Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Concerto for violin, strings and bc in A minor (BWV 1041)
Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1751)
Sinfonia a 5 for strings and bc in G, op. 2,1
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Concerto for viola, strings and bc in G (TWV 51,G9)
Tomaso Albinoni
Sinfonia a 5 for strings and bc in G minor, op. 2,6
Johann Sebastian Bach
Concerto for violin, strings and bc in E (BWV 1042)
Sophie Gent (violin)
Kathleen Kajioka (viola)
Ensemble Masques/Olivier Fortin
rec. 2023, Fresse, France
Reviewed as a download
Alpha Classics 1140 [62]

Bach’s violin concertos are among his most popular works and available in many recordings. Most of them include all three: two for one violin, and one for two, catalogued as BWV 1041 to 1043. In some recordings the performers have added reconstructions of harpsichord concertos, which at first may have been conceived as violin concertos. The disc under review takes another route: it confines itself to the two concertos for solo violin, which are joined by a concerto for the viola by Bach’s contemporary Georg Philipp Telemann. They are interspersed by two ‘ripieno concertos’ by Tomaso Albinoni, marking the Italian influence in the oeuvre of both German masters.

During his time in Weimar, Bach had become acquainted with the Italian concerto, largely thanks to Johann Ernst Prince of Saxe-Weimar, who had studied in the Netherlands, and had Italian concertos in his baggage when he returned to Weimar. Bach arranged several of them for organ and for harpsichord. In Cöthen, to which Bach moved in 1717, Bach started to compose concertos himself. It has been assumed that the violin concertos were part of his oeuvre of those years. However, Bach scholar Christoph Wolff has suggested that they were composed at a much later stage, when Bach was director of the Collegium Musicum in Leipzig.

The two violin concertos are modelled after the Vivaldian concerto of three movements with a ritornello structure, in which tutti and solo episodes alternate. The middle movements – andante in BWV 1041 and adagio in BWV 1042 – are for violin with basso continuo alone, in latter in the way of a basso ostinato. The last movement of BWV 1041 is a gigue, which opens in fugato style. The last movement of BWV 1042 – again marked allegro assai – is a passepied with the structure of a rondeau.

The comparison with Telemann’s Viola concerto is interesting. According to his son Carl Philipp Emanuel, Johann Sebastian Bach played the viola himself and very much liked it. In his 6th Brandenburg Concerto two violas take the upper parts. However, he never composed a solo concerto for the instrument. It was rather Telemann who wrote two concertos, one for viola and one for two violas. These may well be the very first by a German composer – or by any composer, as in the baroque period the viola was mainly used to fill in the harmony. It was even often entirely omitted; in Italy, composers wrote concertos for four violins and basso continuo, without a part for viola.

It can hardly come as a surprise that it was Telemann who gave the viola a solo role. He was always willing to break new ground and explore the possibilities of instruments and instrumental combinations. With its two expressive slow movements and its two brilliant fast movements, it is a little masterpiece. Here, as in most of his concertos, he did not follow the Vivaldian model, but rather the Corellian sonata with four movements. The viola concerto probably dates from between 1716 and 1721, when Telemann was working in Frankfurt, where he organised weekly concerts of a collegium musicum.

The concertos are linked by two ‘ripieno concertos’ by Albinoni. This is a modern term for concertos for strings and basso continuo without solo parts. The best-known specimens of that genre are those by Vivaldi, which he called either ‘concerto’ or ‘sinfonia’. Albinoni was one of the leading composers of his time. He was mentioned in one breath with Corelli and Vivaldi by contemporaries. Johann Sebastian Bach used some of Albinoni’s compositions as teaching material and also based four fugues on subjects from Albinoni’s opus 2. From that angle it makes much sense to include two of the sinfonias from this collection here.

The collection contains six Sonatas – in the title referred to as Sinfonie – and six Concertos. There is a clear difference between the two categories. The sonatas follow the pattern of the sonata da chiesa with its four movements, whereas the concertos are in three movements. The Op. 2 was published in 1700, at the brink of two centuries, also stylistically. The scoring in five parts – with two violas – is reminiscent of the 17th century.

A question which is hard to answer is how many players were used for the performance of baroque instrumental music. Chamber music does not cause any problems, although it is not easy to say what exactly was ‘chamber music’ and what ‘orchestral music’. The Ensemble Masques plays with one instrument per part. As in the 17th century large ensembles may well have been the exception – Corelli sometimes performed his concerti grossi with large groups of players – a performance with solo instruments of Albinoni’s sinfonias seems justified. The six sinfonias were recorded in the same line-up by the Ensemble 415, directed by Chiara Banchini (ZigZagTerritoires, 2008). In Bach and Telemann recordings show a greater variety in this regard. Telemann’s viola concerto was recorded by Antoine Tamestit and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin with eight violins and three violas (Harmonia mundi, 2022). This may well reflect the performance practice in Frankfurt.

In Bach most ensembles these days seem to opt for a small line-up. The most notorious exception is the Freiburger Barockorchester, which plays with about the same number of players as the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin in Telemann. It is impossible to say what is ‘right’ here. It is important that the soloist is primus inter pares, which means that he/she needs to be part of the ensemble, and that the balance is such that the solo part is clearly audible. That is more easily achieved in a one-to-a-part line-up. There is no reason to complaint here in both departments. These performances are a collective effort of a group of people playing together on a regular basis. Sophie Gent is an outstanding violinist, who performs the slow movements with much expression, and creates a nice ‘swing’ in the fast movements, thanks to an excellent sense of rhythm and a fitting differentiation between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ notes. Kathleen Kajioka is a new name to me, and I very much like the way she explores the sonority and warmth of the viola. The fast movements are played with much zest. In the sinfonias the ensemble shows its collective qualities.

Due to the quality of the performances and the way the programme has been put together, this disc deserves a place even in a catalogue full of recordings of Bach’s violin concertos. Even if you have several of the latter in your collection, you should consider adding this fine disc.

Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen

Previous review: Philip Harrison (July 2025)

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