconstruction of which, and its place in the canon,
is explained by Ernst Warburton in the notes as are the other
single concerto works listed.
I have already alluded
to the French late Baroque style (Rameau, Couperin) which Bach
sometimes employs but he is also prone to adopting the Italian
style with its emphasis on melody and elegance and charm. Nowhere
is this more noticeable than in the A major work for two violins
and cello on disc 3. This was a popular piece at the time and
was published in 1775; only two others were published in Bach’s
lifetime. This is a two movement work definitely written with
the French taste in mind. Warburton describes it as having a
“bluffer manner” than others and being “highly decorated” by
which he means ornamented. The Italian style is exemplified
by the D major Concertante on Volume 2, with its emphasis on
virtuosity and on ritornello material, as happens in Vivaldi.
Not only that, but the work is from a single manuscript copy
found in Mantua.
The sixth disc has
the last two ‘Symphonies Concertantes’ and has, as an bonus,
a curious Keyboard concerto and a brief work simply called a
‘Cadenza’. The concerto is a different version of a published
Concerto in G recorded a few years before (CPO 999 600-2) and
its complex history is worth a little study. It is played on
a sweet-toned fortepiano by Anthony Halsead himself who also
improvises the cadenzas. It sounds more like chamber music with
its accompaniment of just two violins and a cello. The final
track, the ‘Cadenza’ for Oboe, Viola and Violoncello is attributed
to J.C. and probably should be attached to the C major Concertante
(C45). It is just a two and a half minutes long.
I can think of no
better performers than ‘The Hanover Band’ – 26-strong – to present
this music. They are all soloists and each appears to relish
the chance to play solo whenever called upon. There is a superb
sense of balance throughout between each of the original instruments
even the flute which although not even-toned throughout its
range is most sensitively handled by both Liza Beznosiuk and
Brinley Yare.
I must end by adding
that although I applaud the project and indeed the whole idea
of the 22 discs of J.C. Bach, I do wonder how many times I will
actually play it. It is charming and easy on the ear, cleverly
composed and beautifully performed but it may well spend much
of its time on the shelf not only at my home but at most Universities
and Colleges. For this reason I am going to suggest that if
you decide to hunt out single volumes only then you could do
no worse than purchase Volume 2 and/or Volume 3. These have
contrast and quality and represent, I feel, the heart of the
Concertantes and of J.C. Bach himself.
Gary Higginson
CPO 999 348-2
[57.21] 
