Platti - Flute Sonatas, Op 3 - Wahlberg,Sundquist,Sveen
Chamber | Eac, single flac, cue | log, cover | 1 CD, 385 MB
May 29, 2007 | Naxos | RapidShare
The place of composers in the history books and encyclopedias and the frequency with which their compositions are performed doesn't always depend on the quality of their output. It is often a matter of coincidence or of historical circumstances. The fate of Giovanni Benedetto Platti is a good example. Stylistically many works point into the direction of classicism, but in history books the honour of paving the way to the classical style is given to the sons of Bach and the representatives of the Mannheim School.
There is some doubt as to where and in which year Platti was born: either in 1692 or 1697, either in or near Padua or in Venice. He seems to have had several teachers, among them some of the most important masters of the Italian baroque, like Gasparini, Vivaldi and the Marcello brothers. In 1722 he entered the service of Johann Philipp Franz von Schonborn, Prince-Bishop of Bamberg and Wurzburg, and an ardent lover of Italian music. In Wurzburg he stayed until his death. It is difficult to imagine why he was willing to stay there, as it was a rather small court with few connections to the rest of Europe. Perhaps his marriage with Maria Theresia Lambrucker in 1723 had something to do with it. She was also in the service of the court as a singer, and apparently much appreciated. But perhaps he was perfectly happy at the court of Wurzburg, as his employers were very fond of him. He was described as "incomparable oboist" and in 1732 he was also appointed as a singer (tenor) and second violinist. On top of that he was known for his skills as cellist and harpsichordist.
An additional factor for Platti staying in Wurzburg was probably the close friendship with the Prince's brother, Count Rudolf Franz Erwein von Schonborn, who became Prince-Bishop in 1729, five years after his brother's sudden death. In the intermediary the musicians at court went through a rough time, as their number was heavily reduced. But the succession of Count Rudolf resulted in a restoration of musical life at the court. He was a passionate and skilled player of the cello, and collected a large number of compositions for his instrument. Platti's oeuvre contains a number of pieces with obbligato cello, which perhaps were written for the Count.
The six sonatas opus 3 were published in Nuremberg in 1743 and were dedicated to Peter Philipp von Krufft, a "dilettante flautist" living in Cologne. The term dilettante doesn't necessarily mean the same as it does today: 'amateur'. It is rather a person who does play or compose sometimes at a 'professional' level but not for a living. Italian composers like Albinoni and the Marcello brothers described themselves as dilettantes. It is assumed Platti was a flautist himself, but that is not confirmed in the sources. Fact of the matter is that these sonatas are very idiomatic compositions, which show the composer had a thorough knowledge of the possibilities of the instrument. As they are technically quite demanding the dedicatee must also have been a highly skilled flautist.
More interesting are the stylistic features of these sonatas. Several elements justify their characterization as early examples of the developing classical style, like rudiments of the sonata form, the menuet the favourite dance of the classical period and short solo cadenzas, which much later became standard practice. These aspects demonstrate Platti was a highly original composer who could have had quite an influence on the course of music history if he had been employed elsewhere. It has also been argued that Platti applied Rouseau's idea of 'naturalness' in his music well before this ideal was propagated. From this one may conclude that the neglect of Platti's works is highly unjustified.
And the recording by these three artists from Norway convincingly supports this conclusion. The performances are technically assured, and the expressive and sometimes quite dramatic features of these sonatas are thoroughly exploited. One of the highlights is the largo of the Sonata No 2, which contains large contrasts, which the musicians realise with great flair and imagination. The ornamentation is also used for expressive reasons, for instance a slight vibrato which can be compared with the Bebung, an important effect used on the clavichord. Interestingly this very instrument is used here in the realisation of the basso continuo in Sonata No 4, which is very uncommon in today's performance practice, where the instrument is almost exclusively used as a solo instrument. Of course this requires great sensitivity from the flautist, and Paul Wahlberg certainly is up to the task. Even so the balance between the flute and the clavichord is problematic. It helps when you listen to the disc with headphones. In that case the balance is a good deal better.
The 'giga' of the Sonata No 3 requires an effect which Platti refers to as tre:. It is not quite clear what kind of effect he means, either tremolo or a trill. "Neither tremolo nor trill seemed convincing as a solution for this part of the flute sonata. We chose another solution for which there is no documentation in Quantz's works or others," Paul Wahlberg writes in the booklet. Instead he tries to imitate a kind of effect organ stops like Vogel-Gesang (bird singing) or Kuckuck (cuckoo) or instruments as listed in the score of Leopold Mozart's Toy Symphony produce. I can't say I find this solution very convincing either. Perhaps a tremolo would have been a better option, but as long as one hasn't heard this effect in this particular movement one can't be sure about that.
As these sonatas are assumed being composed over a considerable period of time two different transverse flutes are used, copies after Denner (c1715) and Grenser (c1750) and tuned at a=390' and 415' respectively.
The six sonatas opus 3 by Platti fully deserve to be played on the concert platform and one can only be grateful that they have been recorded by these artists. This is not the first recording of these sonatas: in 1990 Bernhard Bohm recorded them on CPO. Without having compared both recordings in detail, in a random comparison of a number of tracks this recording came out on top. Paul Wahlberg (who also has written the informative program notes in the booklet) and his colleagues observe all repeats, which makes this disc last about 10 minutes longer than CPO's.--Johan van Veen ( 2008)
There is some doubt as to where and in which year Platti was born: either in 1692 or 1697, either in or near Padua or in Venice. He seems to have had several teachers, among them some of the most important masters of the Italian baroque, like Gasparini, Vivaldi and the Marcello brothers. In 1722 he entered the service of Johann Philipp Franz von Schonborn, Prince-Bishop of Bamberg and Wurzburg, and an ardent lover of Italian music. In Wurzburg he stayed until his death. It is difficult to imagine why he was willing to stay there, as it was a rather small court with few connections to the rest of Europe. Perhaps his marriage with Maria Theresia Lambrucker in 1723 had something to do with it. She was also in the service of the court as a singer, and apparently much appreciated. But perhaps he was perfectly happy at the court of Wurzburg, as his employers were very fond of him. He was described as "incomparable oboist" and in 1732 he was also appointed as a singer (tenor) and second violinist. On top of that he was known for his skills as cellist and harpsichordist.
An additional factor for Platti staying in Wurzburg was probably the close friendship with the Prince's brother, Count Rudolf Franz Erwein von Schonborn, who became Prince-Bishop in 1729, five years after his brother's sudden death. In the intermediary the musicians at court went through a rough time, as their number was heavily reduced. But the succession of Count Rudolf resulted in a restoration of musical life at the court. He was a passionate and skilled player of the cello, and collected a large number of compositions for his instrument. Platti's oeuvre contains a number of pieces with obbligato cello, which perhaps were written for the Count.
The six sonatas opus 3 were published in Nuremberg in 1743 and were dedicated to Peter Philipp von Krufft, a "dilettante flautist" living in Cologne. The term dilettante doesn't necessarily mean the same as it does today: 'amateur'. It is rather a person who does play or compose sometimes at a 'professional' level but not for a living. Italian composers like Albinoni and the Marcello brothers described themselves as dilettantes. It is assumed Platti was a flautist himself, but that is not confirmed in the sources. Fact of the matter is that these sonatas are very idiomatic compositions, which show the composer had a thorough knowledge of the possibilities of the instrument. As they are technically quite demanding the dedicatee must also have been a highly skilled flautist.
More interesting are the stylistic features of these sonatas. Several elements justify their characterization as early examples of the developing classical style, like rudiments of the sonata form, the menuet the favourite dance of the classical period and short solo cadenzas, which much later became standard practice. These aspects demonstrate Platti was a highly original composer who could have had quite an influence on the course of music history if he had been employed elsewhere. It has also been argued that Platti applied Rouseau's idea of 'naturalness' in his music well before this ideal was propagated. From this one may conclude that the neglect of Platti's works is highly unjustified.
And the recording by these three artists from Norway convincingly supports this conclusion. The performances are technically assured, and the expressive and sometimes quite dramatic features of these sonatas are thoroughly exploited. One of the highlights is the largo of the Sonata No 2, which contains large contrasts, which the musicians realise with great flair and imagination. The ornamentation is also used for expressive reasons, for instance a slight vibrato which can be compared with the Bebung, an important effect used on the clavichord. Interestingly this very instrument is used here in the realisation of the basso continuo in Sonata No 4, which is very uncommon in today's performance practice, where the instrument is almost exclusively used as a solo instrument. Of course this requires great sensitivity from the flautist, and Paul Wahlberg certainly is up to the task. Even so the balance between the flute and the clavichord is problematic. It helps when you listen to the disc with headphones. In that case the balance is a good deal better.
The 'giga' of the Sonata No 3 requires an effect which Platti refers to as tre:. It is not quite clear what kind of effect he means, either tremolo or a trill. "Neither tremolo nor trill seemed convincing as a solution for this part of the flute sonata. We chose another solution for which there is no documentation in Quantz's works or others," Paul Wahlberg writes in the booklet. Instead he tries to imitate a kind of effect organ stops like Vogel-Gesang (bird singing) or Kuckuck (cuckoo) or instruments as listed in the score of Leopold Mozart's Toy Symphony produce. I can't say I find this solution very convincing either. Perhaps a tremolo would have been a better option, but as long as one hasn't heard this effect in this particular movement one can't be sure about that.
As these sonatas are assumed being composed over a considerable period of time two different transverse flutes are used, copies after Denner (c1715) and Grenser (c1750) and tuned at a=390' and 415' respectively.
The six sonatas opus 3 by Platti fully deserve to be played on the concert platform and one can only be grateful that they have been recorded by these artists. This is not the first recording of these sonatas: in 1990 Bernhard Bohm recorded them on CPO. Without having compared both recordings in detail, in a random comparison of a number of tracks this recording came out on top. Paul Wahlberg (who also has written the informative program notes in the booklet) and his colleagues observe all repeats, which makes this disc last about 10 minutes longer than CPO's.--Johan van Veen ( 2008)
CD Content
Flute Sonata in D major, Op. 3, No. 1
Flute Sonata in G major, Op. 3, No. 2
Flute Sonata in E minor, Op. 3, No. 3
Flute Sonata in A major, Op. 3, No. 4
Flute Sonata in C major, Op. 3, No. 5
Flute Sonata in G major, Op. 3, No. 6
Total Playing Time: 01:17:45
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