Search - G. Frescobaldi, Martha Folts :: Frescobaldi: Keyboard Works

A Venture into the Unknown

edouard pinaud | USA | 10/24/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Tired of twentieth-century "classical" composers, like Stockhausen and Schnittke, I ventured back to Mozart, with whom all adepts of "serious" music are reasonably aware. Then I asked myself, why not step back further? I had always admired Bach and Vivaldi, but what about the often overlooked in-between? Haydn?



There I discovered an unparalleled and underrated treasure trove of music. Later -- 104 symphonies later, and, believe me, the later London and Paris Symphonies are the LEAST interesting of his works; hint: start with No. 5 and No. 32 -- I came to the conclusion that our educational summary of music is horrifically skewed. Sure, Beethoven deserves every iota of his renown, but this comes at the expense of others, like Haydn, who have as much if not more to tell us about humanity, through the nonverbal expression of sound.



My "discovery" of Haydn sent me scouring still earlier music. I stumbled upon Schmelzer, Geminiani, Gallupi (BUY IT), and others. Frescobaldi came to my attention, belonging to a definite pre-Baroque era. I suppose this still qualifies as the Renaissance era, although the Italian city-states had certainly begun their decline, after Francis I, of France, and Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, stirred up a ruckus in the Italian peninsula across the 1500s. I purchased this as yet unreviewed collection, issued by the admirable Naxos label, always filling in the gaps where DG, Philips, and Sony fear to tread. Although it is not an unrivaled "favorite," this is an exceptional collection of some intricate Western music prior to Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier.



The harpsichord can be the bane of the modern eardrum. If not properly recorded, its brittleness will try even the most patient listener, usually after ten minutes. Here, however, the sound engineering does a remarkable job of toning down any and all brittleness. The lush sound is pleasing. Organ tones -- I've been an passionate admirer of Buxtehude, the Swedish-born composer, for many a year; if Bach traveled many a mile to hear him, he must have be good, and he is -- you'll find sumptuous organ tones on this Frescobaldi album. Buy it, you will not be disappointed. It will transport you back, across time and space, sounding vaguely reminiscent of the future, yet distinctly belong to its own historical moment. It probably will not rank among your favorites. But you will be the wiser for having investigated the rich heritage of Western music. Who knows? In the process you might just shake up the canon! Viva Frescobaldi!"