Music of Telemann, Platti, Vivaldi, and Geminiani. Gottfried von der Goltz, Freiburger Barockorchester. Aparte Music AP262.
By John J. Puccio
Although period-instrument bands have been around for a very long time (for example, Nikolaus Harnoncourt founded the Concentus Musicus Wien some seventy-odd years ago). But it wasn’t until the 1980’s or so that they really took off and proliferated. Today, a lot of them are gone, yet those that remain are still going strong. My own favorites for a long time have been the Philharmonia Baroque, La Petite Bande, and the subject of today’s review, the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. Why those three? Because they seem to be having the most fun playing the music, enjoying what they are doing. They may not always be the richest-sounding or most-precise ensembles I’ve heard, but they are among the most enjoyable to listen to. Certainly, the Freiburg group appears to be enthusiastically embracing the music on the present album.
The current disc amply demonstrates the ensemble’s aforesaid ebullience, the appropriately titled Concerti All’Arrabbiata (“spicy hot concerts”). Gottfried von der Goltz and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra have chosen music by four seventeenth and eighteenth-century composers--Telemann, Platti, Vivaldi, and Geminiani--that show their hotter, saucier side, and the orchestra play the pieces just that way--hot and saucy.
First up is the Concerto in D major for 2 horns, strings and continuo by the German composer and instrumentalist Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767). So, you might expect from the foregoing description of “all’arrabbiata” that the Freiburgers would be attacking the score all out at raucous speeds, but no. The tempos are sensible and gratifying, and the playing is delicately elegant. They take the hunting motif at the end sensibly as well, making for an enjoyable experience all the way around.
Next is the Concerto in G minor for oboe, strings and continuo by the Italian composer and oboist Giovanni Platti (1690?-1763). The Platti selection is less restrained than the Telemann, and Maestro van der Goltz and his players add a touch more zest to the proceedings. Yet they retain the work’s refinement, especially in the sensitive Largo.
After that we have the Concerto in E flat major for bassoon, strings and continuo by the ubiquitous (could we have a Baroque album without him?) Italian composer, violinist, impresario, and Catholic priest Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741). The Freiburg ensemble maintain a good feeling of equilibrium as they balance tonal and rhythmic differences within the score.
For the penultimate selection, it’s the Concerto Grosso in D minor “la Folia” by the Italian composer, violinist, and music theorist Francesco Geminiani (1687-1772). This concerto grosso is a spirited set of follia dances (the Germans referred to them as “rowdy amusement,” and some countries enacted laws against them). Today we wonder what the fuss was about. Whatever, under Maestro von der Goltz’s direction, the dances come off as tasteful entertainment, with some splendidly handsome embellishments. It was the highlight of the program for me.
The program concludes with a bookend: the Sinfonia in G major “Grillen-Symphonie” by Telemann. Its dignified yet vibrant sophistication make a fine summing up of the all’arrabbiata flavor, the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra keeping everything on a prudently even keel.
I have only two minor qualms: First, the album is too brief. Not only is the timing rather short (a little over 49 minutes), but the music is so engaging it goes by too quickly. Second, the packaging is one of those fold-out cardboard affairs that expands to three sections, with the CD buried in a center compartment. The disc doesn’t just slide out; you have to help it along and hope you don’t get too many fingerprints on the playing surface in the process.
Producer Nicolas Bartholomee and engineers Nicolas Bartholomee and Ignace Hauville recorded the music for Little Tribeca at the Freiburg Ensemblehaus, Germany in October 2020. The first thing that struck me about the sound was the excellent depth to the orchestra. Now, understand, the ensemble is not all that big, around two dozen players and about three deep, but there is space around the instruments and a lifelike feeling of front-to-back dimensionality to the music. At the same time, the overall effect is smooth, round, and natural. It’s quite pleasing, with just a touch of hall resonance to enhance the realism.
JJP
To listen to a brief excerpt from this album, click below:
By John J. Puccio
The current disc amply demonstrates the ensemble’s aforesaid ebullience, the appropriately titled Concerti All’Arrabbiata (“spicy hot concerts”). Gottfried von der Goltz and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra have chosen music by four seventeenth and eighteenth-century composers--Telemann, Platti, Vivaldi, and Geminiani--that show their hotter, saucier side, and the orchestra play the pieces just that way--hot and saucy.
First up is the Concerto in D major for 2 horns, strings and continuo by the German composer and instrumentalist Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767). So, you might expect from the foregoing description of “all’arrabbiata” that the Freiburgers would be attacking the score all out at raucous speeds, but no. The tempos are sensible and gratifying, and the playing is delicately elegant. They take the hunting motif at the end sensibly as well, making for an enjoyable experience all the way around.
Next is the Concerto in G minor for oboe, strings and continuo by the Italian composer and oboist Giovanni Platti (1690?-1763). The Platti selection is less restrained than the Telemann, and Maestro van der Goltz and his players add a touch more zest to the proceedings. Yet they retain the work’s refinement, especially in the sensitive Largo.
For the penultimate selection, it’s the Concerto Grosso in D minor “la Folia” by the Italian composer, violinist, and music theorist Francesco Geminiani (1687-1772). This concerto grosso is a spirited set of follia dances (the Germans referred to them as “rowdy amusement,” and some countries enacted laws against them). Today we wonder what the fuss was about. Whatever, under Maestro von der Goltz’s direction, the dances come off as tasteful entertainment, with some splendidly handsome embellishments. It was the highlight of the program for me.
The program concludes with a bookend: the Sinfonia in G major “Grillen-Symphonie” by Telemann. Its dignified yet vibrant sophistication make a fine summing up of the all’arrabbiata flavor, the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra keeping everything on a prudently even keel.
I have only two minor qualms: First, the album is too brief. Not only is the timing rather short (a little over 49 minutes), but the music is so engaging it goes by too quickly. Second, the packaging is one of those fold-out cardboard affairs that expands to three sections, with the CD buried in a center compartment. The disc doesn’t just slide out; you have to help it along and hope you don’t get too many fingerprints on the playing surface in the process.
Producer Nicolas Bartholomee and engineers Nicolas Bartholomee and Ignace Hauville recorded the music for Little Tribeca at the Freiburg Ensemblehaus, Germany in October 2020. The first thing that struck me about the sound was the excellent depth to the orchestra. Now, understand, the ensemble is not all that big, around two dozen players and about three deep, but there is space around the instruments and a lifelike feeling of front-to-back dimensionality to the music. At the same time, the overall effect is smooth, round, and natural. It’s quite pleasing, with just a touch of hall resonance to enhance the realism.
JJP
To listen to a brief excerpt from this album, click below:
