Carolus Antonius FODOR
Sonatas Op. 2 nrs. 1 & 2
Carolus Emanuel FODOR
Air du Tonnelier
Johann Wilhelm WILMS
Rondo-Polonaise
Henri MESSEMAEKERS Jr.
Grande Marche Funebre
Arthur Schoonderwoerd (fortepiano)
NM Classics 92103 [56.21]
NM
Classics
Here is a fascinating collection of 18th & 19th Century Dutch music played
by a leading exponent of the fortepiano, music which might sound trivial
on a Steinway, but it flourishes on a suitably chosen instrument, here a
Viennese 5-octave grand piano by Poletti & Tuinman after a model by Anton
Walter (1795) - there are few suitable Dutch instruments surviving.
It is a little hard to sort out the Fodors! Charles (1759-c.99) was prominent
in Paris and his variations on the Air du Tonnelier originated
from a Gossec opera and were reprinted repeatedly. His younger brother Antoine
(1768-1846) fled from the French Revolution and had his sonatas published
in Amsterdam, where he settled permanently. They are extremely attractive
and a sheer delight in these flexible performances, with capricious features
probably deriving from C P E Bach and melodic development from the French.
Arthur Schoonderwoerd plays his unique instrument affectionately and
it has some lovely tones. (Some passages in the bass sound very like a bassoon!)
Wilms (1772-1847) published his Rondo-Polonaise in 1809 and it became
very popular, and Messemaekers (b.1824) sent his
impressive Grande Marche Funebre in memory
of Prince Alexander to his father, King Willem II, in 1848.
This music is lifted onto an altogether higher plane by the performances
of Schoonderwoerd on his carefully chosen instrument. The illustrated
documentation is comprehensive and include essays on Cultural life in
Amsterdam around 1800 and The fortepiano, a new symbol of prosperity
for the high society as well as discussion of performance practice of
the period. A recommended purchase for profit and pleasure. Don't pass it
by because of its apparent obscurity.
Peter Grahame Woolf
