il Gardellino

Ernst Eichner was a composer of the so-called Mannheim School who fell into obscurity as the Romantics discarded the light music of the Classical era, and whose music has until now been overlooked in the general late eighteenth century revival – probably because the focus on music of the period has shifted from Mannheim to Vienna. But of course the influence of the Mannheim composers was continent-wide; Mozart's symphonies and keyboard sonatas from the late 1770s, for example, can't be understood without it. The chief musical attraction in Mannheim was the court orchestra maintained by the Elector of the Palatinate, outsized to match the Elector's mega-palace (at the end of World War II it was about the only thing standing).

This is the second of a series of themed cantata recordings by Marcel Ponseele and his crack ensemble, Il Gardellino. The first, titled Desire , was reviewed in Fanfare 34:5. The current disc, titled De Profundis , includes one of Bach’s earliest cantatas, BWV 131, and one of his latest, BWV 177, as well as a cantata by one of Bach’s prominent contemporaries, Christoph Graupner (1683–1760). The latter is of particular interest because Graupner was the Leipzig Town Council’s second choice (after Telemann) to replace its retiring cantor, Johann Kuhnau, in 1723. But Graupner was unable to obtain a release from his current employer, giving the appointment to the third choice, Johann Sebastian Bach, and changing the course of music history. In fact, the much-maligned council’s logic was sound. Telemann, a former resident, was the most celebrated (and industrious) composer in Germany, and Graupner had been Kuhnau’s apprentice.

Fasch is now recognised as one of the most important innovators in the transitional period between Bach and Haydn. These concertos for combinations such as 2 oboes da silva, 2 violas, 2 bassoons and basso continuo illustrate his supreme skill.

Olga Pashchenko is one of today’s most versatile keyboard players. Equally at home on the fortepiano, the harpsichord, the organ and the modern piano, she radiates extraordinary virtuosity and passion. Her discography has hitherto enabled her to explore the music of Beethoven, her great passion, but also that of Dussek and Mendelssohn among others. A key figure was missing until now: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. That omission has now been repaired with this recording of his Piano Concertos nos. 9 and 17, written in 1777 and 1784. This initial collaboration with the ensemble Il Gardellino, founded more than thirty years ago by the oboist Marcel Ponseele and the flautist Jan De Winne, is scheduled to continue with other Mozart concertos in the next few years.

A once abandoned Passion project by J. S. Bach? Harpsichordist and conductor Alexander Grychtolik, together with the Il Gardellino Orchestra, embarks on a captivating artistic experiment with this presentation of the Passion Oratorio BWV Anh. 169. The starting point for the partial reconstruction attempt and the completion of the work is the surviving libretto by the poet Picander from 1725. This unique endeavor draws the audience into a profound exploration of human empathy with the poignant suffering of Jesus and sheds light on a passion aesthetic we had not seen previously in Bach’s repertoire.

Ever since Ensemble Matheus and Jean-Christophe Spinosi stood in the limelight of the stage, they have incessantly received praise and prizes. They know how to be cleverly carried by the Vivaldi wave. They present a fascinating, lively vision of the music of the "red priest", but also take into account the findings of musicology. What a pleasure to hear these virtuosos! A joy that will not be lost even if repeated listening. There is something to discover here.

–Pierre Guillaume