What the Critics say...
Carlo Ignazio Monza Keyboard Music Harpsichord Deux-Elles DXL1117 |
Fanfare Magazine FEB 2010You may be asking: who in the world was Carlo Ignazio Monza (1710-1739), and why do we need a recording of his harpsichord music? Quite honestly, prior to the appearance of this CD, I hadn’t heard of him either. But I’ve definitely heard his music before, and you probably have, too. Seems Monza’s harpsichord pieces were first published in 1771 by the famous London firm of Longman & Broderip; in order to increase sales, the publisher rather fraudulently passed them off (together with the works of several other composers) as the work of Pergolesi. It is precisely this collection, along with a second from 1778, which Igor Stravinsky discovered in 1920 while searching for suitable music for his ballet Pulcinella. About twenty pieces (or parts thereof) made it into the ballet, including two movements from Monza’s Pièces modernes: the Air from the E major Suite, and the Gavotte and 6 Doubles from the Suite in D (Stravinsky used only two of the Doubles). The misattribution did not stop there; three of Monza’s suites were erroneously included in the collected edition of Pergolesi’s works in 1940. Despite his short lifespan, Monza wrote many operas and composed extensively for the church. Both activities took him all over Italy: Turin, Milan, Naples, Messina, Ancona, Venice, Bologna, Florence and Rome. In Turin, it is speculated that he came into contact with a nephew of François Couperin, who may have been Monza’s inspiration to write in the French manner. Monza’s keyboard music is quite a bit more international-sounding than might be expected from an Italian opera composer of the period: in fact, much of it bears an eerie resemblance to the keyboard music of that other great internationalist, George Frideric Handel. Just listen to the Air and 13 Doubles and see if you don’t agree: the piece sounds uncannily like an alternate version of Handel’s Chaconne and 21 Variations (“The Harmonious Blacksmith”). Same passagework, same harmonic structure, nearly identical themes, same cumulative bravura effect, but in less than two-thirds the space. Of course, there is no evidence that Monza was influenced by Handel, or even heard his music. But if the two had ever met, I’m sure Handel would have been impressed, and perhaps a little jealous. The CD gets off to a slow start with a less-than-inspired Prelude to the E major Suite (Monza’s fault, not the harpsichordist’s), but builds from there. The concluding Air is delightful—I’m sorry, Igor, but I like the original better. The C minor Suite, full of drama and Germanic seriousness, starts with an imposing fantasia-like Prelude and is followed by an Allemande and Double, Gavotte, Gigue and Menuet that could have been written by Sebastian Bach. The D major Suite is another winner—it includes a rousing, Scarlatti-esque Le Reveille-matin and concludes with the aforementioned Pulcinella Gavotte—the latter had me dancing around the room by the time it was over. Tacked on the end of the program “for variety” are two pieces by Bartolomeo Molinari (c.1663-1697) and one by Bernardo Pasquini (1637-1710). Frankly, I would have preferred more Monza instead. Terence Charlston is a highly-regarded British harpsichordist whose credits include a recent tour of duty as continuo player with London Baroque, with whom he made several well-received CDs on the BIS label. He is also Professor of harpsichord at the Royal College of Music, London. The playing on this CD is nothing short of miraculous: exciting, expressive, rhythmically taught, with every piece gauged to perfection. Charlston has several other CDs to his credit on the rather obscure Deux-Elles label. I regret that they have escaped my notice, but I’ll be on the lookout in the future—he is obviously a major, major talent. The harpsichord is a terrific-sounding copy of the single-manual Guisti in the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Italian harpsichords usually have a rather attenuated treble—but this one doesn’t. It positively sings in the upper register, and together with the imposing bass register (down to G1), makes for some impressive sonorities. Typical for an Italian instrument of the period, there are only two 8’ stops, which does not allow for a lot of variety. But Charleston’s skillfully varied playing makes up for this to a large extent. The harpsichord is tuned to a custom meantone temperament, the exact methodology of which is explained in the booklet. For most listeners, such technical details are secondary; what matters is that the tuning enhances the sonority of an already fine instrument. Nicely done recording: fairly close-up microphone placement but enough room acoustic to keep us grounded in reality. I’m tempted to say that if you buy only one harpsichord CD this year, it should be this one. In truth, there have been so many excellent harpsichord discs of late that it would be foolish to limit yourself. Buy it anyway: this is unabashed “comfort food” for lovers of the harpsichord. Christopher Brodersen
Recording of the Month, Music-web International, Dec 09 From: http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/Dec09/Monza_dxl1117.htm The fact that most of the compositions recorded here are called 'suites' is rather surprising. Monza was an Italian composer, but used a form which was French in origin and not used in his own country. His suites were printed under the title 'Pièces Modernes Pour le Clavecin'. And if that is not enough he used the French form of his first Christian name: Charles. This calls for an explanation. Contemporary libretti refer to Monza as 'the Milanese'. He was born probably in Monza, near Milan. Little is known about his early years, but we know that his oratorios and operas were performed not only in Milan, but also in other cities, including Venice and Rome. In 1729 he became a member of the prestigious Accademia Filarmonica in Bologna. In the last years of his life he was active as a canon and choirmaster in Vercelli in Piedmont. This city is close to Turin, the capital of the duchy of Savoy. The Piedmontese court had strong ties with Paris and a number of French aristocrats lived in Turin. A nephew of François Couperin, Marc Roger Normand, served as court organist from 1689 to 1734. So the strong French influence in Savoy is the most likely explanation of the character of Monza's keyboard works. The date and place of the publication of his suites is not known, but could well be Turin. It is very likely you never have heard of Monza. But his music was not unknown: in his ballet Pulcinella Stravinsky used 20 fragments from works by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. Two of these were in fact from the pen of Monza. This mistake was not his fault, though: in 1771 and 1778 the English publisher Longman printed two selections of Monza's keyboard works under the name of Pergolesi. As was so often the case he made use of the huge popularity of Pergolesi to increase sales. Although Monza's suites reflect the French style there is quite a lot of variety in the pieces Terence Charlston has chosen. The prelude from the Suite in E, for instance, is majestic, and its dotted rhythms refer to the Lullian opera overture. The prelude of the Suite in D, on the other hand, is a virtuosic display of ascending and descending scales, which is reminiscent of the 'préludes non mesurés' by French composers like Louis Couperin. And then the prelude of the Suite in C is very different again, with the right hand playing a melody and the left hand being reduced to a chordal accompaniment. This sounds considerably less French and reflects the modern galant style of the mid-18th century. A number of movements are very virtuosic. I have already mentioned the prelude from the Suite in D, and this same work also contains two other virtuosic movements, Le Reveille-matin - a character piece as many French composers included in their suites - which Terence Charlston compares with the style of Domenico Scarlatti, and the concluding Gavotte with 6 doubles. The Suite in C ends with another series of variations, the Air with 13 doubles, and this is even more technically challenging. This reminds me of the way Handel writes variations for the keyboard, for instance the Chaconne with 49 variations in C. The Prelude and fugue in f minor are also interesting. The prelude is a kind of toccata and in the second half we hear an episode with very strong dissonances, which makes one think of the Toccata VII by Michelangelo Rossi (1601/02-1656). Like the opening of the Suite in C the fugue doesn't sound like a typical baroque piece but rather looks forward to a later style. Terence Charlston has added some pieces by two Italian composers of a previous generation. "Both represent a style of keyboard playing influential in Italy at the time of Monza's youth but already on the wane by the time his suites were published", he writes in the programme notes. Bartolomeo Monari da Bologna was - as his nickname indicates - from Bologna where he seems to have spent his whole life. Like Monza he was a member of the Accademia Filarmonica. The prelude and fugue recorded here are both entitled 'sonata' in a collection of pieces by various authors, printed in Bologna around 1687 and published in England in a collection with 'Voluntarys & Fugues' in 1710. Bernardo Pasquini was one of the greatest keyboard virtuosos in Italy in his time. He worked mostly in Rome, where he frequently played with Corelli and probably also has met Handel. For this recording Terence Charlston has chosen an Italian harpsichord, despite the strong French character of Monza's harpsichord works. He admits that a French 17th-century harpsichord also had been an option. It would be interesting to know whether the French taste at the Piedmontese court included the use of French harpsichords. Anyway, the harpsichord used here is a fine instrument and well suited to play the music on this disc. In several movements, for instance the allemande of Monza's Suite in D, but also in the 'prelude and fugue' by Monari the temperament of the harpsichords creates some harmonic tension which is probably exactly what the composers intended. In order to convince an audience that music has unjustly been neglected it is essential that it receives the best possible interpretation. And that is exactly what we get here. Like in the previous recording with music by Albertus Bryne this disc is an ear-opener which presents these suites in their full glory. This is simply splendid music, and Terence Charlston's performance is outstanding. Charlston is also a gifted musicologist: he plays the prelude of the Suite in c minor twice, with different interpretations of a symbol used in the print of this prelude. In 2009 his edition of the whole collection is also published. This disc is an ideal combination of first-rate music and performance, a beautiful instrument in an appropriate temperament and lucidly-written programme notes. The booklet contains all the technical information one needs, including the sources of all the pieces in the programme. Johan van Veen Read more: http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/Dec09/Monza_dxl1117.htm#ixzz0tbGBF3K3 Back to Recordings
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