Goldberg nr. 47 (August 2007)

5 STARS       

Johann Mattheson (1681-1764) is remembered as a musical theorist, encyclopaedist and biographer, and as a friend of Handel (with whom he nonetheless once fought a duel). But he was also a prolific composer of operas, oratorios, passions and cantatas and also published collections of chamber and instrumental music, including the Pièces de Clavecin en Deux Volumes, the subject of this CD. When these works were published in London in 1714, the luxury-loving Mattheson was the well-paid secretary of the English ambassador in Hamburg, Sir John Wych, and music tutor to the latter's son, Cyril, a harpsichord virtuoso who succeeded to his father's post in 1715. Mattheson developed an especially idiomatic style for his favourite instrument, combinig the French stile brisé, characteristic Germanic counterpoint and occasional flourishes of showy ornamentation such as scales and arpeggios. The result is gratifyingly tuneful music whose structural clarity and often-relaxed manner belie its demands on the performer's technique.
The Brazilian harpsichordist, Cristiano Holtz, has selected movements from seven of the suites, most of them in a minor key, occasionally changing their published order. His modern copy of a c. 1702 harpsichord by Michael Mietke, whose firm resonance has been captured with exemplary clarity in an airy acoustic, is ideal for this solidly constructed music. His clean and lucid playing shows a distinct Dutch influence (his teachers over 10 year's study in the Netherlands included Gustav Leonhardt and Jacques Ogg), but also a warmth and personality all his own. An ideal recording of under-valued music.

Christopher Price