GMCD 7169 You can order this CD in our E-Shop under Orchestral Music Reviews *** Sound Clips***	THE ART OF -  HORACIO FRANCO plays Sopranino and Alto Recorders with Works by Antonio Vivaldi Giuseppe Sammartini Georg Philipp Telemann

Contents:

Sopranino Recorder by H. Moeck, Germany                                                 Tracks 01 - 09
Alto Recorder by Adrian Brown (France) and Jacqueline Sorel (Holland)       Tracks 10 - 12
Soprano Recorder by Zamir of Israel                                                             Tracks 13 - 22

DDD Total time = 69.20 / Recorded at Asam Kirche "Maria de Victoria" Ingolstadt - September 1997

The instrumental glories of late 17th to mid 18th century Italian masters, provided a magnificent springboard of musical creativity which 20th Century listeners only became fully aware of from the 1950s onwards. Here, was such wealth of inspiration, rich in its diversity of scoring and adventurous, way beyond the moderate stretches of the imagination, in its variety of settings for demonstrating the virtuoso skills and expressive capabilities of performers on their chosen instruments. In order to pinpoint the versatility of the performer, each composer had to build a surrounding framework which was superbly counterbalanced and rhythmically flexible at the same time. In the absence of dynamics, musical expression derived from tempo markings, essential elements of phrasing added to the original texts by various editors afterwards, in the way of crescendo and diminuendo markings, to realise the music’s forward-moving vitality or sublime, poetic qualities. In sheer diversity and profundity of ideas, this whole period produced a revolution in musical terms. Johann Sebastian Bach, was to become closely and indelibly influenced by the music of Antonio Vivaldi, and Vivaldi and his contemporaries, then a younger German school, were to lay the foundation stone for the composers and performers that sprang onto the scene with the birth and demise of Mozart, right through the life of Beethoven, then ongoing, towards and eventually throughout the 19th Century’s great romantic movement and the music of composers that inspires us today.

Concerto in A minor, P.83, for Sopranino Recorder Strings & Basso Continuo.
This is typical Vivaldi, with its first movement trademark: boisterous activity. Close-knit textures come at the very start of the Allegro, the Sopranino Recorder doubling the first violin’s line, while second violins, at first, repeat their colleague’s rapid counterpoint, then revert to simpler, tense accompaniment. The solo part is horrendously difficult in the extreme: 12 bars of fast-moving arpeggios, tailing off with descending triplets and an extended trill, with just one rest marking in which to take another breath! The next sequence in the obstacle course (Fig.25) are high-held notes on the phrase, which lead to further series of arpeggio passages, and a continuous batch of fleeting 3-note ascending note groupings (73-85) and a brief cadenza, followed by a recapitulation of previous material. The Larghetto movement is more stately in character, triplets and dotted-note phrases interplaying over ground-bass accompaniment. The final Allegro , in 2/4 metre, is gently caressing in character, with a simple rhythmic accompaniment that keeps the attention firmly on the soloist. The key sequence throughout is A minor-E major, with much dexterity required to realise the mood changes.

Concerto in C major, P.78 for Sopranino Recorder), Strings and Basso Continuo.
The opening Allegro non molto movement is pastoral in character, with sylph-like phrasing in the held phrases against a faster,dotted-note accompaniment, and reminiscent of "The Four Seasons" in the solo part. The Largo movement is unusual, with spiccati strings behind the solo line. The effect is reminiscent of a gondola man interpolating a saucy serenade for his crew. The allegro molto Finale has a rustic quality, and is clearly divided between sections for tutti orchestra and solos with bass accompaniment. C major moves to C minor and back quite freely, almost as a precursor to the Sturm und Drang composition of the German School of composers.

Concerto III ‘Il Cardellino’ Op.10/3, RV.428 for Sopranino Recorder, Strings and Basso Continuo.
This is highly dance-like in style. In the Allegro opening movement, the emphasis is on the first note of the phrase in strings, with the soloist entering on the off-beat. Once the soloist takes over a fuller role, the orchestra is confined to a simple, running bass accompaniment, except where upper and middle strings are offering trills and semiquavers, or doubling with the solo part. The middle movement begins solo cantabile, and both first and second subjects are repeated with variants in places. The final Allegro is in a brisk 3/4 tempo, with a suggestive martial air in the second and third bars. The solo role is made up of bold roulades, and where the mood changes to leading notes and trills, with further harmonic extensions, orchestral support is quietened for alternate mezzoforte/piano pizzicati, only assuming supremacy in tutti passages in climaxes with the soloist.

Concerto VI in G major Op.10/6, RV.437 for Alto Recorder, Strings and Basso Continuo.
This is again, dance-like, bold in character, pitting G major against D major in the first measures. The soloist varies the theme, and the music leads easily into the minor key, with a cut and thrust typical of the exploratory excursions of its composer. The central Largo movement is clearly in the minor, the widely-spaced solo part kept intact by gentle, linked repeated phrases in the viola part. The final Allegro finds us back in the home key for boisterous pranks in the solo part, runs up and down the scale, and an audacious piece of writing that has trills on every alternate note over an extended sequence.

Concerto in F major, Con 195, "Concerto a più I stromenti a la Flauta" Soprano Recorder
We enter a different world compared to Vivaldi. Here, the solo line is finely integrated with violins I and II, viola and bass continuo. In the opening Allegro, the harmonisation of instruments is self-contained, perfect in form and content, with considerable freedom and expression shown to the soloist, who is invited to join the solo cellist on the bottom line from Fig. 35 onwards. The writing is extremely fluid in style, almost romantic in concept, the coda section repeated. In contrast, the middle movement is in the key of A minor with a key signature of 12/8. There is an element of tragedy in the poignant phrases with which it opens, the soloist entering on the ninth bar (again joined by solo cello). The second subject is more florid in conception, with long legato lines, and, following the recapitulation of main material, a solo cadenza ‘ad libitum’ is inserted, prior to the ending. The Allegro assai final movement returns us to the key of F major - a tutti beginning, with the soloist entering with a decorated version of the main theme at fig. 11. Again, the solo cello forms a distinctive feature, the exuberant line of the music progressing in untroubled vein and controlled brilliance for the tutti resolution at the coda.

Suite in A minor for Alto Recorder, Strings and Basso Continuo.
This work numbers the following sections: Ouverture, Les Plaisirs, Air à L’Italien, Minuet I, II, Réjouissance, Passepied I, II, Polonaise.
This noble work is richly scored throughout, its harmonisations similar to Handel, rather than Bach, in the sense that they lend an aura of happy rejoicing, rather than a series of tragic events to the listener’s appreciation. The Overture’s opening subject is repeated, the soloist entering on Fig. 75 of the second section, when he carries on the splendour evoked by the orchestra. There are several instances where the music wanders into other keys, but a series of exploratory adventures returns us to home base. Les Plaisirs, in alla brev time, has a middle section that elaborates the melody, before returning to the exposition. Air `a Italien, Largo 4/4, has the marking gratieusement, the soloist taking over the top line after the introduction. A secondary Allegro contains some brilliant arpeggio passagework for the soloist, before the Air is repeated. Minuet I explores a simple 3/4 melody for strings and continuo, and Minuet II is an extemporisation by the soloist. Réjouissance, Passepied I and II, and Polonaise, with repeats, suggest the same kind of layout to be found in one of Bach’s Suites. Telemann’s more florid, heavenly-scented overlay of instrumentation, however, reflects a different brand of tenderness and external communication, intended, perhaps to delight the senses rather than the intellect. The instrumental balancing, however, is masterly, constantly inventive and pleasurable to listen to.

Page revised 30.06.03