Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713)
Corelli ajusté à la flûte traversière
Alter Ego
rec. 2022, Palazzo Cigola Martinoni, Cigole, Italy
Reviewed as a download
Da Vinci Classics C00952 [64]
There are few composers who have had such a huge influence on the course of music history as Arcangelo Corelli. He only wrote three kinds of music: solo sonatas, trio sonatas and concerti grossi. In all three departments, his output became a model for contemporaries and next generations. His only publication of sonatas for violin and basso continuo was his Opus 5, printed in 1700, which became very popular and was often reprinted. The first edition with arrangements for the recorder was printed as early as 1702. It is no surprise that the publisher was John Walsh in London; the recorder was one of the most popular instruments in England, especially among amateurs. It didn’t take long before editions were printed with written-out ornaments, probably in particular with the non-professional musician in mind. After all, professional players were supposed to add their own ornaments.
The recording under review here is devoted to an edition of the first six sonatas from Corelli’s Op. 5, which was published in the late 1730s in Paris. Both the place and the time of publication explain that they were not adapted for the recorder, but rather the transverse flute. The latter instrument was in the process of overshadowing the recorder, also among amateurs. A substantial amount of chamber music for the flute was produced by French composers during the first half of the 18th century. The publication of these sonatas also attest to the growing popularity of Corelli, and of Italian music in general, in France. During the 17th century, Italian music was not appreciated, at least not officially, and there were only a few violinists, who had the skills to play Italian music. That changed after 1700, when French composers started to embrace the Italian style in their own compositions, and music by Italian composers was played in France, for instance, at the Concert Spirituel.
The growing popularity of the transverse flute not only explains the publication of the above-mentioned edition of sonatas by Corelli, but also that French composers sometimes published sonatas which could be played both on the violin and on the flute. In his books of violin sonatas, Jean-Marie Leclair, one of the main composers of music for the violin, who was strongly influenced by the Italian style, included several sonatas that were also playable on the flute.
In such cases the composer had to avoid techniques that were impossible to be realised on the flute, such as double stopping, and notes that were out of reach. Obviously, Corelli’s sonatas, being conceived for the violin, had to be adapted in an edition for the transverse flute. That is the case with the six sonatas that Eleonora Bišćević (transverse flute) and Arianna Radaelli (harpsichord) recorded.
Two of the six sonatas have been transposed. The Sonata No. 3 was originally in the key of C major, and in this edition it is transposed to D major. The Sonata No. 4 is transposed from F major to G major. This has everything to do with the nature of these keys on the respective instruments. “On the violin, C major and F major are very open and resonant; conversely, on the flute, C major – and even more so F major – sound more opaque and veiled.” On the flute the keys of D major and G major “are more open, have fuller sonorities, and are characterised by greater responsiveness of articulation, as well as being technically more accessible.” (booklet)
A second issue is the difference in tessitura between the violin and the transverse flute, which is partly connected to the key of a sonata. The fourth movement of the Sonata No. 4 is originally in the key of D minor, and in this key includes low C-sharps, which are unavailable on the flute. In the transposed version, this movement is in E minor, and the low C-sharps are now D-sharps.
As Corelli’s sonatas include passages with double stopping, the anonymous arranger had to come up with a solution. In some cases he opts for the highest of the two notes, whereas in other cases the flute leaps from one voice to the other. This suggests polyphony, comparable with, for instance, Telemann’s fantasias for flute solo. In some cases the performers have made their own choices, when they found the solutions less convincing, and now and then the ‘missing notes’ are played on the harpsichord.
The latter is the only instrument used for the realisation of the basso continuo part, which is based on 18th-century sources, and combines elements of the Italian and the French taste. It results in a style of accompaniment that lends the basso continuo part often an almost concertante character.
Lastly, ornamentation is fundamental in the performance of baroque music. This was usually left to the performer, but as amateurs often may not have had the skills to invent these themselves, several editions with ornaments have been printed after the publication of these sonatas. The best-known of these was published by Roger in Amsterdam in 1710. In that edition only the slow movements are ornamented. That is different in the edition that the two artists on this disc have used. There embellishments have been added to the fast movements as well, although more modest than in the slow movements. They differ from those in Roger’s edition in that they are typically French.
This disc is not the first which pays attention to these French adaptations of Corelli’s sonatas. In 2023 Alpha released a disc in which some of these arrangements were combined with sonatas by the French composer Jean-Baptiste Quentin, which were – analogous to Corelli’s sonatas – played on and sometimes adapted to the flute as well. They were played by Anna Besson, with Myriam Rignol (viola da gamba) and Jean Rondeau (harpsichord). That recording is well worth investigating; it has not been reviewed on this site. It made curious for the other sonatas in the collection, and therefore this complete recording is most welcome.
These adaptations are of excellent quality and offer a different perspective on Corelli’s sonatas as well as their reception and the way they were performed in the course of the 18th century. The performances deserve nothing but praise. Eleonora Bišćević produces a beautiful tone, plays the slow movements with great sensitivity and a fine dynamic shading. The fast movements are lively and energetic. The ornamentation is stylish, and substantially contribute to the impact of these sonatas. The two artist have treated the material with much creativity, within the boundaries of what is historically plausible. Arianna Radaelli plays sometimes a little improvisation, for instance at the start of the Sonata No. 5. She is not only a harmonic mainstay, but also a rhythmic drive.
Lovers of the transverse flute will be especially happy with this disc – but every lover of baroque music will be delighted to listen to Corelli à la française.
Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
Availability: Da Vinci Edition
Contents
Sonata I in D
Sonata II in B flat
Sonata III in D
Sonata IV in G
Sonata V in G minor
Sonata VI in A
