“Dragonetti’s New Academy” = DOMENICO DRAGONETTI: String Quintet No. 18; String Quartet No. 1; String Quintet No. 31; String Quintet No. 13 – John Feeney, doublebass / Krista Bennion Feeney and Anca Nicolau, violins / Anca Nicolau, Joanna Hood, and Gregor Kitis, violas / Myron Lutzke, cello – GrancinoEditions.com DNA2009, 55:48 [Distr. by Classiquest] ****:
Like Niccolò Paganini, Domenico Dragonetti (1763-1846) was known in his own day chiefly as a virtuoso and secondarily as a composer. Unlike Paganini, however, very few of Dragonetti’s works were ever published. If you want access to the vast majority of them, you have to go to the manuscripts, which double bassist John Feeney did while in England touring with the London Classical Players. Gaining access to the Dragonetti manuscript collection at the British Museum, Feeney came away with copies of Dragonetti’s major work. All of the compositions on this CD are the product of Feeney’s researches and receive their premiere recordings.
Dragonetti was born in Venice and began his career there, serving as principal bass player for the Opera Buffa and the Ducal Chapel of St. Mark’s. In 1794, he was granted a leave of absence from the Chapel orchestra; his first engagement in London led to permanent residence and employment there in a number of orchestras. He maintained his ties with the continent, however, meeting and consulting with Haydn and Beethoven. The story goes that Dragonetti captivated Beethoven by playing one of the German master’s cello sonatas on his bear of an instrument. It’s suggested that we can thank Dragonetti for the fluid but virtuosic treatment of the basses in Beethoven’s music: think the fugal trio of the Fifth Symphony or the first appearance of the recitative in the finale of the Ninth.
And what about Dragonetti’s music? It has been recorded before; in fact, the Dragonetti DoubleBass Concerto has had several outings. So it’s been possible before now to get a good idea of his work. I did, and came away from the Concerto feeling I had heard a competent mildly charming piece that I wouldn’t seek out except for its novelty. That might be the consensus among average music lovers on hearing the current offerings from Dragonetti, though students of his instrument will want to familiarize themselves with the music and Feeney’s magisterial way with it. Serious students of the Classical era will also want to hear this disc.
The notes to the recording discuss the sources of Dragonetti’s thematic material. The opening theme of Quintet No. 13, for example, is a minor-key treatment of the theme from the Adagio of Haydn’s Symphony No. 99. Other sources include popular songs of the day. Stylistically, the works are varied as well, owing something to Baroque and Rococo practice, something to the growing influence of Romanticism. Rossini came quickly to mind as I listened. The two composers share an easy melodiousness, and even in the virtuoso turns for the bass in Quintets Nos. 13 and 18, Dragonetti doesn’t abandon his lyrical approach. Again, I think of the many instances wherein Rossini writes virtuoso music that still manages to sing.
With Dragonetti’s String Quartet, my thoughts turned to Boccherini, especially in the elegant finale. But the winds of early Romanticism clearly blow across the pages of this piece. The Presto second movement reminds me of Schubert’s use of dance music in his chamber works. As with both Boccherini and Schubert, compositional architecture takes a back seat to lyrical expression.
The musicians on this recording, including members of the Loma Mar Quartet, have a full understanding of Dragonetti’s musical style, which lies comfortably on the cusp of the Romantic era while taking many backward glances toward the eighteenth century. These are elegant performances. Meanwhile, the playing of John Feeney, principal bassist of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, is worth the price of admission, whether Dragonetti asks him to sink to the growling bottom of his range or sing in fruity harmonics.
The sound, captured at the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York, is very natural and, as you’d expect, rich in bass. As I say, this is a must for students of Feeney’s instrument and will serve as a diverting introduction to Dragonetti for those who want to explore the work of an important executant-composer. [The CD received the Classical Recording Foundation Award for 2009…Ed.]
– Lee Passarella
