for 2 Oboes and Strings, RV 536; Concerto in E Minor for 4 Violins, Op.
3, No. 4; LEO: Concerto in D Minor for Violoncello; BACH: Concerto for
Oboe d‚Amore in G Major; LOCATELLI: Concerto Grosso in D Major, Op. 1,
No. 5; FASCH: Concerto in C Minor for Bassoon, 2 Oboes and Strings;
HANDEL: Concerto Grosso in A Minor, Op. 6, No. 4 – Tafelmusik Baroque
Orchestra/ Jeanne Lamon – Analekta AN 2 9815, 73:20 ****:
A happy combination of Neapolitan and German Baroque music played on
period instruments by masters of the idiom, to make a long CD short.
Jeanne Lamon has directed Tafelmusik since 1981, and she and her gifted
players are, dare I say, old hands at the this music. Christina Mahler
plies a lovely cello for the D Minor Concerto of Leonardo Leo
(1694-1744), a sweetly vocal work. The two Vivaldi concertos bounce and
vibrate in typically Lombardic fashion, the big works being the E Minor
Concerto from L’estro armonico.
Bach never wrote solo wind concertos, so the G Major concerto is an
arrangement of cantata movements (Nos. 100, 70 and 30), spliced
together by Lamon and oboe player John Abberger to form an
affectionate, plaintive piece which dances and sings to the Greater
Glory of God. The Locatelli concerto grosso is in the Roman manner, a
loving homage to Corelli’s Op. 6. The Allegro movement lies only a step
away from Handel’s Water Music. Handel himself finds moving
representation in the A Minor Concerto Grosso, a piece often programmed
by Otto Klemperer to much more romantic effect. The bouncy concerto by
Johann Fasch (1688-1758) is a delightful find, with Dominic Teresi
making the bassoon perform nice leaps and turns, often accompanied by
the two oboes, which serve both as a continuo and trio. Recorded 5-8
October 2004 at the Humbercrest United Church, this hearty program
should delight the Baroque purist and audiophile alike, since the
individual instruments shine in high relief.
–Gary Lemco
