Vierdanck: Capricci, Canzoni & Sonatas

Album review

Johann Vierdanck was a composer active in northern Germany in the second quarter of the seventeenth century; the famous Vermeer portrait on the cover is just for kicks. He was an early adopter of the new Italian instrumental styles named in the album of the title, injecting into his compositions some of the virtuosity of the Italian players who propagated the style. He is a distant ancestor of the mix of virtuosity and intellect in Bach's works. The instrumental combinations specified in the tracklist are a little confusing; actually all these works are for two or three violins, accompanied in most cases by a continuo group consisting of some combination of cello, lute, bassoon, and organ. There is only one example of the sonata, the concept that ultimately triumphed over the other diverse forms of the early Baroque, and there are, in addition to the genres named, one variation piece (a passamezzo, one of the most charming of the group in its varied textures) and one dance (a gagliarda). Most of the works fall under the labels of capriccio or canzona, with the canzonas often beginning with the characteristic long-short-short chanson rhythm; they are pieces consisting of groups of contrasting phrases, revealing the last remnants of the structure of vocal songs in instrumental music. The capricci are freer, and by no means all "capricious" in mood; some are slow, denser works akin in mood to English fantasias -- which were well known in Germany at the time. Indeed, the rather dense booklet detects English influence in the complex string writing of Vierdanck's variation pieces, but it might be seen equally in works of this type. The Freiburg-based historical-instrument ensemble Parnassi Musici, drawn from the ranks of the Southwest German Radio Symphony, exemplifies a growing level of interchange among conventional and historically oriented ensembles as music of earlier eras becomes more popular in Europe (and even the U.S.). The dry, sparkling, agile violins of American-born Margaret MacDuffie and German Matthias Fischer are just right for this music, which is not in any way earthshaking but does convey something of the quality, also present in Bach's music nearly a century later, of sheer delight at discovering the sensuous surfaces of Italian music. Recommended for Baroque collections, library or individual.
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