I thoroughly enjoyed making the acquaintance of the Academy of Ancient Music of the 1970s again. Having
been rather rude about some of the earlier efforts from the period-performance
school in my review of Volume II of Naïve’s series of Vivaldi
Cello Concertos (OP30457) I must immediately make an exception
of the recordings which Christopher Hogwood made with the AAM,
including the present reissue. In fact, by the date of this recording,
1976, the ‘authentic’ movement was well under way and the strident
playing to which I referred was already rather a thing of the
past; indeed, the only AAM recording which I recall with some
discomfort is that of Handel’s Water Music, made at a time
when the playing of period wind instruments left something to
be desired.
Geminiani’s orchestral music is much less well
known that of Corelli, whose disciple he largely was, though
he was no slavish imitator. In these Op.3 concerti, for example,
his addition of the viola goes beyond his model. Even his twelve
Concerti Grossi, Op.5, ostensibly ‘after’ Corelli’s Trio Sonatas
with the same opus number, are no mere straight orchestrations
of the master. This is thoroughly enjoyable music; don’t let
the apparent preponderance of minor keys put you off – the music
is attractively varied, and the performances are to match.
A more recent rival version from Europa Galante
and Fabio Biondi (Opus 111 OPS30-172) offers a very different
kind of performance – like most modern Italian interpreters,
Biondi plays his baroque forbears in a much more aggressive
manner than you will find on the AAM reissue. In some moods,
I find such an approach exhilarating – see, for example, my
review
of the Vivaldi Op.8 concertos by Accademia Bizantina on Arts
– but the AAM versions are much the safer bet. In any case,
the Opus 111 CD is currently deleted though, I expect, it will
appear in due course at mid price.
If I describe these AAM performances as more comfortable
to live with, I don’t mean to imply that they are in any way
slack. They were revelatory in their day and they still sound
well. They resemble the ‘old school’ of the Academy of St Martin’s, which was a powerful force for good in its
day, rather than the older ‘old school’ of I Musici or the Stuttgart
Chamber Orchestra. That we can still listen with enjoyment
to this 30+ year-old take on baroque music is as much a tribute
to Jaap Schröder, already an associate of the likes of Gustav
Leonhardt and Frans Brüggen, as it is to the AAM and Christopher
Hogwood – this was one of their first collaborations, if not
the first. I’m pleased to see Warner reissuing some
of Schröder’s earlier recordings for Telefunken – more, please,
and may we have some of his Seon label recordings back, too,
please, Sony?
The recording hardly shows its age or its ADD origins
at all – it does full justice to the performances – and Lindsay
Kemp’s notes in the booklet, though brief, are informative about
both the formation of the AAM and their association with Jaap
Schröder as well as about the music. I thought it was a comparatively
recent phenomenon to have a near-inaudible continuo but this
reissue indicates that this kind of recording balance dates
back to the mid-1970s. Perhaps the engineers employed a different
mix for the original LPs or my memory is playing tricks again.
There are also versions of the Op.3 concertos on
Naxos: nos.1-4 are available
with the Op.2 concertos on 8.553019, nos. 5 and 6 with the Op.7
concertos on 8.553020. I haven’t heard these versions with
the Capella Istropolitana/Jaroslav Krček, but their other
baroque recording which I have heard have been more than reliable
– their two CDs of Corelli’s Op.6 are particularly recommendable.
There is also a 2-CD set with Camerata Bern on Novalis 1507162,
coupled with Tartini, which I have seen recommended. Either
of these should serve well those who prefer modern instruments.
The short playing time detracts from the mid-price
at which the CD is reissued – surely Decca could have eked it
out with some other AAM material from the same period. In that
respect, the Naxos couplings offer much better
value.
Since Geminiani was an Italian resident in London,
the use of one of Canaletto’s paintings of London is appropriate,
though this particular one, showing St Paul’s with the royal
barge – and looking for all the world like the ducal vessel
in Venice – has been somewhat over-exposed on CD covers. It’s
used on the Harmonia Mundi set of Geminiani’s Op.5 and a Naim
CD entitled A London Concert, which also includes music
by Geminiani.
If this CD makes you want to explore Geminiani
further, try the Op.5 Concerti Grossi after Corelli, to which
I referred earlier. In fact, I would be inclined to recommend
that you get to know Op.5 first, but that’s merely a reflection
of the order in which I got to know the music. The second disc
of the excellent 2-CD set of Op.5 by the more recent incarnation
of the Academy of Ancient Music, directed by Andrew Manze (HMU90
7261.62) is also available at budget price (Concertos 7-12,
HMX290 7262). The old standby with I Musici on Philips Duo
438 766-2 appears to be deleted, though it has worn much better
than many of their recordings and it’s well worth looking out
for second-hand copies.
As Geminiani orchestrated Corelli, so his works
in turn were employed to the same end by the English composer
Avison for his Concerti Grossi after Geminiani, recently
recorded by The Avison Ensemble on Divine Art DDA21210 – see Johan
van Veen’s review:
I especially endorse his advice not to listen to all twelve concertos
in one go.
Brian
Wilson
