Birth of the Symphony: Handel to Haydn
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Label: AAM Records
Cat No: AAM001
Format: CD
Number of Discs: 1
Genre: Orchestral
Release Date: 4th November 2013
Contents
Works
Saul, HWV53Symphony no.1 in E flat major, K16
Grande Simphonie no.7 in C major
Sinfonia a 4 in D major
Artists
The Academy of Ancient MusicConductor
Richard EgarrWorks
Saul, HWV53Symphony no.1 in E flat major, K16
Grande Simphonie no.7 in C major
Sinfonia a 4 in D major
Artists
The Academy of Ancient MusicConductor
Richard EgarrAbout
Birth of the Symphony explores the development of the symphony in the eighteenth century, surveying groundbreaking musical advances across Europe. The recording includes brilliant and rarely-heard works by composers of the avant-garde “Mannheim school”, Richter and Stamitz, as well as Haydn’s mature “La passione” symphony.
Supplementary materials available online include a documentary film featuring AAM musicians discussing and performing these symphonies.
Sound/Video
Paused
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1Handel - Saul (Sinfonia): Allegro
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2Handel - Saul (Sinfonia): Larghetto
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3Handel - Saul (Sinfonia): Allegro
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4Handel - Saul (Sinfonia): Andante larghetto
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5Richter - Grande Symphony no.7: Allegro
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6Richter - Grande Symphony no.7: Andante
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7Richter - Grande Symphony no.7: Allegro
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8Stamitz - Sinfonia a 4 in D major: Presto
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9Stamitz - Sinfonia a 4 in D major: Andante
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10Stamitz - Sinfonia a 4 in D major: Presto
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11Mozart - Symphony no.1 in E flat: Allegro molto
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12Mozart - Symphony no.1 in E flat: Andante
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13Mozart - Symphony no.1 in E flat: Presto
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14Haydn - Symphony no.49 in F minor: Adagio
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15Haydn - Symphony no.49 in F minor: Allegro di molto
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16Haydn - Symphony no.49 in F minor: Minuet and Trio
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17Haydn - Symphony no.49 in F minor: Finale - Presto
Europadisc Review
As the Academy of Ancient Music’s director Richard Egarr acknowledges, a single disc can barely even scratch the surface of such a geographically and stylistically diverse repertoire, yet this recording manages not only to bring to life the diversity and stylistic developments of the mid-1700s, but also to whet the appetite for more.
It opens with the four-movement Sinfonia to Saul, in a delightfully fresh and buoyant performance, full of Handelian grace and life, and beautifully-shaped solos from the AAM’s principal oboe, Susanne Regel. Then come works from two members of the famed Mannheim School: Franz Xaver Richter’s Grande simphonie No.7 (c.1740) – written before Richter moved to the Mannheim court, but already full of the startling dynamic effects popularised by the Mannheim orchestra – and Johann Stamitz’s D major ‘Sinfonia a 4’ (c.1750), which is similarly laden with ear-catching effects. Listening to these vibrant performances, one can well understand why Charles Burney described the Mannheim orchestra as an ‘army of generals’.
Mozart’s Symphony No.1 was written when he was just eight years old during a visit to London (1764), yet although it’s indebted to many of the stylistic formulas developed by Johann Christian Bach (the ‘London’ Bach’) it still has the stamp of a remarkable musical personality. With oboes, bassoon and horns joining the strings, and the AAM’s players employing some nicely judged timbral effects (listen out for the rattle in the last movement!), it makes a thrilling impact here, not least in the haunting tread of the central Andante.
Undoubtedly the greatest work on this disc, though, is Haydn’s F minor Symphony, nicknamed ‘La passione’ because of its markedly sombre and extreme expressive moods. Cast in the slow–fast–slow–fast mould of the sonata da chiesa form, it’s one of the most striking of Haydn’s Sturm und Drang symphonies, and its emotional depths are a clear harbinger of things to come in the symphony’s continued development through the classical and romantic periods. As on their earlier recording of this work with Christopher Hogwood, the AAM here dispense with harpsichord continuo (which wasn’t a feature at the Esterházy court), allowing the strings and winds alone to bring out all the stark contrasts of Haydn’s writing, with challenging tempi in the fast movements, and playing of great expressiveness in the slower movements.
The recording, made at Saint Jude-on-the-Hill in London, is warm but finely detailed, the packaging is attractive, and there are plenty of online extras including videos. Altogether, a highly promising label launch, whetting the appetite not just for more of this repertoire, but more from AAM Records, with several Bach issues already in the pipeline from this team.
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