Apart from his unique endowment with taste and technique, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was fortunate also in another respect: he was lucky enough to have lived in an age not only of philosophical, but also of stylistic enlightenment. Succeeding generations have fixed on particular aspects of his art and blown them up, usually out of all proportion. But there are many Mozart’s and many styles, each individual style governed by its own laws according to the requirements of each individual work. Our age's obsession, still, with the 'daemonic' aspects of Mozart's music has tended to obscure the many other facets of his genius.
The Concerto in 8 flat for bassoon and orchestra, K191/186e, illustrates to perfection one fascinating technical aspect of Mozart's creativity: his ability to think himself into the character of a particular voice or instrument and to allow the music to arise out of the nature of the means to hand. The unknown recipient of this sunny, tuneful work, completed in Salzburg in June 1774, was no doubt delighted by the opportunities provided for showing off the instrument's particular capabilities. In the opening Allegro, cantabile melodic writing blends effortlessly with rapid scale passages, repeated-note phrases and great leaps - the latter also a feature of solo vocal music, especially of opera seria arias or those of a mock seria cast. Indeed, humor is never far away here: particularly captivating is the bassoon's perfectly poised counterpoint to the 'second subject' given out by the first violins.
A more tender note is struck by the slow movement, which has the singular marking 'Andante ma adagio'. Such a poetic melodic outpouring - enhanced by the muted strings, and all the more telling for its brevity - makes one feel most keenly the loss of the handful of bassoon concertos that Mozart was believed to have composed but whose existence has not been substantiated. As in the Concertone for two violins, K190/186E, dated only four days before the concerto, Mozart concludes with a minuet-rondo finale, whose loose-limbed decorative structure acts as a perfect foil, both emotionally and technically, to the preceding movements.
The Academy of Ancient Music
The Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) is a period-instrument orchestra based in Cambridge, England. Founded by harpsichordist Christopher Hogwood in 1973, it was named after a previous organisation of the same name of the 18th century. The musicians play on either original instruments or modern copies of instruments from the period of time the music was composed. They generally play Baroque and Classical music, though they have also played some new compositions for baroque orchestra in recent years.
The original Academy of Ancient Music was founded in London, England in 1726 for the purpose of studying and performing "old" music — defined initially as anything composed at least a century earlier. This soon grew to include more contemporary composers, including William Croft, Michael Christian Festing, Maurice Greene, Bernard Gates, Giovanni Bononcini, Senesino, Nicola Haym, Francesco Geminiani, Pier Francesco Tosi, John Ernest Galliard, Charles Dieupart, Jean-Baptiste Loeillet and Giuseppe Riva. Handel was never a member, although the society studied and performed his music as well as their own, and that of other composers of the day. Directors of the organization included Johann Christoph Pepusch (from 1735 onward), Benjamin Cooke and Samuel Arnold (from 1789 onwards).
tracks
01. Flute and Harp Concerto C major, K299 - I Allegro (10:49)
02. Flute and Harp Concerto C major, K299 - II Andantino (8:26)
03. Flute and Harp Concerto C major, K299 - III Rondeau (9:45)
04. Andante for flute and orchestra C major, K315 - C-Dur (5:39)
05. Bassoon Concerto B flat major K191 - I Allegro (6:04)
06. Bassoon Concerto B flat major K191 - II Andante ma adagio (5:36)
07. Bassoon Concerto B flat major K191 - III Rondo: Tempo di Menuetto (4:08)
08. Flute Concerto No 1 G major, K313 - I Allegro maestoso (8:21)
09. Flute Concerto No 1 G major, K313 - II Adagio ma non troppo (8:24)
10. Flute Concerto No 1 G major, K313 - III Rondo: Tempo di Menuetto (7:37)
Andante for flute and orchestra C major, K315 - C-Dur
Bassoon Concerto B flat major K191 - III Rondo: Tempo di Menuetto
No comments:
Post a Comment