Era: Baroque
Year: 1699
Form: Aria
Score: 82
Thoughts: I liked the organ tone here. It's pretty clear this set the stage for some great works to come. It could be argued that Pachelbel and Buxtehude paved the way for Bach, even if he clearly took it to another level.
Marc Rochester of Gramophone:
Quote:
Hexachordum Apollinis is considered Pachelbel's finest composition in variation form. It consists of six Arias each comprising a theme and variations. The first five encompass the span of a perfect fifth but the sixth is something of an enigma; its home key deviates from the expected sequence forming the hexachord, it is in triple time while the others are in quadruple and it contains eight variations as against the five or six of the previous Arias. This final Aria, sub-titled ''Aria Sebaldina'' after the patron saint of the church in Nuremberg where Pachelbel was organist, has long intrigued scholars. John Butt is a highly respected scholar, although his energies have been concentrated more towards the performance practices current in Bach's time. He certainly practises what he preaches. His playing on this disc has complete self-assurance and a startling directness which brings it all very much alive. It would be hard to argue against such convincing playing.
Like much non-liturgical keyboard music of the time, Hexachordum Apollinis was not specifically intended for a particular instrument; indeed, the title-page of the original 1699 manuscript, reproduced in the accompanying booklet, depicts both an organ and a harpsichord. Butt's choice would seem particularly sensible. This organ dates only from 1982, but is built in the style of organs made around 1700 in Ostfriesland, on the Dutch/German border, and produces the kind of clear, intimate sound more associated with a domestic instrument than an ecclesiastical one. He uses its resources very sparingly and with unerringly sound judgement. This is one of a dozen or so organs forming the O'Neill Collection at the University of California where Butt is campus organist. Harmonia Mundi promise a series of recordings featuring these instruments; on the strength of this first release, this is going to be a most impressive series.'
Era: Baroque
Year: 1699
Form: Aria
Score: 82
Thoughts: I liked the organ tone here. It's pretty clear this set the stage for some great works to come. It could be argued that Pachelbel and Buxtehude paved the way for Bach, even if he clearly took it to another level.
Marc Rochester of Gramophone:
Quote:
Hexachordum Apollinis is considered Pachelbel's finest composition in variation form. It consists of six Arias each comprising a theme and variations. The first five encompass the span of a perfect fifth but the sixth is something of an enigma; its home key deviates from the expected sequence forming the hexachord, it is in triple time while the others are in quadruple and it contains eight variations as against the five or six of the previous Arias. This final Aria, sub-titled ''Aria Sebaldina'' after the patron saint of the church in Nuremberg where Pachelbel was organist, has long intrigued scholars. John Butt is a highly respected scholar, although his energies have been concentrated more towards the performance practices current in Bach's time. He certainly practises what he preaches. His playing on this disc has complete self-assurance and a startling directness which brings it all very much alive. It would be hard to argue against such convincing playing.
Like much non-liturgical keyboard music of the time, Hexachordum Apollinis was not specifically intended for a particular instrument; indeed, the title-page of the original 1699 manuscript, reproduced in the accompanying booklet, depicts both an organ and a harpsichord. Butt's choice would seem particularly sensible. This organ dates only from 1982, but is built in the style of organs made around 1700 in Ostfriesland, on the Dutch/German border, and produces the kind of clear, intimate sound more associated with a domestic instrument than an ecclesiastical one. He uses its resources very sparingly and with unerringly sound judgement. This is one of a dozen or so organs forming the O'Neill Collection at the University of California where Butt is campus organist. Harmonia Mundi promise a series of recordings featuring these instruments; on the strength of this first release, this is going to be a most impressive series.'
Era: Baroque
Year: 1694
Form: Baroque Guitar (found little info on this)
Score: 85
Thoughts: Dude likes his hammer-ons. No but seriously, it's a unique hammer-on style I at first was excited about, but then kind of lost it's luster after a bit. Fine classical guitar.
Wikipedia:
Quote:
Francesc Guerau[1] (1649 – 1717/1722) was a Spanish Baroque composer. Born on Majorca, he entered the singing school at the Royal College in Madrid in 1659, becoming a member of the Royal Chapel as an alto singer and composer ten years later. Named a member of the Royal Chamber of king Charles II of Spain in 1693, he also served as a teacher at the singing school until 1701. His best-known work is a collection of pieces for baroque guitar entitled Poema harmónico that was published in 1694.
Era: Baroque
Year: 1694
Form: Sonata (trio)
Score: 85
Thoughts: This was quite nice counterpoint... it breathed well and had the right mixture of frequencies/orchestrations, etc.
Blair Sanderson-Allmusic:
Quote:
While Dietrich Buxtehude is remembered chiefly for his organ and harpsichord music, as well as for his influence on a young Johann Sebastian Bach, little of his chamber music survives. The first of his two sets of trio sonatas was published in 1694, and this recording by the period ensemble Arcangelo presents the seven sonatas of Op. 1 in the conventional instrumentation for a trio sonata, with Sophie Gent on violin, Jonathan Manson on viola da gamba, Thomas Dunford on lute, and Jonathan Cohen on harpsichord. Buxtehude's writing is far from conventional, though, mainly because of the distinctive part writing that puts all the players on equal footing, instead of providing only harmonic support for the violin. Arcangelo makes the most of Buxtehude's highly imaginative counterpoint, at times emphasizing the arresting dissonances and dramatic cadences that will remind more than a few listeners of similar moments in Bach's chamber music. Alpha Classics gives the ensemble a crisp and close-up recording, which keeps the focus on the instruments and not the church acoustics.
Quote:
‘The most free and unrestrained manner of composing… that one can imagine,’ wrote theorist Johann Mattheson of Dietrich Buxtehude’s 1692 Op. 1 Trio Sonatas. The Hamburgian combination of violin, obbligato viola da gamba, and harpsichord certainly gave the seasoned Marienkirche organist an opportunity to push the conventions of sonata writing for his Lübeck Abendmusiken audiences. The multi-sectional trios ingeniously pit strict counterpoint against the theatrical stylus fantasticus, a battle of wits brilliantly engaged by Arcangelo.
This exquisitely balanced recording instantly captures the sense of conversation between the instrumental parts, highlighting the egalitarian approach of Buxtehude’s melodic writing. What’s more, the content of these conversations allows us to glimpse the composer’s esteemed artistic stature in miniature. The rapid-fire twists and turns, from Corellian-style vivaces and extended Germanic fugal subjects to luscious French harmonies and dramatic Handelian quasi-recitatives are handled deftly and without a hint of freneticism by these four musicians. Amid jesting, dancing, meditating and philosophising they turn a whimsical phrase with spacious poise, ornament a melody liberally but with elegance, bite at the depth of a dissonance, and captivate with an enviable dynamic range.
Mattheson concluded that Op. 1 had the ‘intent to please, to overtake and to astonish’, and that’s the lasting impression of Arcangelo’s performance – not only leaving you wanting more but lamenting the loss of so many of Buxtehude’s works. The key structure of a second surviving set (Op. 2, 1696) suggests the two collections were conceived as a whole – let’s hope a sequel is due.
Era: Baroque
Year: 1690
Form: Canon (many)
Score: 85 (my scores in the past 6 months need an adjustment... what the hell am I thinking)
Thoughts: So this is usually the only piece anyone cares about from Pachelbel. The canon at the end swells well. I don't think I've heard the gigue before. The rest of this is a compilation and really some fantastic stuff considering the performer. I particularly liked the Vivaldi piece. Haydn technically isn't part of this era, but wtf.
This recording is particularly HIP.
Wikipedia:
Quote:
Pachelbel's Canon is the common name for an accompanied canon by the German Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel in his Canon and Gigue for 3 violins and basso continuo (German: Kanon und Gigue für 3 Violinen mit Generalbaß) (PWC 37, T. 337, PC 358), sometimes referred to as Canon and Gigue in D or Canon in D. Neither the date nor the circumstances of its composition are known (suggested dates range from 1680 to 1706), and the oldest surviving manuscript copy of the piece dates from the 19th century.
Pachelbel's Canon, like his other works, although popular during his lifetime, went out of style, and remained in obscurity for centuries. A 1968 arrangement and recording of it by the Jean-François Paillard chamber orchestra gained popularity over the next decade, and in the 1970s the piece began to be recorded by many ensembles; by the early 1980s its presence as background music was deemed inescapable.[1] From the 1970s to the late 2010s, elements of the piece, especially its chord progression, were used in a variety of pop songs. Since the 1980s, it has also been used frequently in weddings and funeral ceremonies in the Western world.
The canon was originally scored for three violins and basso continuo and paired with a gigue. Both movements are in the key of D major. Although a true canon at the unison in three parts, it also has elements of a chaconne.
Era: Baroque
Year: 1694
Form: Sonata (trio)
Score: 85
Thoughts: This was quite nice counterpoint... it breathed well and had the right mixture of frequencies/orchestrations, etc.
Blair Sanderson-Allmusic:
Quote:
While Dietrich Buxtehude is remembered chiefly for his organ and harpsichord music, as well as for his influence on a young Johann Sebastian Bach, little of his chamber music survives. The first of his two sets of trio sonatas was published in 1694, and this recording by the period ensemble Arcangelo presents the seven sonatas of Op. 1 in the conventional instrumentation for a trio sonata, with Sophie Gent on violin, Jonathan Manson on viola da gamba, Thomas Dunford on lute, and Jonathan Cohen on harpsichord. Buxtehude's writing is far from conventional, though, mainly because of the distinctive part writing that puts all the players on equal footing, instead of providing only harmonic support for the violin. Arcangelo makes the most of Buxtehude's highly imaginative counterpoint, at times emphasizing the arresting dissonances and dramatic cadences that will remind more than a few listeners of similar moments in Bach's chamber music. Alpha Classics gives the ensemble a crisp and close-up recording, which keeps the focus on the instruments and not the church acoustics.
Quote:
‘The most free and unrestrained manner of composing… that one can imagine,’ wrote theorist Johann Mattheson of Dietrich Buxtehude’s 1692 Op. 1 Trio Sonatas. The Hamburgian combination of violin, obbligato viola da gamba, and harpsichord certainly gave the seasoned Marienkirche organist an opportunity to push the conventions of sonata writing for his Lübeck Abendmusiken audiences. The multi-sectional trios ingeniously pit strict counterpoint against the theatrical stylus fantasticus, a battle of wits brilliantly engaged by Arcangelo.
This exquisitely balanced recording instantly captures the sense of conversation between the instrumental parts, highlighting the egalitarian approach of Buxtehude’s melodic writing. What’s more, the content of these conversations allows us to glimpse the composer’s esteemed artistic stature in miniature. The rapid-fire twists and turns, from Corellian-style vivaces and extended Germanic fugal subjects to luscious French harmonies and dramatic Handelian quasi-recitatives are handled deftly and without a hint of freneticism by these four musicians. Amid jesting, dancing, meditating and philosophising they turn a whimsical phrase with spacious poise, ornament a melody liberally but with elegance, bite at the depth of a dissonance, and captivate with an enviable dynamic range.
Mattheson concluded that Op. 1 had the ‘intent to please, to overtake and to astonish’, and that’s the lasting impression of Arcangelo’s performance – not only leaving you wanting more but lamenting the loss of so many of Buxtehude’s works. The key structure of a second surviving set (Op. 2, 1696) suggests the two collections were conceived as a whole – let’s hope a sequel is due.
Era: Baroque
Year: 1694
Form: Baroque Guitar (found little info on this)
Score: 85
Thoughts: Dude likes his hammer-ons. No but seriously, it's a unique hammer-on style I at first was excited about, but then kind of lost it's luster after a bit. Fine classical guitar.
Wikipedia:
Quote:
Francesc Guerau[1] (1649 – 1717/1722) was a Spanish Baroque composer. Born on Majorca, he entered the singing school at the Royal College in Madrid in 1659, becoming a member of the Royal Chapel as an alto singer and composer ten years later. Named a member of the Royal Chamber of king Charles II of Spain in 1693, he also served as a teacher at the singing school until 1701. His best-known work is a collection of pieces for baroque guitar entitled Poema harmónico that was published in 1694.
Agree completely. Nice playing, but limited. But let's face it, it's not easy to sit through 80 continuous 80 minutes of solo baroque guitar regardless of technique!
Era: Baroque
Year: 1690
Form: Canon (many)
Score: 85 (my scores in the past 6 months need an adjustment... what the hell am I thinking)
Thoughts: So this is usually the only piece anyone cares about from Pachelbel. The canon at the end swells well. I don't think I've heard the gigue before. The rest of this is a compilation and really some fantastic stuff considering the performer. I particularly liked the Vivaldi piece. Haydn technically isn't part of this era, but wtf.
This recording is particularly HIP.
Wikipedia:
Quote:
Pachelbel's Canon is the common name for an accompanied canon by the German Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel in his Canon and Gigue for 3 violins and basso continuo (German: Kanon und Gigue für 3 Violinen mit Generalbaß) (PWC 37, T. 337, PC 358), sometimes referred to as Canon and Gigue in D or Canon in D. Neither the date nor the circumstances of its composition are known (suggested dates range from 1680 to 1706), and the oldest surviving manuscript copy of the piece dates from the 19th century.
Pachelbel's Canon, like his other works, although popular during his lifetime, went out of style, and remained in obscurity for centuries. A 1968 arrangement and recording of it by the Jean-François Paillard chamber orchestra gained popularity over the next decade, and in the 1970s the piece began to be recorded by many ensembles; by the early 1980s its presence as background music was deemed inescapable.[1] From the 1970s to the late 2010s, elements of the piece, especially its chord progression, were used in a variety of pop songs. Since the 1980s, it has also been used frequently in weddings and funeral ceremonies in the Western world.
The canon was originally scored for three violins and basso continuo and paired with a gigue. Both movements are in the key of D major. Although a true canon at the unison in three parts, it also has elements of a chaconne.
Funny how many discs toss in the Pachelbel Canon as a headliner, and most folks probably buy it and listen to the Canon and skip the rest or pay no real attention to it as background music. Yet some of these discs will contain some otherwise little known gems.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
