Galatea

Martin Schlumpf, born in 1947 in Aarau (Switzerland), studied clarinet, piano with Warren Thew, conducting with Ferdinand Leitner as well as theory and composition with Rudolf Kelterborn. In the late 70's, he returned to improvised music as a saxophonist and clarinettist, and in the late 1980s he has been active in the interface between composition (classical) and improvisation (jazz) in a new “post-modern” environment with a strong focus on rhythmic language. His compositions, which range from solo pieces to large concertos, are performed in many countries.

Sonata for three violins from Book 6 (1636) deservedly most popular. She opens Galatea’s disc and immediately you know you’re in for a treat: a fabulously fantastical disputation between three flighty fiddles, dispatched here with a voluble virtuosity and gesturing grandiloquence the Italians tried to kid us they alone possess. The dance movements have got rhythm, too, especially the galliards; and the continuo’s a sheer pluckfest.

Martin Schlumpf, born in 1947 in Aarau (Switzerland), studied clarinet, piano with Warren Thew, conducting with Ferdinand Leitner as well as theory and composition with Rudolf Kelterborn. In the late 70's, he returned to improvised music as a saxophonist and clarinettist, and in the late 1980s he has been active in the interface between composition (classical) and improvisation (jazz) in a new “post-modern” environment with a strong focus on rhythmic language. His compositions, which range from solo pieces to large concertos, are performed in many countries.

Andreas Späth is a new name to me, but his long and distinguished career saw him create a varied catalogue of over 150 works. He was also a clarinettist, violinist, organist, and voice teacher, as well as becoming the city music director in Neuchâtel and an honorary member of the Swiss Music Society among other things. Very little of his music has found its way onto recordings, so this extensive overview of his chamber music with clarinet is very welcome indeed. This release is titled ‘Romantic Clarinet Chamber Music’, but Späth’s idiom has a Classical poise and an elegant lack of sentimentality, at least in the Introduction & Variations on Weber op. 133. This has a nice variety in its variations, emphasising lyricism and witty inflection rather than pure virtuosity, though there is indeed some of this in evidence, and we are fortunate to be in the safe hands of soloist Rita Karin Meier.