Page 68 - BBC Music (January 2020)

Orchestral

ORCHESTRAL CHOICE JB Bach
JL Bach • JS Bach
Haydn symphonies with JS Bach: Orchestral Suites
Nos 1-4, BWV1066-1069;
JB Bach: Suite No. 3 in E minor;
bags of character and wit JL Bach: Overture in G
Concerto Italiano/Rinaldo
Alessandrini (harpsichord)
Bart Van Reyn and his musicians relish the playful Naïve OP 30578 129:52 mins (2 discs)
Historically-
inventiveness of these works, says Misha Donat informed period-
instrument
performances
these may be,
but, as one might
expect from the vivacious past
performances and recordings
by Rinaldo Alessandrini and
his Concerto Italiano, nothing
sounds doctrinaire. Each of the
stately openings of JS Bach’s four
Orchestral Suites, or Overtures as
the composer called them, is taken
differently. While Alessandrini
unfolds the woodwind and
string scoring of Suite No. 1 with
a suave elegance, he draws out
the plaintive expressiveness of
the flute-led Suite No. 2. And, of
the trumpet-dominated Suites
in D major, No. 3 goes at a brisk
French-style clip, whereas Suite
No. 4 is far more ceremonious
Tongue-in-cheek: in its tread. The ensuing dance
Bart Van Reyn gives sequences are equally varied in
point to Haydn’s humour their characterisation.
Those used to hearing these
works with a substantial string
body may initially be disconcerted
Haydn The first movement of the G major Symphony by Alessandrini’s line-up of just
Symphony No. 80 in D minor, Hob. I:80; No. 81 finds Haydn experimenting with the five solo strings – the room in
Piano Concerto in D, Hob. XVIII:11; recapitulation, effectively presenting his themes in Zimmermann’s Coffee House
Symphony No. 81 in G, Hob. I.81 reverse order. The trio of that symphony’s minuet where Bach gave his concerts,
Lucas Blondeel (fortepiano); Le Concert d’Anvers/ offers another waltz-like theme, which this time after all, was not large. But with
Bart Van Reyn unexpectedly fetches up in the minor, casting a glow strings clearly disposed to the left
Fuga Libera FUG 755 62:06 mins of melancholy over the music. side, woodwind to the right and
The two symphonies recorded More familiar than the trumpets and drums across the
here were written in the early Lucas Blondeel injects symphonies is the D major Piano back, the ear quickly adjusts to
1780s, immediately before the keyboard part with Concerto, with its irresistible the balance.
Haydn’s famous series for gypsy-style finale. Lucas Works by two of Bach’s second
Paris, Nos. 82-87. The D minor expressive freedom Blondeel is the brilliant soloist, cousins, which he is known to
Symphony No. 80 kicks off injecting the keyboard part have performed, round out the
in dramatic style – almost like a throwback to the with just the right amount of expressive freedom. He picture. The Ouverture in E minor
turbulent Sturm und Drang style Haydn had cultivated provides his own stylish cadenzas, and even manages by Johann Bernard Bach (1676-
more than a decade earlier. And yet the music’s at one point to quote a few bars from Mozart’s D minor 1749) is quite extensive, slightly
seriousness is suddenly swept aside by a simple Fantasy K397. Performances of all three works are old-fashioned in style, but not
waltz tune which provides the main point of focus lively and compelling, and the recording is first-rate. without surprises. The Ouverture
in the central portion of the movement. Bart Van Haydn-lovers should definitely indulge. HHHHH in G minor by Johann Ludwig Bach
MARCO BORGGREVE, TOBIAS SCHULT by pulling back the tempo slightly and giving it an RECORDING its ideas. All said, though, neither
PERFORMANCE
Reyn stresses the tune’s tongue-in-cheek character
(1677-1731) is crisp and succinct in
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additional lilt. Haydn’s wit is very much to the fore in
approach the richly inventive
Hear extracts from this recording and the rest of
the finale, too, where the main theme’s repeated-note
memorability of the great Johann
this month’s choices on the BBC Music Magazine
syncopation makes it impossible for the listener to
Sebastian himself. Bayan Northcott
website at www.classical-music.com
register where the beat falls.
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PERFORMANCE
70 BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE RECORDING HHHH