GIOVANNI SAMMARTINI: The Complete Early Symphonies for String Orchestra (World Premiere) – I Giovani di Nuova Cameristica/ Daniele Ferrari, cond./ Riccardo Villani, harpsichord – Nuova Era LC 12281 (3 CDs), 69:12; 70:15; 65:47 **** [Distr. by Allegro]:
This 3-CD set resurrects (in what is purported to be a world premiere recording) the complete early symphonies for string orchestra written by the Milanese composer Giovanni Battista Sammartini (1700/1-1775). These performances can best be described as the musical equivalent of the human missing link. A new style of music became fashionable during the years between the 1720s and the 1770s. Initially it was called the Stile Galant but over time it evolved into what we now call the Classical era in music.
As the European middle class grew in numbers and importance, their prosperity was increasingly accompanied by a burgeoning liquidity. Wealth was no longer automatically measured in land possession and their augmented disposable income resulted in new demands for home entertainment. Domestic musical performance was the most popular middle class diversion. But an adverse reaction not unlike that which greeted 20th Century music was rapidly spreading amongst amateurs as well as the members of that brand new cultural/sociological phenomenon: the musical audience,
The musical complexities of the late Baroque era with its extensive ornamentation, rigorous polyphony, frequent irregular phrasing and an enlarged harmonic vocabulary were an impediment to busy burghers. They merely desired an evening’s relaxation with some simple music making. Music written by Bach, Handel or Scarlatti was often the source of frustration and not relaxation. The pressure to simplify was intense and nearly universal. As the Classical era dawned, music became less contrapuntal with a distinct leading melodic voice that was easy to recognize and remember. The harmonic vocabulary was reduced, musical phrases were regularized, ornamentation was deemphasized and the entire structure was simplified. Music could now be apprehended quickly and impromptu performances easily assembled. This transition from the Baroque to the Classical era took nearly fifty years, its apotheosis occurring around the time of Sammartini’s death.
Sammartini’s string symphonies are a hybrid mixture of Baroque and Classical elements. There is still an emphasis on a strong bass line, one of the most recognizable Baroque characteristics, but it is no longer used to advance the melody or act as counterpoint to the upper voices. Its function almost exclusively is to provide harmonic support. Melodic lines are distinct and easily remembered but they are short motives like those in a Baroque concerto. They do not feature the long lined melodic development one finds in the mature Classical era. There is no real sense of an extended development of ideas; rather there is still that characteristic Baroque spinning-out of simple phrases that combine to create a single movement.
The intellectual weight of each symphony is borne by the central slow movement which is usually an Andante. The two outer movements tend to be lively dance-like confections, constructed from extremely simple melodic material usually derived from the notes of the triad. Their purpose is entertainment but their musical attributes are so similar that they are essentially interchangeable. One symphony’s fast movement is pretty much like another’s. The slow movements provide most of the musical merit of these symphonies and they are endowed with a melancholy and grace that is highly affecting.
It is instructive to listen to Sammartini as we seek to understand how the brilliant Baroque era slowly metamorphosed into its Classical offspring. His symphonies contain the seeds of that process and it is fascinating to analyze them as an academic exercise. They make wonderful background listening as well. However, they simply don’t sustain concentrated attention. There is no Eroica or Jupiter Symphony here. But if you desire music for its relaxation properties or its ability to fill up the uncomfortable silences that can creep into our days, you could certainly do worse than these often beautiful confections.
The youthful I Giovani di Nuova Cameristica with Riccardo Villani playing the harpsichord and conducted by Daniele Ferrari negotiate this music with exemplary skill. They provide the fast outer movements with all of the vigor and energy they require. The expansive, often touching slow movements are played with that Italianate relish for the cantabile musical line that usually blooms into an almost operatic melodic beauty. There are many historical currents flowing here and they are all presented with taste and consummate skill. The sound quality of these CDs is quite good. The strings sound suitably bright in a wide acoustic space that is mildly reverberant. The recording dates from 1994 but there is nothing in its age sonically injurious to these fine performances.
— Mike Birman
