Fanfare (2006)

This fine disc introduces a recently formed young ensemble that since its debut in 2004 has already established itself in Europe, with invitations to play at a number of prestigious festivals. The origins of Les Muffatti stem from a group of former students of the conservatory in Brussels who formed the ensemble under the direction of Peter Van Heyghen with the purpose of exploring the string orchestral repertoire of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The choice of name is a tribute to a composer who played a major, if still underestimated, role in the development of that repertoire, and who quite properly forms the subject of Les Muffatti’s first disc.
And what splendid pieces the concertos of “Armonico Tributo” are! They were first published in Salzburg in 1682, where Georg Muffat (1653–1704) had found employment as organist and valet at the court of Archbishop Maximillian Gandolf after a peripatetic career that had already taken him from his native Savoy to Lully’s Paris, Vienna, and Prague, where he became acquainted with the music of Schmelzer and Kerll. At the beginning of the 1680s, Muffat gained permission to travel to Rome for further study. There he went to Bernardo Pasquini, the leading Italian keyboard virtuoso, and, crucially, came into contact with Corelli. Muffat’s well-traveled background played a major role in forging a style embracing truly pan-European influences.
Those influences, above all the fusion of Lully’s rich five-part string-writing and the Corellian concerto grosso, are strikingly in evidence throughout the five sonatas or concertos that make up “Armonico Tributo,” a set later substantially revised by Muffat and issued with seven further concertos in 1701. It has always been assumed that Muffat composed them in imitation of Corelli’s Concerti grossi, op. 6, but Van Heyghen’s informative note points to problems of chronology with this theory. He speculates that there is indeed the possibility that the influence was mutual, and that Corelli borrowed from Muffat such devices as Lully’s unified bowing. Whatever the truth, the attentive listener will have no problem in identifying clear stylistic parallels with not only Lully (especially in the dance movements) and Corelli (the breadth and depth of the many Grave movements, with their typical suspensions), but, more occasionally, the virtuosity of Schmelzer and Biber (the E-Minor Sonata/iii, for example).
Proof that a true “orchestral” style was still in an evolutionary state at the time Muffat composed “Armonico Tributo” can be found in the extreme flexibility of performing forces Muffat was prepared to countenance. This ranges from just three players to full-scale concerto grosso performance with a concertino (solo) group of two violins and cello supported by a body of ripienists. Previous recordings have reflected these various options, with Peter Holman’s Parley of Instruments representing the minimalist, one-on-a-part approach on a 1971 Hyperion recording, while Ensemble 415 under Chiara Banchini chose to emulate the large-scale performances of Corelli’s big Roman bands by employing no fewer then 37 performers (Fanfare 20:1).
Les Muffatti are closer to Holman, employing a string band of 6–2–2–1, although the close, resonant sound frequently makes the complement sound larger. The performances are fresh and invigorating, although those prone to describing period string tone as “acerbic” may be less than happy. It has to be admitted, too, that intonation among the concertino-players (who vary with each concerto) is not always perfect. But such small flaws are easily put aside in the context of so much that is excellent. Particularly admirable are dances that really inflect the rhythm of dance, rather than just mark the pulse, the linearity, depth, and breadth Les Muffatti bring to the elegant, often noble slow movements, and the skill with which it exploits Muffat’s fine contrapuntal writing. All three of the discs mentioned bring something distinctive to these works, with Ensemble 415’s sumptuous performances perhaps the safest recommendation. But Les Muffatti’s vital, more challenging version can certainly join it as a valid alternative. Most important, if you don’t know these concertos, which are fully worthy of being placed alongside those of Corelli, it is high time you did.

Brian Robins