If you want to hear Bach’s keyboard concertos played on the piano, rather
than the harpsichord, you have a good choice of exponents. The likes of
Glenn Gould, Murray Perahia and Angela Hewitt are the main choices. In the
case of Handel — using the anglicised form of his surname — the situation is
nowhere near the same, given that the main body of solo concertos by Bach’s
contemporary and compatriot, are essentially organ concertos.
In 2013, the German CPO label produced its first volume of Handel ‘Piano
Concertos’, or as it identifies them, ‘Die Orgelkonzerte op. 4 Nr.1-6 in der
Version für Klavier & Orchester’ – with Matthias Kirschnereit and the
Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss (777 837-2). In its accompanying note CPO
suggests that the ‘21
st century is just the right time to
introduce these original organ works played on a modern concert-grand’.
On this present follow-up CD, the same team tackles another four organ
concertos, this time to include the familiar ‘Cuckoo and the Nightingale’
concerto, No. 13. Whether there’s any more reason to produce piano versions
of Handel’s concertos than Bach’s cannot simply be answered by trying to
discover what these two composers respectively knew about the successor to
the harpsichord. Initially this was the fortepiano which was evolving around
1700, and subsequently there was Cristofori’s piano proper. Bach’s concertos
are clearly for harpsichord, while Handel’s are for organ.
Kirschnereit addresses this very issue in his ‘Remarks from the artist’,
which is a preamble to the sleeve-notes proper by Ulf Brenken, headed:
‘Organ Works on the Piano?’ Kirschnereit quotes all the usual arguments –
would Handel or Bach have preferred to write for the piano if it were
available to them? Personally I’m sure they would have, in much the same way
that both composers would have delighted in the facility to notate their
extensive repertoire – and then produce all the instrumental parts at the
touch of a button, using a modern-day notation programme on a computer.
Obviously that's preferable to laboriously writing everything out by
hand, often in dim light which later robbed both composers of their eyesight
in old age.
Just as Bach didn’t write his concertos for a pedal harpsichord, which
would have meant some additional transcription problems when transferred to
a single keyboard piano, Handel’s organ concertos are conveniently written
to involve just the manuals. Thus again a direct transcription offers no
real difficulties.
However, there are two slightly aggravating things in Kirschnereit’s
article justifying the use of the piano here. Firstly, he does rather like
to state the obvious. Secondly his English is very much of the Denglish
variety, when compared with Brenken’s highly-informative notes on the works
recorded. These have at least been translated from the original German by
Susan Marie Praeder. Sentences like the following really don’t enhance the
credibility of the task in hand, and in fact rather let the side down: ‘It
thus seems to me (Kirschnereit) that the bold idea to perform Handel’s organ
concertos on the modern Steinway has the potential to display in a different
light a number of the artistic ideas slumbering in these scores.’ ‘The organ
functions differently than a grand piano – here we reiterate this obvious
fact!’ ‘Handel’s organ concertos on the piano: a thrilling challenge that,
all scruples and doubts aside about how I might I transfer these scores to
the Steinway, in the end brought the orchestra and me very great joy!’ CPO
is after all an otherwise highly-regarded record label. Yes, the piano, with
its touch-sensitive keyboard, the facility to produce a cantabile (singing)
tone and easy balance and delineation between lines, is a completely
different animal from the organ. However it’s never been a secret that
organists and pianists are not simply interchangeable and neither are their
respective instruments. A good deal of re-learning, adjustment and
accommodation to the significant differences between the two keyboard
instruments has to be made, approaching from either direction.
It’s probably best not to bother with Kirschnereit’s preamble – except for
just two comments: firstly about the absence of pedals, and secondly one
reminding us that Handel usually improvised during the performance, using
the written score merely as a guide. Here Kirschnereit intimates that he’ll
be doing exactly the same thing during the performance – so no surprise
there either.
Just put the CD on, let it play and make up your own mind whether the
classical music world has been immeasurably poorer because Handel’s organ
concertos have hitherto been heard only on their intended instrument.
Kirschnereit mentions that the Concerto Op. 4 No. 6 on his earlier CD is
often played in a version either for organ or for harp, Also consider
whether the use of a modern Steinway makes a truly significant difference to
the music itself, notwithstanding the obvious difference in timbre, dynamic
range and percussive nature, which does enable it to cut through the string
texture with greater ease.
There is no doubt that Kirschnereit’s playing is first rate – highly
articulate, expressive, but never for any mere 19
th-century
romantic excess. His ornamentation is still totally idiomatic and
appropriate. The orchestral accompaniment is equally fine, and the recording
quality excellent. Even when played on a conventional CD-player, the sound
is outstanding and no doubt will sound even better on a dedicated SACD
device.
If you like Handel’s instrumental music – with its busy and bouncy fast
movements, and expressive but never onerous or drawn-out slow movements –
this CD could still be of interest. The pitch is today’s current A440,
rather than the slightly-lower Baroque standard.
Whereas there is a valid reason for Handel’s Harpsichord Suites to be
readily available to pianists as a significant additional source of Baroque
keyboard music, frankly Bach’s Piano Concertos probably provide enough
material for piano and string orchestra already. These Handel stable-mates
really seem of little more than mere novelty value.
Philip R Buttall
