In his programme notes Olivier Fourès complains
about the fact that Albinoni is mostly known because of an adagio
which
was written 200 years after his death and that his oeuvre "goes
totally unnoticed alongside that ineffably
slow juggernaut".
That is highly exaggerated. It is true that the largest part
of Albinoni's vocal music has still to be rediscovered, but his
instrumental works haven't fared that badly on disc. In particular
his opus 5 and opus 7 - Concertos for strings and bc with one
and two oboes - are certainly not unknown. They have been recorded
by Christopher Hogwood and Simon Standage, among others. More
than that, the same 'Sinfonie a cinque' which the Ensemble 415
has recorded on this disc were already available, in a recording
by the Italian ensemble Insieme strumentale di Roma under the
direction of Giorgio Sasso (Stradivarius).
Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni was born and died in Venice. Just like
the Marcello brothers he presented himself as a
dilettante,
meaning that he wasn't a professional composer and didn't compose
for a living. His father was a stationer and manufacturer of
playing cards who owned several shops in Venice. Tomaso, being
the eldest son, was supposed to take part in his father's business,
and so he did. But he was also able to study music; with whom
is not known. When in 1709 his father died Tomaso left the business
to his two younger brothers in order to devote all his time to
music. From then on he called himself
musico di violino.
In 1721 one of his father's creditors took over the shop so he
must have earned a living from his musical activities.
In 1715 and 1722 two collections of 12 Concertos each were published,
both for strings and bc, with parts for one and two oboes. These
were the opp. 5 and 7 I have already referred to. They brought
Albinoni considerable fame which resulted in his being invited
to conduct one of his operas in Munich. The occasion was the
marriage of Prince Karl Albrecht - to whose father, elector Maximilian
II Emanuel, Albinoni had dedicated his opus 9 - and Maria Amalia,
daughter of the late Emperor Joseph I. A member of the audience
sent a very enthusiastic report of the performance to the German
theorist Johann Mattheson.
Obviously he wasn't the only one who was impressed by Albinoni.
The composer was mentioned in the same breath as Corelli and
Vivaldi by contemporaries. Johann Sebastian Bach used some of
Albinoni's compositions as teaching material and also based four
fugues on subjects from Albinoni's opus 2. This is the collection
recorded here. That is to say: only the six sonatas from this
opus are performed. The collection contains six 'Sonatas' - in
the title referred to as 'Sinfonie' - and six 'Concertos'. There
is a clear difference between the two categories. The sonatas
follow the pattern of the
sonata da chiesa with its four
movements, whereas the concertos are in three movements: fast
- slow - fast. Because of this the opus 2 is a kind of link between
the style of the late 17th and the new style of the early 18th
century of which Vivaldi is the most prominent representative.
The connection to the past manifests itself in the five-part
structure: Albinoni requires two violins, two violas - one alto
and one tenor -, cello and bc. This was a quite common scoring
in the 17th century but had fallen into disuse since the turn
of the century. The opp. 5 and 7 are also written in five parts,
but there the fifth part is for an oboe or a third violin. Both
collections require only one viola.
It is quite likely the 'modern' character of the concertos resulted
in their being the most popular part of this collection. The
six sonatas are well worth forming part of the repertoire of
today's baroque ensembles, though. The slow movements are without
exception very expressive because of their harmonies and Albinoni's
great melodic invention. His thematic material is always ear-catching
and original. That is also shown by the fast movements which
are mostly fugal. The subjects lead to a lively musical discourse
which is characterised by a rhythmic vigour. In addition, the
five-part texture results in a great depth of sound.
These qualities are underlined in the performances by the Ensemble
415 which are nothing less than brilliant. The players produce
a warm and full sound and pay attention to every detail in the
score. What makes this recording even more captivating is the
rhetorical and eloquent delivery of the musical discourse, with
clear but never exaggerated dynamic accents. The expression of
the slow movements is explored to the full, whereas the fast
movements are given really swinging performances.
This disc is extremely attractive on account of the originality
and expression of Albinoni's music and because of Ensemble 415's
superior performances. This disc goes straight to my list of
discs of the year.
Johan van Veen
Ensemble 415/Chiara Banchini 
