Harmonie und Janitscharenmusik

Album review

Throughout the Renaissance, and even into the Enlightenment, there were a number of skirmishes and a few instances of out and out war between the Habsburg and Ottoman Empires. The defeat of Ottoman forces in 1683 set the stage for the slow decline of the Empire, although it did not officially dissolve until 1923. Among the most successful infantry units in the Ottoman army were the Janissaries, who also maintained bands that marched along with the corps. Noisy and loud, the sound of Janissary Bands originally struck terror into the hearts of the Viennese and Hungarians who had suffered under the periodic Ottoman sieges of their cities and lands. However, Janissary bands eventually made an impression in several ways; the European-style military band came about in the eighteenth century by way of a direct response, and captured Janissary percussion instruments were adopted into European music-making. Mahmud II abolished the Janissaries in 1826; modern Janissary bands that perform in Turkey are a purely twentieth century phenomenon. Unfortunately, so far as is known historic Janissary bands did not write down their music, and what remains are traces of such music that can be found in European compositions, mostly dating from the late eighteenth century; there was sort of a fad for pseudo-Turkish music in Europe at the time. Mozart's "Turkish March" from the Piano Sonata No. 11 in A, K. 311, was perhaps the most famous example of this, both then and henceforward; some pianos were fitted with a Janissary Pedal that banged a strip of copper against the lower strings of the soundboard. Alongside the evolution of European military bands came the Harmonie, a wind band suitable for light entertainment and mostly used for outdoor occasions, usually numbering eight to nine instruments. This Accent release, Harmonie und Janitscharenmusik by Octophoros under Paul Dombrecht, contains three works from between 1785 and 1816 that address different aspects of both kinds of ensembles. The Parthia in F by Bohemian composer Antonín Rösler (aka, Antonio Rosetti), is included to illustrate the Harmonie and contains some typical horn signatures associated with the hunt; the horn parts are particularly tough and are played here on Courtois Frères, natural horns manufactured in the 1820s. The most boisterous, and in many ways most successful, work on this disc is the Notturno in C, Op. 34, by Louis Spohr; it is expressly composed for Harmonie und Janitscharenmusik, hence providing the disc's title. Spohr's Notturno is immediate, exciting, and a good deal more substantive musically than such a popularly oriented piece needs to be. Beethoven's familiar Wellington's Victory is heard in one of its eight historical alternative versions, this one for "Harmonie and Turkish music"; Beethoven approved, but probably did not prepare, this arrangement. Wellington's Victory is certainly one of Beethoven's most maligned works; however, Octophoros' recording of this arrangement is respectful, engaging, and makes a bit more musical sense of the work than in the standard orchestral version, which in itself is not original. Those who routinely refer to Wellington's Victory as "a piece of crap" should refer to this recording as it might well be the best case made for this work. Accent's Harmonie und Janitscharenmusik is a fun listen and sheds considerable light on this earliest of "East meets West" musical genres, the result of political friction between Europe and Asia Minor.
© TiVo

Details of the original recording : 64:41 - DDD - Enregistré en 1988 - Notes en français, anglais et allemand