Prussian Blue: Flute Music at the Court of Frederick the Great
Frederick II of Prussia (1712-1786)
Flute Sonata in E minor, SpiF 154
Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773)
Trio Sonata in C minor, QV 2: Anh. 5
Anna Amalia von Preußen (1723-1787)
Flute Sonata in F major [11:37]
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
Trio Sonata in D minor, H.569, Wq145
Frederick II of Prussia
Flute Sonata in B minor, SpiF 83
Sophia Aretz (flute)
Alexander von Heißen (harpsichord)
rec. 2021 Evangelische Kirche Rondorf, Cologne, Germany
HÄNSSLER CLASSIC HC22024 [56]
The album presents flute music from the court of Frederick the Great. Three flute sonatas and a pair of trio sonatas are played here by the duo of flautist Sophia Aretz and Alexander von Heißen providing the harpsichord basso continuo. Aretz explains that the album title, ‘Prussian Blue’, is the name of a new paint colour created by Johann Jacob Diesbach in 1706 and which Frederick the Great’s father chose for the uniforms of the Prussian Army.
In addition to being a military commander of prowess, Frederick was also a serious lover of the arts and surrounded himself at court with brilliant musicians and composers. In the accompanying essay, the author points out that Frederick’s great passion from a young age was playing the ‘flûte traversière’. Frederick’s considerable legacy to music included both his encouragement of performance and, as a composer himself, leaving a substantial number of works, two of which are included here.
On display in the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin is Adolph Menzel’s famous oil painting from 1852 of Frederick the Great playing the flute at Sanssouci, his summer palace at Potsdam. The Prussian court is depicted watching Frederick giving a flute recital to a gathering of family and friends, musicians, teachers and composers. Included in the scene, are Johann Joachim Quantz and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach - who each provide a single trio sonata in this recital - and Frederick’s younger sister Anna Amalie von Preußen who composed the remaining flute sonata here as a birthday gift for her brother. These five flute/trio sonatas were written during a fascinating time in music development; each of the four featured composers was writing music in the very late years of the baroque era during the period of transition to the classical era.
The partnership of Sophia Aretz and Alexander von Heißen is singularly rewarding. Aretz has elected to play a 2019 period copy of a baroque transverse flute after Pierre Gabriel Buffardin by Basel flute-maker Giovanni Tardino. Generally, the finest examples of the baroque flute have a softer, rounder, more attractive and characterful tone than their modern counterparts. This forerunner of the modern flute makes a most attractive sound but is considerably more technically challenging to play; for instance, baroque flute intonation can prove troublesome, as may be heard here in the low register of the opening movement Adagio of the sonata by Anna Amalie von Preußen. The harpsichord used by von Heißen is an attractive-sounding period copy after Ruckers (the family of Flemish makers) built by Christian Fuchs in 2018. The contrast between the flute and harpsichord, which have very different sounds, is very successful. This is blithe, charming playing by the splendidly matched duo, conveying a feeling of unerring sincerity. Especially well judged are the tempi chosen; Aretz’s virtuosity is never overdone and von Heißen’s accompaniment is entirely reliable. As Quantz was such a prodigious composer, some might judge many of his works as routine. Nevertheless, I find them to be highly accomplished and expressive, and on this album, it is his Trio Sonata which makes the greatest impression.
Recording engineer Martin Zimny has provided first class sound quality with the flute fairly close and the harpsichord set a touch back. Musicologist Dr. Karsten Erik Ose, an authority on early music and historical performance practice, has written the helpful booklet essay. My only real grumble is the playing time of fifty-six minutes, which is short measure by today’s standards. Other musicians at Frederick’s Prussian court included in the Menzel painting were Franz Benda and Carl Heinrich Graun, both of whom composed flute works that might have been included.
The special sense of the intimacy and joy of the music-making here is very rewarding. Regarding competitive recordings of a similar repertoire, the finest album I know is
The Flute King by Emmanuel Pahud and Trevor Pinnock on a much-applauded double CD set from EMI, recorded in 2011 in the Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Dahlem, Berlin.
Michael Cookson
