Arne wrote these concertos
for his son Michael at various stages
during his career, from the early 1750s
to his last years. He fully intended
to gather them up and publish them but
was unsuccessful, as was Michael, who
died in 1786. The concertos finally
appeared in 1793.
Bearing in mind the
long period over which they were written
it is not surprising that some movements
hark back to the Handelian baroque while
others inhabit the galante world of
Johann Christian Bach. They nevertheless
speak with a consistent voice. They
are not in the three-movement form developed
by Vivaldi and Bach, which is perhaps
how we think of the late baroque keyboard
concerto. Rather, they follow the Concerto
Grosso form of Corelli and Handel, being
effectively suites of movements without
any pre-ordained pattern, though the
most substantial movement generally
comes first, or else second following
an introductory slow movement, and finales
are either lively (usually a Gigue)
or else a Minuet. Sometimes the soloist
has a genuine dialogue with the orchestra,
looking ahead to the classical concerto,
sometimes they alternate, in four out
of the six concertos at least one movement
is inserted where the orchestra is silent.
Arne specified that
the concertos could be played on the
"Organ, Harpsichord or Piano e
Forte"; only in no.2 are there
two movements so specifically for the
organ that Arne instructed that they
be omitted if a harpsichord was used.
Nicholson divides the concertos up with
two for each instrument and his choices
are always convincing. The music has
all the charm and grace we expect from
Arne, differentiating him from, for
example, the sturdier Boyce, but there
are also movements, notably the first
of no.3, where the music has considerable
strength.
A lot of authentic
water has gone under the bridge since
Jean Guillou recorded these works with
a sizeable orchestra under René
Klopfenstein and the full resources
of a big organ; the E.M.G. Monthly Letter
reported that "Any suspicion of
a cadenza provides an opportunity, only
too readily taken, for the letting loose
of sonorities more suited to a toccata
by Bach or Buxtehude". Paul Nicholson
plays all three instruments with the
required alternation of grace and nimble
virtuosity at some spanking tempi while
the orchestra plays with joyful rhythmic
élan and none of the mannered
phrasing which infects some authentic
instrument groups. It struck me that
some of the Largo movements were almost
Allegro, but better this than trying
to extract a profundity that is not
there. The performances certainly reveal
that, one or two more conventional movements
apart, these concertos have a high quality
of invention and workmanship and can
offer a good deal of pleasure. English
music in the immediate post-Handelian
years has a character all of its own
and any collection which embraces the
transition from baroque to classical
should include London among its ports
of call. With a beautifully clear recording
and fully informative notes, this is
a model of how such things should be
done.
One blot on the copybook;
the date of Arne’s death is inadvertently
printed on the back cover as 1787 rather
than 1778.
Christopher Howell
The Parley of Instruments Baroque Orchestra/Paul
Nicholson (keyboard/director) 
for
details
